SEA HARES!!!

        For the past couple months, I have been tackling the challenging problem of trying to keep algae out of the clownfish tank at the HMNS. This has been a great struggle as I have found that just as soon as I can clean the algae out, it will come right back. However, I was doing a little research into good ways to keep algae out of a tank and I found what could be a solution: sea hares.

        Even though their looks might be deceiving, sea hare are remarkable creatures. Sea hares are known as being consumers of algae, which is why many aquarium owners add them to their own tanks. Adding one or two sea hares to the clownfish tank at the HMNS would help eliminate the green hair algae and green slime algae that is building up on the rocks and on the sand of the tank. Sea hares prefer tanks with live rocks, open stretches of sand, and lots of algae growth, which will provide them with food. Our tank at the HMNS would be able to provide them with this environment. Sea hare death can be common in some tanks and is usually attributed to high levels of metals in the tank, specifically copper. Without high levels of metal in the tanks, they will flourish and devour algae on rocks in the tank. Because, we work to monitor the clownfish tank at the HMNS, we should not have a problem with high levels of copper or other harmful metals. 

       The only potential problem with getting them would be that they have developed a reddish purple ink that they release when they are threatened or disturbed. This ink has been known to be toxic and dangerous to organisms living in the tanks with sea hares. It is believed that sea hares developed this ink as a defense strategy as they have no outer shell to provide extra protection. To combat this ink, however, many sites recommend a good chemical filter (which our clownfish tank has) in the tank to remove the ink before it can cause any damage. I hope that in the future, we will be able to get one or two sea hares to add to the tank to combat our algae problem.