My sand sifting starfish haven't even come close to making a dent in our sand bed, so I wanted to ask if anyone knows whether sea hares will eat hair/filamentous algae growing in 'mats' on the sandbed. Thanks!
Do sea hares clean the sand bed?
- Thread starter IOnceWasLegend
- Start date
Kensington Reefer
Supporting Member
I find tangs to be the best at keeping a sandbed clean,
Orange shoulder (16 years and going) Lieutenant have been the best
They poop a stream of sand
It so cool!
Orange shoulder (16 years and going) Lieutenant have been the best
They poop a stream of sand
It so cool!
I've got four tangs, a fox face, and a lawnmower blenny, and no luck.
They tend to like rocks and glass the best, but they are awesome at that! Also, can't you just remove the mats on the sand?
If the algae is coming up off the sand in tufts they’ll probably eat it, but they won’t particularly clean the sand. SS stars don’t really clean sand either.
Don.Julio91
Supporting Member
Off topic of sea hares but I have 2 fighting conch snails that keep my sand bed white clean turning it over (65gal). They eat film and hair algae they find. I have a mixture of crushed coral and special grade sand.
Second the conch, but I know you're trying to get something quarantined, and they bulldoze any frags in the sand. Pitho crabs wiped out any remaining green hair algae I had in my tank, and a lot of the annoying sponges.
Blue leg hermits can work too, but are a coin flip.
Blue leg hermits can work too, but are a coin flip.
Matthew Meyer
Supporting Member
I've seen the tiger sea cucumber do work.
I'll give a +3 to Fighting Conchs. I've never had a tank without one. They turn the sand very well and are easy to keep.
Coral reefer
Past President
Nobody uses nassirius anymore? Guess I’m just old
I always have -- and still will.
I use them as entertaining clean up crew, but not for cleaning the sand of algae. They are meat eaters and whatever sand turn over they do is basically an accident as they come out for food they smell.
BAYMAC
Supporting Member
They prefer hardscapes.
Coral reefer
Past President
Post title is “clean the sand bed”
Imo they do this well by eating any leftovers and moving the sand around. I never said they eat algae, but I will say they make it more difficult/less likely for algae to grow on the sand by stirring it. How active they are could depend on how often you feed, which for me is usually a lot so it works out.
phatduckk
Supporting Member
get a Bella Goby - my favorite fish ever
I should have clarified in my original post that I was asking about a sea hare since, like urchins and sea stars, they don't need to be QT'd (and can just be rinsed off).
After thinking about it for a while, I'm going to just bite the bullet and QT a set of sand sifting inverts. I opted to get a tiger tail, a couple conchs, and ten or so nassarius snails for my Nuvo 200, and they're now in QT time out for the next 6 weeks.
After thinking about it for a while, I'm going to just bite the bullet and QT a set of sand sifting inverts. I opted to get a tiger tail, a couple conchs, and ten or so nassarius snails for my Nuvo 200, and they're now in QT time out for the next 6 weeks.
BAYMAC
Supporting Member
What about things living the sea cucumber?
I mean, if a pearlfish can live in a sea cucumber, surely parasites and such can hitchhike in there as well. Ditto with crabs and shrimp.
Pearlfish from a Sea Cucumber
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