Zakary2003
Active Member
To preface, I have a bit of a hair algae and cyano problem in my 20 gallon reef, but my nutrients are back to where they should be (0ppm ammonia and nitrates, 15ppm nitrates, less than 1ppm phosphates). I also attend a college which focuses heavily on marine science. A friend is doing research on bursatella leachii, the shaggy sea hare. He cannot release some of them due to the nature of his research, including a small one that might do well in my tank as far as size goes. Would it be safe and wise to keep one of these in my reef tank to get rid of algae? Could I take it to my LFS if the algae ran out or it got too big? This species does produce toxic purple ink, but it takes a lot to stress them enough to use it. He has only had one ink so far, and he handles dozens of them daily and even has to stretch and manipulate them for measurment purposes. He also had to put them through a rather complex quarantine process so the individuals are disease free. I've been told they are legally collected and my friend has been given the rights to dispose of them in any way he sees fit, including creating his own species tank for some of them. The friend also says he has observed them devouring cyanobacteria, sometimes over other food sources.
To be clear, I haven't decided to or agreed to take it yet. I want to know if anyone has experience with this species and if anyone has more information to add. If it's a stupid idea, I won't do it.
To be clear, I haven't decided to or agreed to take it yet. I want to know if anyone has experience with this species and if anyone has more information to add. If it's a stupid idea, I won't do it.
