Friggin Hair Algae

[Delphinus]

If you already have the seahare I'd just transfer him over until the tank is clean.

Sort of a catch-22 though, the one good thing hair algae is good at is giving a home for 'pods to replicate en masse, I bet your seahorses are eating like kings at the moment.

Thing about seahares, unless you get one that learns that nori is good for them (not all do, I've only ever kept one or two that figured it out), they'll starve when the hair algae is gone. So it's better for them if you can transfer them into a hairy tank once their current abode is clean.

[TheReefGuy]

Apparently they spill sand over corals and sand will stress corals.

[Delphinus]

Fishoholic - you had a lawnmower eat hair algae?? That's VERY atypical. The name is a bit of a misnomer - they're called lawnmower because of the way they look like they're attacking algae - but unfortunately what actually subsist on is that film algae you get on glass and rocks. It's actually very common for lawnmower blennies to starve in captivity because they don't always adapt to prepared foods.

[Delphinus]

Seahares??

Yes, corals don't appreciate being buried in sand. But if that's happening then the corals are not in a good spot. I've been in the hobby nearly ten years and have kept 4 or 5 seahares in with corals and not once did I ever lose a coral because the seahare stressed them out with sand.

Here are the problems with seahares:
- they starve once they eat all the hair algae.
- they usually die in powerheads or pump intakes.
- they are large and will likely bump into things. But, the flip side is that this problem is not unique to seahares. Same problem will exist for snails, urchins, abalones, fish, .. you name it: if it moves, it will bump into things. You owe it to yourself to attach frags to heavier pieces of rock otherwise things will move around on you, guaranteed. Glue them frags down!!! After all, isn't it a reefer's motto "I glue live animals to rocks!!" ??

If you notice sand covering a coral, take a turkey baster and shoot the sand off.

I guess there's another reason BB tanks have an edge over sand tanks. (Having said that, 2 out of 3 of my reef tanks still have sand - although I've finally seen the light and am not going to bother with sandbeds anymore after these tanks..)

Originally Posted by TheReefGuy

Apparently they spill sand over corals and sand will stress corals.

[bv_reefer]

-will scarlet reef hermits and other crabs starve and die if algae isn't present
or will they start feeding on detritus again and be ok?? -cuz i wouldn't mind starting off with half a dozen scarlet reef hermits around week 2 of cycling...

[marie]

crabs will eat anything, but as long as they have enough to eat they should leave the living animals alone

[bv_reefer]

-ok thx again, will they nip @ anemones by any chance?

[marie]

Originally Posted by bv_reefer

-ok thx again, will they nip @ anemones by any chance?

Not likely

[bv_reefer]

-u think my tank will be ready for inverts around week 2-3, I'll have about
20-pounds of live rock (uncured)-33-gallon tank

[marie]

As soon as you aren't registering any ammonia with a test kit you can start adding a clean up crew. I personally would wait at least another month before adding any corals or fish though