Critters!

With a nearly empty tank, it's time to shine the spotlight on some non-coral tank inhabitants! 

As I set up my experiment I introduced a few small sea hares and sea urchins to help me keep the nuisance microalgae at a minimum.

But my how those little sea hares flourished! Yes, I lost at least one to a powerhead and one to overzealous tank vacuuming, but the rest were fruitful and multiplied! It wasn't long before long strings of orange sea hare eggs started showing up all over my coral racks, the sides of the tank, my temperature loggers, everywhere! Most got scrubbed off in weekly cleanings, but some gave way to new babies! 

 

Good morning! one of the original sea hare inhabitants, Stylocheilus striatus

 

Another type of sea hare, not one I put in originally - Dolabrifera dolabrifera

 

A truly massive sea hare I happened upon while removing coral racks from the tank! Dolabella auricularia - the largest species of Sea hare in Hawaii!

 

Look how big he is!!

As you might have gathered, sometimes things end up in my tank that I didn't put there. That's because our seawater comes straight from the reef, unfiltered. I put it through a coarse filter floss before it enters my tank, but larvae, eggs, and small individuals can still get through!

 

Several species of bubble snails have shown up over the months. Here's quite a large one!

 

This tiny shrimp fell out of one of my algae mats when I was removing it!