Is Sea Hare ink poisonous to fish?

January 15, 2007
From: Nicole Chilson

Today our Sea Hare was pulling in like it was trying to form a ball or shrivelling up or something. I wasn't sure if it was doing alright, but didn't feel like getting wet so I touched him with the net a couple of times to make sure he was alive, but then it spit out the ink cloud. Terrifying. I freaked out and netted him and put him in a separate container and changed 4 gallons of water. He/she didn't ink anymore and was moving around fine in the other container so we put him back into the tank. The other fish don't look like the ink effected them. Are they being bothered at all, or is the ink poisonous to them?

Nicole Chilson
Rochester, Mn, USA

nicole.wagner@students.msbcollege.edu

Chilson, N.M., 2007 (Jan 15) Is Sea Hare ink poisonous to fish?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19217

Dear Nicole,
Have a look at the Fact Sheet on Sea Hare ink. I think your fish have answered the question themselves. As far as I know it is not poisonous. In aquaria, Sea hares need to eat red algae to make their ink. Normally aquarium Sea Hares are fed green algae so inking is usually not a problem.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jan 15). Comment on Is Sea Hare ink poisonous to fish? by Nicole Chilson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19217

Factsheet

Ink glands

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