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Warty Sea Hare
Dolabella auricularia
The Sea Hare is a legendary, voracious consumer of nuisance hair algae in marine tanks. It requires large amounts of algae to prevent starvation.
Class:Gastropoda
Order:Aplysiida
Family:Aplysiidae
Genus:Dolabella
Species:Dolabella auricularia
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Water Temperature
24 - 28 °C
pH Value
8.1 - 8.4
Water type
Marine
Adult size
50 cm
Minimum group
>= 1
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Dolabella auricularia is widely distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific region, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii and northern Australia. It inhabits shallow sheltered bays, sea grass beds, inner reef flats, and sandy lagoons at depths of 1 to 20 meters.
Taxonomy: Belonging to the family Aplysiidae, this is a large sea hare species growing up to 20-30 cm. It features a wedge-shaped, stocky body covered in warty papille and skin flaps that provide excellent camouflage on sandy bottoms. An internal ear-like shell is hidden inside the mantle.
Social Behavior: Peaceful, slow-moving, and nocturnal. During the day, it remains buried in the sand or hidden under rock overhangs. If severely stressed or physically attacked, it can release a thick cloud of purple ink as a defensive deterrent to predators.
Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Body coloration ranges from mottled brown and olive-green to dull grey, blending with benthic algae. This species is a simultaneous hermaphrodite, meaning individuals possess both male and female reproductive organs; there is no sexual dimorphism.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Tank Setup: A large, mature marine aquarium of at least 250-300 liters is required. Provide deep sand areas and secure rock structures with large caves. The presence of a substantial, natural growth of hair algae is critical before introducing this animal.
Diet and Feeding: Voracious herbivores. They specialize in eating nuisance green hair algae, turf algae, and macro-algae. Once the natural algae in the aquarium is consumed, they must be fed daily with dried Nori seaweed sheets anchored to the bottom to prevent starvation.
Water Quality: Requires stable marine parameters: temperature 24-26°C, salinity 1.023-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, and low nitrates. Highly sensitive to copper, chlorine, and sudden shifts in salinity. Excellent protein skimming and oxygenation are necessary.
Compatibility and Tankmates: Completely reef-safe and peaceful. Never keep with aggressive or predatory fish that might pick at its skin (e.g. puffers, triggerfish, large wrasses, or large crabs), which can trigger toxic inking events.
Aquarium Breeding: Breeding in home aquariums is highly unlikely. They mate in chains or pairs, laying gelatinous yellow egg masses resembling tangled noodles. The larvae are planktonic and require specific micro-algae cultures, making rearing impossible in a reef tank.
Risks and Diseases: Starvation is the leading cause of mortality in clean systems. The defensive release of purple ink is highly toxic to fish in closed systems and requires immediate treatment with activated carbon, protein skimming, and a large water change.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Dolabella auricularia is widely distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific region, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii and northern Australia. It inhabits shallow sheltered bays, sea grass beds, inner reef flats, and sandy lagoons at depths of 1 to 20 meters.
Origin
Tropical oceans and reefsAfrica and MadagascarAustralia, New Guinea, and Oceania
Invertebrate profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Ecological role
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 50 cm
- Jump risk
- No verified data available
- Shock sensitivity
- No verified data available
- Calcium and minerals
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Compatibility & tankmates
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 50 cm. The MOBS marine organism body-size database source reports a maximum adult measurement of 50 cm for this species, recorded as the dataset's reported length dimension. These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Window to the official scientific data of the species
Data synced on: 06/15/2026
Scientific Parameters & Models
- Resilience
- High (less than 15 months)
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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