Display macros that won't get consumed by hermits/snails?

[BulkRate]

Have a small 9-ish gallon "cube" that I'm thinking about taking in a slightly different direction than when I started it a year ago. Turns out SPS simply aren't that interesting to me, plus I'd prefer something that's more forgiving... my tank's there for my relaxation and enjoyment, not to be another job.

 

Adding some display macroalgaes seems to be an ideal option - it's attractive, can serve as a mode of nutrient export and an indicator of when water quality needs to be looked at as well as making for a more natural look. Downside is that I have four dwarf hermits and a diverse crew of snails... it's highly likely that SOMETHING in the tank will want eat anything remotely palatable that I put in.

 

Looking for something akin to blue ochtodes or a flamed-tip dragon's breath (Halymenia?) as seen on keydiver's posts an lareefs.com... but will my CuC attack and devour this? Also saw on lareefs.com some kind of refractive "lucky metallic" leafy macroalgae... it looks cool, but there's so little information on it (not even a species name) that I was hesitant to get it. Aaaaannnnnnnd it's gone.

 

So... advice? Live-plants.com/Gulf Coast ecosystems and LAreefs.com seem to have the most consistent pricing and a decent selection. I'd prefer to acquire it locally, but availability of anything other than green codium, chaetomorpha or calurpa is pretty rare.

[Islandoftiki]

I have dragons breath and blue ochtodes in my 7 gallon pest crab tank. I have random mithrax, xanthid, and a couple Mexican red tip hermits. So far nothing has eaten the algae.

[Subsea]

Consider Gracilaria Hayi. It displays nicely compared to Dragons Breath. It is slightly calcified making it uneatable.

[BulkRate]

Hmmmm... I prefer the two-tone color of halymenia (red/orange tips as I understand it under brighter lighting). I suppose I could simply opt to risk it... at $8-12 it's not like I couldn't replace it with Gracilaria Hayi if something opts for a snack.