 |
|
| Home | Marine Aquariums |
Freshwater Aquariums |
Planted Aquariums |
Brackish Systems |
Ponds,
lakes & fountains |
Turtles & Amphibians |
Aquatic Business |
Aquatic Science |
Ask the WWM Crew a Question |
| Please visit our Sponsors | ||||
wasting midas blenny... Cuke Incident 11/4/11 Colochirus robustus dropped a part of itself
2/10/11 Can I..... Holothuroid poss. poisoning event
2/10/11 Holothuria edulis Behavior, incomp. w/ Zoanthids
11/5/10 Edible or Burnt Hot Dog Sea Cucumber Poisoning Event --
03/04/10 Sea apple poisoning 11/22/09 Re sea apple poisoning 11/22/09 Re: sea apple poisoning -- 11/22/09
Question on Cukes/Compatibility 5/19/09 Re Question on Cukes/Compatibility 5/20/09 Re: Question on Cukes/Compatibility 5/21/09 Sea Cucumber Hitchhikers, incomp. in this case 2/19/09 Hello Crew, <Hello Joseph> I have a "sticky" problem caused by about 10 small Sea Cucumbers that were hitchhiking on Florida aquacultured LR I purchased. At the time I did not know what it was, but now after seeing Bob Fenner's article Gad-Zooks Cukes, several of the Cukes expelled their Cuvierian tubules while the LR was in a large plastic container. The picture in B. Fenner's article on the eversion of these tubules is exactly what I saw. I placed the LR in my aquarium and noticed dead small crabs, cucumbers, bristleworms and even a dead mantis shrimp on the bottom of the plastic container. A few of the approximately 1.5" Cukes were still alive and were placed in my tank (God help me). I, now, have noticed some long threads flowing from the powerheads that look just like spider silk that I believe are the sticky Cuvierian tubules. I see no life in my tank, even when using a flashlight to try and catch bristleworms or other nighttime foragers, nothing but a few button polyps and what looks like a glass anemone (wouldn't you know it?). <Yep, seems like nothing kills them.> Question: Can I skim and use charcoal to remove any possible toxins or do I have to start over? <Obviously you have removed the Cukes, and if not, do remove them. Protein skimming and use of Chemi Pure should restore water quality in a few days depending on your filter's flow rate and efficiency of your skimmer. Personally, I do not like Cukes, too risky.> Nuke the Cukes! Thank you, <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Joseph Rouse
Tiger Tail Cucumber, comp. 09/27/2008 Crew, <<Zach>> ?I have been reading on your site, and it seems that the conclusion is that a Tiger Tail cucumber is capable of wiping out a system if it eviscerates, but the chances of this happening in a stable system is slim. I have a 75 gallon reef with 10 scarlet reef hermits, and after reading Marine Invertebrates by Ronald Shimek he states that hermit crabs can bother cucumbers. Is this true. It seems that my scarlets are very peaceful, and go about there business picking at algae and even climb over each other without fighting or bothering anyone. They have plenty of shells to upgrade into as well. <<Yes, I would agree with Ron, this is certainly very possible. Up to yourself is you feel its a viable risk to take>> Zach <<Hope this helps. A Nixon>> Re: Tigertail Cucumber -11/02/08 Nixon, <Hi
Zach, I'm so sorry Nixon seems to have neglected this question.>
if I were to bring my ten scarlet hermits back to my lfs in exchange
for five or so Mithrax crabs would this be a good choice. I also plan
on keeping bubble coral and have read that scarlets can pose a problem
in this environment. I'm most concerned about the cucumber. <All
crabs present some risk to corals and other vulnerable inverts. The
emerald crabs are typically more docile, but there's no guarantee.
The best thing to do, if you want to keep crabs of these sort, is to
feed them well so that they don't go bothering your other
animals.> Zach
Black Sea Cucumber 6/16/08 Hi Crew!! <Hello!> Let me first start out with a little background on my tank. Currently running is a 50gallon breeder with a 20gallon sump (tank set up for about 6-7mo, but sand has been alive for about a year, since I used it for my upgrade). I have a modded 6-2+ euro-reef skimmer, with ATO sensors and carbon/phosphate media being run 24/7. I'm working on adding a DSB to my refugium section of my sump with some macro. All fish are friendly and peaceful, also have a serpent star (would he bother a sea cucumber?) Water conditions are as follows: temp 79-81 pH N/A my local fish store is temporarily "living in the streets" so to speak with their pH probes <Decent electronic pH probes made by Hanna can be purchased online from places like Drs. Foster and Smith or Marine Depot for a relatively low cost.> , Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 5 dKH 9 Calcium 425 Magnesium 1050 (however have added some Mag to get it up around 1200) Salinity 1.025-1.024 and Phosphates .1 And now for the actual question! :) A buddy of mine just tore down his 75 gallon tank and set up a 26gal Nano...he had in the tank two sea cucumbers. Now that his tank is much smaller he is selling his black sea cucumber which is about 6". I would like to know how this animal would fare in my tank, I have a lot of flow in my tank (Mag 24 closed loop) however there are parts of the sand-bed that don't quite get enough flow, and I do not want to add more power-heads! I'm kind of scared to add a sea cucumber for fear of it dying/leeching its guts into the water, however I also feel my system my benefit from adding one since there are areas of detritus/buildup on the sand-bed that he could eat! probably the reason why my nitrates are at 5) so I am here seeking the advice of the experts. the cucumber is very healthy I have seen him periodically when I'm over at my friends and he's always eating sand, and I'm worried that he doesn't have enough to eat in the 26 gallon he's being housed in now (another reason why I want to add him to my 50 gallon) I would add him in a heart-beat if he was not poisonous and had the potential to kill off everything in my system, so I'm very much on the fence as you guys/girls can tell (and trying to do my homework before I just add something to my tank). I just want to make sure if I do end up adding this guy to my set up that he would aid in my efforts for a better reef, not cause more headaches and problems! Sorry for the long post but I wanted to add details, I have see other posts that don't include details and its hard to learn from them or even answer them I'm sure! <I would think you're good to go on the cucumber; the key is to avoid sudden stress. Careful acclimation and handling should keep him from dumping his saponid tubes. Cucumbers that die of gradual starvation are very unlikely to poison a tank- secondary compounds are energy-expensive to produce, and a starving animal will stop reproductive and secondary metabolic pathways first. Provided you have fine sand, this animal should do well in your tank.> Thanks again!! This site has helped me save lots of animals/inverts/corals in my year of reefing! <Glad to hear it. Keep reading, enjoying, spreading the word.> Keep up the phenomenal work! <We'll do our best. Benjamin> Potential problem with Tigertail Cuke, and Dendrophylliid hlth. 2/10/08 Hi crew- <Jim> I have a very healthy 75g reef tank with a 20g sump and 10g refugium. This morning, I noticed something odd - my 6-ish inch long Tigertail Cuke was scaling the wall of my aquarium - never seen THAT happen before! He has been in this system for a few years, and reproduced (by splitting) once a while ago (I pulled out his buddy). My wife noticed a white gash or laceration running down his body, at least several inches long. We did the smart thing and pulled him immediately from the tank. Suggestions? <Mmm, isolate... oh, I see below...> I don't have an isolated system to put him in so that he can heal up. Am I better off without him in a system this size at any rate? <Well...> Should I euthanize him or take him to a LFS? <The last> I presume that the one thing I should NOT do is to put him back into my system. <Not necessarily... life IS risk... some minor sub-risks are to be weighed, chosen...> All other inhabitants of the system are FINE. Here is what the system looks like: http://picasaweb.google.com/javagiant/Reef12808 <Wow, quite a mix... Soft and hard corals, other cnidarians, including an anemone... an apparently healthy powder blue tang...> While I am writing, I do have a recent addition (the Turbinaria) <I see this... on the right> that I could swear is shrinking a little. Color is great and polyps are well extended. I did some research, and have begun spot feeding. Will that do it, or does he need more light? <May need to be moved further from the Actinarian... see WWM re compatibility... Otherwise, just patience> I have 2 x 175mh and 2 4' actinic VHO tubes running on this system. Should I move him up, so he gets more light? <I would not> I have been keeping him debris free - anything else I should be doing? many thanks- Jim Gray <From the sparkling looks of your system, obvious health of your livestock... Running a public aquarium or helping at an LFS. Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner> Indonesian Sea Apple 8/15/07 Hey guys, love the website and the information you so kindly provide. With that said, I work at my LFS and have been working in aquaria for about 4 years. I purchased an Indonesian Sea Apple for my 30-gallon community tank, <... Yikes...> knowing (or at least thinking I did) the inherent risks of the organism. I have had the Cuke for more than 4 months and he receives daily doses of Marine Snow <Of almost no nutritive value> and has appeared to be doing well (no inflating from stress, no loss of size, no moving in the tank once established). Today however I came home and noticed that one of my favorite fish had passed, one of the ones I had had in the tank for a while (5-6 months). I peered into the tank and noticed what appeared to be little green balls (about the size of a flea perhaps?) floating all around in the water. I examined the Cuke closely and it appeared to have strings of these little balls wrapped around a few of its feeding feathers. Another reader had written you about a similar experience ("little yellow balls" in his case) and I was wondering if this is in fact the Cuke reproducing? <Possibly this... or fecal material... or?> I couldn't find any info on how they reproduce. Is it common for them to reproduce in captivity? <Not uncommon> Also, if so are the eggs simply themselves toxic? <Can be, yes> I have never done a full change on my tank and unless I notice labored breathing or anything of the like I don't intend to, at least until I establish that this did in fact come from the Sea Apple. <Good point... this material could be unrelated to the Holothuroid> Aside from him the only other inverts in the tank are a pair of Skunkback Cleaner Shrimp and Peppermint Shrimp, <Could be their eggs... though unusual to be released as such> Margarita Snails, Blue-legged hermit crabs and a small Tiger-Tail Cuke and of course the corals (mostly Euphyllia, Toadstools, Zoos and Mushrooms). Thank you for any insight into this odd situation! Alec Parodi Valencia, CA <Do keep a close watch on this system... "If" something goes sideways with the Sea Apple... all could turn into bouillabaisse in minutes... Bob Fenner> Re: Indonesian Sea Apple 8/15/07 PS - Somehow missed the section on your site with the information about the sea cucumber reproduction. I now see that this is exactly what happened. Despite my cautions with it dying being a problem, I never thought that it THRIVING (i.e. reproducing) would be a problem. In the last 2 months though I have had my rose bubble anemone split once and my toadstool leather reproduce through self-fragmentation a total of 12 times. Guess I am taking TOO good of care of my tank. Alec Parodi Valencia CA <Heee! Possibly. BobF> Re: Indonesian Sea Apple 8/15/07 Thank you very much for the reply and information Mr. Fenner! Wanted to update you as to the situation - I checked the water chemistry and the only thing that was off was the nitrates (around 15, ppm I suppose?) which is a tad unusual considering that with the amount of bacteria in the system the tank has never gone above 5-10. So after I noticed labored breathing from the fish I did a 60% change. <Good move> Several hours later I had lost 1/2 of the total fish in the incident, <... sorry to realize> including the original fish that played the role of the canary in the mineshaft apparently. Shrimp seem to be fine, as do a couple of the surviving fish, although the cardinal looks like he is on his last leg. <IF at all possible, DO MOVE the remaining livestock... fish and non-fish to an entirely different setting/system!> I removed the Cuke from the tank and haven't seen anymore of these "little green balls" since. The water chemistry after letting it sit overnight was perfect. Is there a risk leaving the eggs which inevitably fell into some of the live rock, etc? <Not much> Or would it be like any other organic matter and simply raise the ammonia or nitrate? <Perhaps just the dying fishes> I just want to make sure that as they dissolve they will not toxify the water. One last question (I promise!) was what commonly available food do you recommend as an overall feed for inverts in a tank (corals, dusters, apples, etc). <Do general my friend... possibly just a large, healthy refugium tied in... with live organisms being produced, exported from there> I know that is a question which is a bit silly considering that all of the above feed on different particles of different nanometers, but thought I would ask anyhow. The info I have read on the apples indicate their feeding apparatus can only capture particles ~<50 nanometers. Thanks again! Alec Parodi Valencia, CA <Keep studying, applying yourself my young friend... Consider writing your experiences, fields you are interested in... into articles for sale. Bob Fenner> Re: Indonesian Sea Apple 8/15/07 Thank you very much kind sir, have spent most of this morning on the site (which BTW I was excited to see referenced as a, well, reference in the last issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine)! Alec Parodi <Ahh! Thank you Alec. Bob Fenner> Sea Apple = A-Bomb 03/25/07 I am completely heartbroken and devastated. All the fish in my main saltwater tank (135 gallons) were just killed by a Sea Apple that eviscerated while I was at work except for three fish. <Unfortunate, but all too common. I am sorry for you loss.> Only two paired Ocellaris Clowns and one Blue Green Chromis survived. Fifteen others sadly died, including four cleaner shrimp. Apparently this happened when my local electric company temporarily terminated electricity and my equipment turned off. I came home to find the devastation, dead fish everywhere and the worm-like insides of the Sea Apple were all over the tank. <Such is the risk of keeping Holothuroids in a populated tank. Evisceration is really more of an eventuality than a risk. It most likely WILL happen and at an inopportune moment.> By the way, there were all kinds of unidentified creatures in the tank that I have never seen before, some were crab-like, others had shapeless forms and were about a half inch wide, what are these things? <Various Polychaete worms, and other crustaceans most likely. Impossible to say for certain without a photo, even then exact I.D. is hit or miss.> Fortunately I had a second tank where I put the three fish (24 gallon Nano). They seem to be doing OK. <This is a good thing. Why don't you have a Quarantine tank?> Unfortunately, I have a pair of established Tomato Clowns that immediately started hassling the Ocellaris' and the Chromis so I caught one of the Tomato Clowns and put him in a ventilated breeding unit to isolate him from the others. I am working on catching the other which is hiding in his Bubble Tipped Anemone, I hate to have to do this but I want the stressed fish from the other tank to be able to relax and de-stress without being chased all over the tank. <Another reason to have the quarantine tank.> Do you think this is a good idea? <Would be better to have a quarantine tank. Go purchase a 10 gallon tank, and a heater and filter. Place some established media from the Nano that you have into it's filter. Then place your stressed fish into it. This is much better than hassling an established environment.> I need advice on what to do now with the main tank. <Siphon out the remaining viscera, and about 70 % of the water. Over the next few days do a 20% water change each day. This should dilute the poison. Make sure that you get ALL of the dead animals. They will be broken down as part of Nitrification, and will pollute your tank.> I will remove the dead fish but what do I do with the corals, they seem to all be fine, will they survive? <Hard to say. Time will tell.> Should I remove the corals immediately to plastic container with chemically adjusted RO water? Or should I risk putting the corals in my 24 gallon Nano? <I would follow the water change plan firstly. Then if the corals start to degrade I would consider moving them. You don't want to do anything drastic that might crash the Nano too.> Would that possibly poison the water in the Nano? <I would think that the increased bioload would cause problems.> I also have two Crocea Clams, will they likely survive? <Again time will tell. Please see above Re: Water Changes.> After I remove the corals and snails or anything else that is still alive what should I do with the water? I would assume I should completely drain it, is that correct? <Please see above. I would NOT drain all of the water.> What about the live rock and live sand, what should I do with them? How will the worms die and how should I get rid of them? <Not really sure what you are asking. I was under the impression that these worms were already dead. If not, then NO LEAVE THEM ALONE. They are GOOD for your system, and are present in all healthy systems.> Are these worms toxic themselves and if they remain alive in the rock after the cleanup are they harmful to the tank? <No. They are your friends. Likely came out because they sensed carrion which is what they eat.> After a complete water change which I'll assume I should do, how soon can I replace any fish and corals? <Do not do a complete water change. I would do one large change and then a few days worth of 20% changes, and then a weeks worth of small 5-10% changes. Start adding fish one at a time and QUARANTINE them. I would say one fish every two weeks.> Should I treat the tank in any way? Do I have to completely recycle the tank? Could you please take me through the proper steps I should take at this time, I need help. <If you don't change all of the water at once you should be fine. There are obviously some creatures that survived.> When I eventually pick myself up and slowly add fish back to the tank I vow to always listen to the advice of the WetWebMedia crew. You guys know what you are talking about. <Thank you for your kind words.> My story is probably a typical one; I asked about Sea Apples from a LFS and was told that they were harmless filter feeders. <More or less true, unless you irritate one.> I was attracted to their bright colors and figured I could trust the store owner. I didn't do my research and found out a few days later through your site that Sea Apples were potential killers and should be avoided. <Doh! You should always research before purchase.> I contemplated returning the Sea Apple and was strongly leaning toward doing just that until I did some further research with obviously less well-informed "experts" that theorized that a tank wipeout was extremely unlikely. <They obviously have not kept Holothuroids for extended periods of time…> They also said that most of the fish would survive even if it did happen and there likely would be time to get the fish out. <Again Holothurin/Holotoxin is a very powerful neurotoxin. It also depends on the kind of Holothuroid that you have. Some are worse than others.> Unfortunately, you were right and they were dead wrong and my fish paid the price. <Sad to hear this really.> I feel responsible because I was forewarned by you after I bought the Sea Apple. I had a healthy thriving tank with no deaths for seven months. The water was good, I was doing routine water changes, all the fish were healthy and I had the Sea Apple for about six months with no problems. I have learned a painful lesson and I vow to be a more conscientious fish owner from this point forward. <We all learn from our mistakes. Everyone was new to this at some point.> I usually follow your advice to the tee but all I takes is one major mistake. I also learned to never trust my LFS without doing research before hand. I know this is a touchy subject but what would you do in this situation regarding the LFS that sold me the Sea Apple. What action and I don't necessarily mean legal action would you take. <I would make my situation know to them. If they seem unconcerned or callous about your plight, I would further go to the local Marine Aquarium Society. I would tell them what happened and ask that they not patron this establishment. You could put up a blog to share this experience, etc.> I am curious to read your response. In the meantime I can really use some immediate help with this mess ASAP. <I hope that this helps.> Thank You, <You are welcome.> (please feel free to post this for others to read in the Marine Aquarium articles) <This correspondence, like all correspondence to WWM will be posted. Brandon.> Have you received this, I haven't seen a response. 3/26/07 <Yes this was received. Should be an E-mail in your in box waiting on you. I have a copy of the response that I sent. Let me know if I need to resend it.> Where will I see a response, I could use some help with my problem. <You have received an E-mail, and you can check the response on the daily FAQ section of the site as well.> Thanks <You are welcome. Brandon.> Strange wipeout, reef... toxicity... Cuke 2/20/07 I am a reef keeper for over 10 years with several large reefs. I recently set up a 34 gallon small reef. Reef had 4 medium seahorses, 1 percula clownfish, 2 cleaner shrimp, and a medium sized sea apple. Live rock, live sand, and protein skimmer. Everything fine for 2 months or so. Last night everything looked fine. Looked this morning the fish were all dead. The other reefs were fine. The 2 cleaner shrimp were still fine and the sea apple <...!> looked fine with no evidence of a discharge from the sea apple. Last night I had fed the fish in all my tanks frozen Mysis and also put 2 small capfuls of DT's phytoplankton in the water of the 34 gallon reef. 1- Since the sea apple looks fine and no evidence of a discharge or discoloration in the water. I am skeptical he had anything to do with the wipe out? <I am NOT> Can a sea apple blowup or discharge poison and look fine a few hours later and the water look normal? <Oh yes... think about this... Would an organism have some sort of defensive mechanism that would damage itself? Not likely> 2- Could the Mysis have been bad and killed the seahorses and clownfish and not affected the fish in the other tank who were fed the same Mysis? <Mmm, not likely at all> 3- Could it have been the DT's phytoplankton had gone bad? <Nah> I have no idea what happened. <Is only a guess... but am very sure the Holothuroid could have been the root cause here... Have seen this species take out an entire store... on centralized filtration. Other general probabilities include a "bug" (insect) flying in, poisoning the system, an errant use of a household cleaner/aerosol, a cascade-event with some sort of microbial/algal die-off... Bob Fenner> Cukes (comp.) and ORP 9/6/06 Bob, <Scott> The ORP in my 1300g tank is now hitting 500 at its peak in the night. <Mmm... too high...> All fish, corals and other inverts seem unaffected, if not ridiculously healthy. Should I be concerned or tanking any sort of action to lower it? I'm not running ozone. <... odd... I'd "check your checker" here first... Likely this is off> Also I was wondering if in your opinion (or experience) an Australian Sea Apple would be capable of catastrophically polluting that volume of water if it died. Thanks! <Oh yes... Have seen these take out entire stores (thousands of gallons) on collectively plumbed holding systems. Bob Fenner> Scott Sea cucumber disaster 8/8/06 I don't really have a question for you, just a cautionary tale you might share with your other readers. <Please do> I went to the LFS this past Saturday afternoon to get an easy-to-care-for fish of some kind, saw a pink and green sea cucumber, and made an impulsive last minute change to my plan. Big mistake. HUGE mistake. I later paid your site a visit for a refresher on Cukes. I had forgotten all about them expelling their guts into the water and pondered whether or not I wanted to take it back and see about an exchange It made that decision for me early this morning when it went nuclear and killed all my fish, though the other inverts seem ok. I did a 30% water change this morning and will do a couple more in the next day or so. I'm hitting it with some new charcoal as well. This is a small tank, so it was only three fish. No real financial loss, but it is definitely irritating and embarrassing. I know 99% of the blame falls on me, but I really wish LFS had said something about a critter that dangerous. The money they made on the Cuke is much less than the money they lost by losing me as a customer. <...> As strongly worded as your warning against Cukes is, maybe you should put some skulls and crossbones and biological hazard symbols on it as well. Thanks for maintaining such a great site. It really comes in handy, especially if used prior to a purchase. Thanks, Ty <Thank you for this. Bob Fenner> Pink Cucumber/System
Poisoning - 07/20/06 Dear Bob, <<EricR here this
morning...>> I have a pink cucumber who has been doing relatively
well for approximately a year in my tank. It's not very active but
about a week ago it moved near the overflow box and has become
extremely "squishy" and looks very wrinkled. <<Possibly
just doing a "water change">> It still sticks out its
Feather like tentacles partially from one end and the other end has a
hole that appears to open and close like it is breathing. <<All
good signs>> My question is, is this squishy body a bad sign.
<<Hard to say. In my experience these Holothuroids tend to just
"shrink away" once they are on the decline (usually from
starvation)...unless something has injured/poisoned it>> It used
to be quite solid but now if you touch it you can almost push both
sides together (Not that I've tried). If it is a bad sign what can
you do to try and resuscitate the poor guy. <<Excellent water
quality and adequate feeding>> It's a great addition to my
tank and many people love it as do I. <<I too am a fan of
these...>> I appreciate any help and if you need any other
information let me know. 1.022 salinity <<Would like to see this
increased to 1.025/1.026>> 0 ammonia very low nitrates
<<Mmm...less than 5ppm I hope>> 0 nitrites ph 8.4 55 gallon
with 12 gallon refugium (with mud, mangroves and a little Caulerpa
algae with a max 700 gph pump, UV sterilizer, protein skimmer and a
power compact. I had a slime algae problem but used SlimeBgone and it
was gone in 48 hrs. <<Ughh...a bad practice my friend. Likely the
antibiotic has adversely affected the cucumber...not to mention killing
off bacteria/other micro-biota the cucumber used for food. And, it is
very likely the BGA will only return as you have not addressed the
cause with the antibiotic and rarely is the organism every totally
wiped out>> Corals and everything else seem to be doing fine.
<<We can hope...>> I add snow and phytoplankton about twice
a week and generalize its region. Best regards, Jason <<Cheers,
EricR>> P.S. You guys at WetWebMedia are the most knowledgeable
people around and thanks for all the help you provide. <<Other
"knowledgeable" folks about, but thank you for the praise. It
is our pleasure to help. Eric Russell>> Sea Apple - 3/6/2006 My sea apple had something orange coming from its butt what is this and what should I do? <<There is no information to go on here, so I suggest removing the Apple to QT, keep your water quality pristine, and watch. Sea apples are notorious for fouling whole systems, so removal ASAP is recommended. Lisa.>> Sea apple... disaster - 03/05/06 My sea apple has some type of orange string coming out of her "butt" what is this? What should I do? <Carefully, and I mean with utmost caution, remove this animal INCLUDING this material. Please see here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cukecompfaqs.htm Bob Fenner> Allelopathy, Cuke 2/1/06 Several questions real quick... I have e-mailed you twice with no response, so I wont put a lot in this e-mail in case something happens. If you need more info, please ask :) I have had a Cuke, (Cucumaria sp., family Cucumariidae, order Dendrochirota....pink and green cucumber) for over a year. It was placed in a 150 gal reef set up. It has been doing wonderful! It was feeding normally, etc. I had to do some rearrangement with the live rock in order to add new....that was about 3 weeks ago. Ever since I had done that my tank looks depressing. You know, just the feeling that something isn't right. Water quality was good....tested more than usual just to be sure. My Cuke began looking very different from what it had. It typically had a very strong shape, it's tentacles would extend fully while eating et al. It has its spot up near the top of the tank right beside the current. With the movement of the current it still held strong.....until the rearrangement. It looked like a gooey mass of pink and green with its tentacles barely protruding, one may extend fully. The current looked like it was going to wash it away into nothing. Then it began to shrivel up, looking no bigger than the size of a little pinky finger. The color began to fade and still is. I didn't want any toxic nonsense to take place in my main display, so I moved it last night into a 20 gal set up. The color is still fading and I don't know what is taking place. Have you heard of this happening, and is there any advice you could offer? <Mmm, I think you were smart to move this animal... though as a species it is one of the more innocuous...> I guess I lied about this being quick, sorry.... along with my cucumber's odd behavior.....after I did the rearranging, some of my corals took a beating... I had 10 colt corals, ranging in size (just beginning to grow, to big and beautiful) that died....every single one of them died! <! Their demise is very likely directly related to the lapse in health of the Cucumber... and more> *sigh* the lessons I shall learn. And I had a leather coral which was about the diameter of a baseball...it had had a spot in the center that wasn't doing well to begin with....it is still alive but I don't think it is going to make it...it looks worse, one side may have the chance to make it, could I cut off the dying part or would that cause more stress? <I would move it to another system... stat! If you have one> If I did remove that part how could I go about doing that? <Covered on WWM> Did I witness allelopathy in my tank?! <Of a sort, yes> I am not extremely familiar with this, but I think I've got the gist of it....If there are any resources that talk more about allelopathy could you please refer me to them or tell me of any known websites. Thank you, and sorry for the super long e-mail!!! <This phenomenon is all around us... and a part of every system... and gone over and over on WWM. Put the term in the Google search tool... Bob Fenner> Sea Cucumber In A Reef Tank? - 11/30/05 Sorry, I can hear the groan from here! Yes it's another fool considering adding a sea cucumber to his reef tank - it seems from reading through some of the FAQs on the subject I'd be better off adding a 3 bar electric heater James Bond style to my tank,( "Shocking..."), but I thought I'd ask any way! <<Hah! Not at all...I have a couple Holothuria floridiana in my reef...great little detritivores/sand stirrers.>> A friend has had a yellow cucumber for a while now and it has split into 2 and he has offered me one of his clones. I am still trying to find out exact species but I suspect it is Colochirus robustus. <<If a filter-feeder then yes, likely so.>> How does this species rate on the wipe-out front? <<Not as bad as many...I would add some to my tank but for my Copperband Butterfly.>> Also some more information on it's general requirements would be appreciated. <<Mmm, plenty to eat...lack of aggression from fishes...try a keyword Google search on the net for more detail.>> One of the FAQ answers seems to be saying that some of the smaller species, of which I think Colochirus robustus is, were not the time bombs their larger cousins are. <<Indeed...but some consider even the more toxic Holothuria species to become less so over time in the home aquarium.>> My tank is set up as follows: 5ft by 2ft by 18" tank. 45kg of live rock, 10kg of lava rock - water contents 340 litres after displacement. I have only a cosmetic sprinkling of coral sand on the tank bottom. <<Mmm...A DSB and/or in-line vegetable refugium would be beneficial to keeping Colochirus robustus...something to consider.>> Deltec DCE600 skimmer, Fluval 404 external, Rainbow lifeguard fluidized-bed filter, 4 circulation power heads turning over approximately 3500 litres per hour. Tank has been set up for almost 7 months. SG 1.024 pH 8.2 Phosphate 0.25 mg/l Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 25 mg/l Ca 450 KH 161.1 ppm <<I hope that's 16.1...and still a bit high>> Fish species: 2 Pomacentrus alleni 2 Amphiprion ocellaris 1 Ecsenius midas 1 Neocirrhites armatus 1 Centropyge bicolor Inverts: Various red and blue hermits 1 Lysmata amboinensis 1 Stenopus hispidus Various turbo snails. Corals/Anemones: Sinularia sp. (possibly flexilis) Sarcophyton sp. Various Zoanthus sp. 1 Condylactis gigantea Various mushrooms Any advice appreciated, even if it is of the "don't touch it with a barge pole" variety. <<Not at all. Do your homework/provide for the welfare of the Colochirus robustus and you too will likely have it reproducing in your system.>> Thank you for your time. Bob Mehen. <<Regards, EricR>> Sea apples -Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 11/24/03 Hello I believe I have a Australian Sea Apple, and the other day it was secreting yellow little balls, possibly eggs. <Possible...either way....not good!!!> But the next day 2 of my fish died. <Craaaaaap. Sorry to hear about that. Yes, well, this is why these are not good in mixed aquaria. Either dedicated tanks or not at all my friend.> I was curious if it was from eating those balls. <Absolutely, but just being in the tank with this noxious material would be enough to kill everything in the tank! Doesn't even take eating it. Do read about this on our site.> I did a 90% water change <More frequent water changes with about 30-50% daily might help. 90% percent was probably necessary though. Do read up before purchasing any inhabitant you are to take into your charge. Good luck ~Paul> Echinoderm Aggression (6/23/04) Hello again kind Sirs, <Steve Allen here.> Yesterday I added a Tiger tail Cucumber to my 45 gallon tank (50 lb LR, 5" DSB). Initially he seemed to settle in just fine. I got up a little while ago and took a quick look into the tank. My 2 brittle stars (6''and 8" mottled brown in color) looked like they were trying to pull the Tiger tail Cucumber to pieces. <They probably were trying to eat it. Perhaps they're not getting enough food.> I have never seen this kind of aggression from them and I've had them well over a year. <It does seem odd.> I see no visible damage (yet) to the cucumber but he was definitely having a rough night and it looks like he might have released a little bit of innards. <Uh-oh> I pulled the Brittle stars off and removed the cucumber then placed him into a 5 gallon quarantine tank, <smart> which just has some LR rubble in it. Tomorrow I plan to do a 20% (6 gal.) water change and also change out some of my carbon. <Wise. PolyFilter is useful for removing contaminants too.> How toxic are Tiger tail Cucumbers? <Hard to say. Less than say, sea apples.> Should I be more aggressive with the amount of the water I change? <If everything in there looks good, I doubt you need to get too aggressive as I would have expected a rapid negative effect right after the event. These toxins are fast-acting.> The next thing is I have to figure out what to do with the cucumber. I was planning to install a hang on refugium tomorrow would keeping him in there be an option, I know I'm reaching, but I thought he was pretty cool. <Nurse him back to health in the QT. See if feeding your brittle stars small chunks of shrimp or squid keeps them away from him. I suspect there was something wrong with him in the first place that led them to "attack." I would not expect your average Brittlestar to try to eat a healthy sea cucumber.> Do you have any recommendations on "stocking" the hang on refugium (19"x 12" x 4 ?"). Based on the picture in Reef Inverts (page 66) I was thinking of 1 inch crushed coral plus 3 inches of Carib special grade sand, some LR rubble and then ordering some macro algae (not Caulerpa). <Don't mix sand grades. I'd suggest 3-4 inches of sand and some LR chunk. Chaetomorpha would be your best bet, but I have successfully grown Gracilaria in my AquaFuge. Check www.inlandaquatics.com for an excellent selection and great service. This will make a great environment for 'pods & mysids.> I also have 10 lbs of LS coming in tomorrow (great timing huh) from Walt Smith which I was going to split up between the refugium and the display tank. I was also planning to add a couple of Ceriths and Nassarius snails to the refugium, thoughts? <Small Strombus snails are nice as well and will reproduce. Check www.ipsf.com> Once again, thanks in advance for the guidance. Chuck <Hope this helps.> Butterfly eating a cucumber Hi guys. Let me quickly say first that I am a huge fan. Your website and published material are a magnificent resource - unparalleled, to my knowledge. Furthermore, individuals of your caliber are a credit to the species; your very existence is sublime. Now that I'm through gushing, on to my question. I recently inherited a well established 200 gal reef tank. It was my fathers before me and although I always had a hand in things, I've only recently gotten creative control. One of the first things I did was introduce a pair of Pink & Green Sea Cucumbers (Cucumaria sp., I believe). I'm well aware of the potential danger they pose, but I've loved Holothuroidea since childhood and I simply couldn't resist the chance to finally have some of my own. So far, they seem to be doing quite well. I did a fair amount of research before and after acquiring the pair and have every reason to believe they are quite happy. That is, accept for the following. Amongst others, the tank contains a Butterfly Tang that's been with us for quite some time. My father was very fond of this fish (despite the obvious) and I would hate to see anything happen to him, so I became a little worried when he took a chomp out of one of the cucumbers. Fortunately, nothing catastrophic happened. Having read your Cukes guide I assumed it was an isolated incident: "Only the very hungriest and naive fish will (re-)try chomping on a Sea Cucumber." However, he seems to have developed a taste for them! << Very odd. >> Whenever they expose their tentacles to filter for too long, he'll take a bite out of one! << Oh I gotcha ya'. Yah I can see that happening. I wouldn't worry much about it, and would hope the Cuke learns. >> It goes without saying this has me quite concerned. I mean, sooner or later won't one of them simply get feed up and napalm the whole jungle? << Well that would be terrible, but honestly I've never known anyone who had that happen. >> Baring that, won't the Butterfly get sick? << I don't believe so. Here is why. If it is indeed toxic, logic would say he'll stop eating them. I think that may just happen. >> I feed him plenty, so I doubt he's doing it out of hunger. In any event, what do you suggest? << Nothing really. I think you leave them be and see what happens. I don't know if there is anything you can do. >> I've been keeping the cucumbers alive by supplying them with plenty of liquid plankton whenever the Butterfly is busy feeding on his usual frozen favorites far from the Cukes corner. << Great idea. >> Speaking of which, is it possible to over feed them in this way? << No, and live phyto is always good for the rest of the system as well. >> Not that I could ever distract Madam Butterfly long enough to do so, but I could happily watch them stuff themselves all day. Anyway, I sure could use some advice. I really don't want to get ride of either party, but is there anything else I can do? Thanks for your time. << Just let them work it out. >> << Blundell >> Cucumber & Crab Question Hello Bob. I was just reading over your "Crabs for Marine Aquarium" article trying to ID a little guy I found hitchhiking on my new Tigertail Cucumber; low and behold, it would appear you've encountered this precise situation before. Apparently, I have a Lissocarcinus sp. just like the one in your photo (from N. Sulawesi). <Neat> Although I can not tell for certain from the image, it appears to be the same kind of cucumber. The crab seems quite intent on staying with the cucumber both in your photo and my tank. Thus I am very curious about the relationship between my two new guests. Would you happen to know more about it? Is it perhaps symbiotic? Parasitic? Or just a coincidence? Thanks for your time. <Very likely this is more of a commensal to mutualistic relationship... with at least the crab benefiting (getting towed about, likely avoiding some types of predation) and not harming the Cucumber host. Bob Fenner> Cucumber and huge worm compatibility Hello. Me again. Sorry
to keep bothering you, but I've just made what might be a relevant
discovery pertaining to the matter about which I have sought your
esteemed aid. After writing that last email, I went to go check on the
Tigertail (it is presently night time here) and was shocked to find a
monster of a Bristol Worm on top of him! Now, I don't use the word
monster lightly: the exposed part of this worm had to be at least a
couple feet! Although it moved very rapidly back under a nearby rock
from which it had extended, the thing was so long I got a pretty good
look at it. I think it was a Hermodice canunculata based on your
pictures, or perhaps just something closely related. I've noticed
smaller versions (a couple inches max) living in some sort of plant
ticket in turn within a small forest of Spaghetti Finger Leather Coral.
The Leathers have always been quite boisterous, so I assumed they
weren't the kind of Fire Worm I had to worry about, but now this
monster seems to have taken an interest in my cucumber and that has me
worried. Sea apple eviscerated... I'm forwarding you my UseNet question because I was told you may have an answer: Anyone know how to best care for a sea apple that has eviscerated it's internal organs. The tank is fine, the water isn't polluted with any chemicals that seem to be stressing the other inhabitants, but the poor apple looks to be in bad shape. the organs are still attached because no one seems to know if I should remove them. Any suggestions would be a great help. Thanks for any help you can provide, Dave P. >> Do move the animal into separate quarters... and don't attempt to remove any of the eviscerated mass... It may be re-inserted... but you don't want it dissolving, breaking up in your main tank. Bob Fenner Sea Cukes the reef relief packages offered by FFExpress contain sea Cukes, should I opt for something else or are these Cukes safe? also are there any other animals that will eat or remove detritus from sand? thank you. <Most of the very small species of Holothuroids sold for this purpose are relatively safe... and there are many other choices... Please see the "Sand Sifters, FAQs" section on our website: www.WetWebMedia.com Bob Fenner> Cucumber: Good news & Bad news.... Good morning Bob, hope all is well with you. I have been using the method we discussed with setting up my water changes a week before I do them, and that is working out very well!! I can see the difference in my corals, too. Everything seems to be much better off for not using the water conditioner. Thanks for your help with that!! <Ahh, very good.> But now I have another concern. I have either heard or read someplace that Sea Apples can kill off your whole aquarium if they happen to die in there. <Yes... in point of fact, they don't even have to die...> I have what was sold to me as an "Australian Sea Apple". Everything was fine with this animal until 2 days ago, when it got accidentally burned by my heater. It is a pretty good burn, too. The site has flaked off and is hanging. It's up near where he opens up to extend his tentacles. He got burned once about a year ago, and healed up fine but he managed to do it again to himself. I'm concerned about the rest of my community if he doesn't make it. Is this a valid concern?? <Yes, a valid concern... is this Cucumber large? Red, white and blue? Please read over the section on Sea Cucumbers, and compare the images placed there on the site: www.WetWebMedia.com> I have since purchased a new heater, one that is shrouded to protect the animals, and is controlled with a remote thermostat. <Very good> Thank you for your time!! Pat Marren <Do read over the WWM site and associated FAQs, and keep an eye on your other livestock... especially the fishes... will show dramatic and quick changes in behavior (gasping), swimming erratically (at first, last...)... I would move them (the non Sea Apple livestock) IMMEDIATELY if you observe this... Bob Fenner> Re: Good news & Bad news.... Sea Cuke Bob, the one I have is just like the one first pictured on your web site, the red white & blue one. it is a pretty good sized one, too. Should I panic?? What should I do with it???!!!! Pat Marren <No panic... but I would trade it in... too much potential for a large problem... have seen this species take out many, many systems. Bob Fenner> Re: Good news & Bad news.... Hmmmmm......do you think in it's injured state that it's liable to poison my tank?? It is moving around like normal and extending it's tentacles to feed. I am really concerned about this whole thing. Do you think he's in pain?? <No pain... these animals are absolutely amazing in their regenerative properties... as you might imagine... what else could they do if some animal wanted to sample them? Swim away?> Hey, how would you like a slightly used sea apple.......free!!!! <Oh no you don't! Thanks for the offer though. Bob Fenner> Pat Marren Cucumbers Hello, I recently purchased a pink and black cucumber and 2 impatiens cucumbers from FFExpress. I then came across an article that cucumbers can expel their guts and kill all the fish in a tank. Does this apply to all kinds of cucumbers? <To a degree yes.> Are the ones I purchased safe? <Much more so than the few of their kin that are many times their size (the so-called Sea Apples in particular)> I definitely want to keep fish so if there is a chance of them expelling their guts and releasing poison then I might just remove them. Thanks for your help. Cathy <I would leave these in place. If this system is any size (forty or more gallons) and adequately filtered, circulated and the tankmates not likely to "bother" these Cukes there is acceptably small chance of a problem here. Bob Fenner> A little extra help Hello Mr. Fenner! I love your web site! About three hours ago I asked for some help on WetWebFotos and got a few prompt responses. I love that site too!! <Yes. Very kind, involved people, with much to share> I asked about my Sea Apple. I know, I know, bad choice. I know that now! Read all that was written on your web site. If you could read my post (under 911, only post, I'm XBranX) and tell me what you think I would be grateful. It's not necessary though. :) I am writing you to ask if there is some fish/invert./coral that must come with a warning to the retailer? <None that I know of.> I don't think my LFS knew of the potential danger when they sold it to me. Maybe I am deluding myself. I am just wondering if the livestock they get or that they sell must come with some sort of warning? I hope I explained myself well enough. Thanks for a wonderful site Brandon <Thank you for your kind words. The "nature" of the industry is that there is so much to know, so little time, so few opportunities of effective communication that "what we all know collectively" is enormous compared with the intersection of what most folks in the trade know individually. The "average" (mean) marine hobbyist is in the interest for less than a year... retailers less than two... said but so. Bob Fenner, who hopes the Internet will come to be an important, easy, inexpensive, fast vehicle for solving such ills/shortcomings> Pseudocolchirus oxiolugus I am looking for any info on the Australian sea apple Pseudocolchirus oxiolugus I have found next to nothing on the animal. Can you help me out? thanks Brian <A risky choice for pet-fish use. Please read re this and related species of Sea Cucumbers on our site: http://WetWebMedia.Com/seacukes.htm And related FAQs page. This species goes under other scientific names btw. Bob Fenner> New and Misadvised Hi Robert, and thank you for tanking the time to read my mail.. <Jason... Anthony Calfo here, answering Bob's mail while he has been away in the far East perfecting his new found love for expressing himself through the performance art of belly-dancing> I am new to the salt water hobby, but I am very excited, and trying very hard not to get discouraged, but lighting my tank is making it very hard. <hang in there, bud...really no big deal> Right now I have a 75 gallon tank, that has a pink and purple tip anemone, carpet anemone, and a Sebae anemone. <new problem... anemones are very hostile/competitive with each other (allelopathy). The may look fine for some months, but be assured there is silent warfare going on. Mixing different species in the same tank is fatal to one or all in the two-year picture or sooner. Especially with a tiger like the carpet anemone... well documented. You must separate these animals in the near future in my opinion for their optimum survival in captivity> I also have a sea apple cucumber, <Jason... fire whoever told you to put a sea apple in your tank and perhaps insult them (joking) if they were the same counsel who suggested that you mix anemone species too. Sea Apples are VERY difficult to sustain and one of the worst animals for a beginner. It is unethical or at least inappropriate for this animal to have been sold to you. They may exude a toxin under stress (fish nipping, temperature increase, etc.) that can kill most or all other animals in your tank. I'm sorry to say. It sounds to me like you will be less likely to be discouraged in this hobby if you gather more information on your animal selections before you buy them. Kudos to you for trying so now. Keep up the good work... read some good books like the Conscientious Marine Aquarist and stop shopping at stores that regularly give your such shameful advice> star pulps, and brown mushroom's (which are doing well, but are definitely stretching for more light). <hardy and excellent choices> I also have some live rocks that are growing some other anemone like creature's, and some fan like thing's. Overall I think the tanks doing well. my question is with so many light out there what would be the best light's for me, I'm trying to put together a reef tank with both soft and hard corals. <but not mixed with anemones... a surefire disaster> I look at all these web sites and they have all these light's for five or so hundred dollars, there's no way I can afford that.. I'm looking for something around two or so hundred. <might be tough to fit that bill if your long-term goal is a reasonably well-stocked tank with hard and soft corals. You may have to wait on the inverts until you can afford the lights. Then... 400-600 watts of VHO or PC lights split between daylight and blue colors should work well for most beginner type corals> thanks again for your help in advance. any other pointers or info would be greatly appreciated. <very best luck to you... kindly, Anthony> sincerely Jason Schrecengost Sea Cucumber Slough <Jon.. Anthony Calfo here answering for Bob while he is away in LA interviewing for a controversial new position as a male Victoria's Secret catalog model> one of the many cucumbers I have in my tank is what was said to be a hairy cucumber. it probably is since my LFS guy rarely makes a mistake. anyways, the question is do cucumbers exfoliate their skin? <sloughing is common particularly after a stress/move> the hairy cucumber appears to be 'shedding' its skin. I currently have a Cyanobacteria problem that is raging throughout my tank but the Cyano bacteria is dark red while the exfoliate is white. <entirely unrelated> it kind of looks like a colony of bacteria, which is why I mention the Cyano. regardless I took a turkey baster and gave it a few good blasts and removed most of the 'skin' which the mechanical filters promptly sucked up. <with the mildly to wildly toxic nature of various sea cucumbers, it is a bad habit to allow the noxious secretion to degrade in the system (the same applies especially to coral slough)... even if in a filter. No real problem expected, it's just not good husbandry> right now I'm thinking that its growing and doing a kind of molting. all of my cucumbers are fat on Cyano bacteria as of late. thanks. Jon Trowbridge <Rock on, Jon. Anthony> Pink and Green sea cucumber Dear Mr. Fenner, I recently made the mistake of purchasing a pink and green cucumber (one that matches the picture of the two cucumbers that you have on the bottom of your cucumber page in which you stated more generally works out) before reading your page on cucumbers. Now that I have read it, I am sort of in a panic mode about their capabilities for wiping out an entire tank. How prone are these specific cucumbers to releasing their toxins, <Mmm, a possibility... should they be sufficiently stressed... and the system relatively small... and/or poorly filtered... water quality otherwise impugned...> and what should I look for besides spilling their guts out which are signs that they will soon release their toxins. <Not moving, discoloration, vacuolations (missing areas)... other livestock "acting funny"> Should I just get rid of it right now? <Up to you... see above and WetWebMedia.com FAQs on Cukes... a calculable risk> The place that I bought it at do not accept returns so it would just go to waste. Thank you. I look forward to your reply. <Could be traded with others...> P.S. FFExpress sells this as pink and green cucumbers too, knowing their dangers, why do they not put this cucumber on the restricted list? <Mmm, you'd have to ask them... All life forms have their inherent potential to "cause troubles"... some more overtly than others... Bob Fenner> Interesting but Deadly Critters? Hello Bob/Gentlemen, <I'm not sure if I resemble that remark, but thanks kindly anyways...Anthony Calfo in your service> I have a few questions regarding a package of invertebrates that I am interested in adding to my 90 gallon reef tank. The package includes: - 2x - tropical abalones <most heinously excellent creatures...very good algae scavenger> - 2x - Mithrax crabs <OK> - 1x - impatiens cucumbers (Holothuria impatiens) - 1x - tiger tail cucumber (Holothuria hilla) - 1x - pink and black cucumber (Holothuria edulis) <hello cucumberville!> - 1x - red Fromia star (Fromia sp.) <very good...Fromia are much better captives than Linckia species> I searched through your website for related articles and FAQ as well as other publications, and the consensus is the lethal potential of cucumbers "eviscerating" and then wiping out the entire tank. <ya... that is troubling> While I certainly do not want that to happen, I noticed you (Bob) cited in one of your FAQ that the species of cucumbers mentioned above have a lesser potential of eviscerating. <have you never been a victim of Murphy's law? Hehe...> Having said that, should I go ahead and purchase the cucumbers or eliminate the them from my selection? <if you do not have a distinct passion or need for sea cucumbers, please don't bother to take the risk. There are plenty of other detritivores out there. For simply diatom reduction and sand sifting...consider a goatfish, they are great and very underrated > Secondly, with regard to the red Fromia star and Mithrax crab, what is the likelihood of them bothering/eating my corals? <low risk...worth it if you like. Although the Mithrax are not the most diligent members of any janitorial crew> Lastly, will the above mentioned livestock cohabitate with my existing livestock? Tank Conditions: - Inhabitants include: yellow tang, purple tang, male flame wrasse, 2x - female flame wrasse, an assortment of soft and hard corals, black brittle stars, cleaner shrimps, snails, and hermit crabs. - Water parameters: Spg - 1.026, carbon hardness - 10dKH, calcium - 420 ppm, ammonia - 0ppm, nitrite - 0ppm, nitrates - < 2.5ppm, phosphate - < .03ppm, magnesium - 1350ppm, temperature - constant at 78 degree, and pH - 8.2 (this may be attributable to my calcium reactor, the CO2 could be suppressing the pH value). - Filtration: 120 pounds of live rock, and a hybrid 30 gallon ecosystem/ETS skimmer sump. <compatibility is likely to be fine...but the pH is indeed a bit low. A very beneficial and convenient correction for this is a second media reactor for the effluent of your calc reactor. Tempers the pH and maintains extraordinary alkalinity> My reef has been running well for the past two years; I wanted to add the above invertebrates for interest and maintenance values. I want to thank you in advance for your time and effort. Your website is a great value/tool to all hobbyist to learn and share! <thank you very kindly.. and for what it's worth, a second skimmer and/or better water flow would negate the maintenance needs of such a minor crew of detritivores. Anthony Calfo> Best, Dan Poisonous Invert questions Hi, Thanks for the wealth of info on your site! I have learned so much while researching for my first marine tank. I plan on setting up a live rock/small fish/basic invert system. (No corals of anemones) I love sea cucumbers, but everything I have read about keeping them has discouraged me from getting one. Are there any species available in the aquarium trade that wouldn't pose any threat to my whole system with poison? I've heard some real horror stories about certain kinds! I'd sure like one, but don't want to worry about poison/toxins. <honestly a hard question to answer fairly... poisonous animals don't go about the everyday randomly squirting toxins around (unless we are talking about gaseous Homo sapiens co-workers that drink too much beer). So even the toxic sea cucumbers in this case are of little risk if you plan the tank sensibly... protect pump intakes, guard from aggressive or inappropriate tank mates, maintain good water quality, etc.). And so, without triggers or attempts to pass them through the intake strainer of a power head you have little to worry about. Indeed, they are somewhat more of a risk with consideration for random unforeseen acts (3 day power outage, failure of heater/chiller... although this can be shored by extra heater, cheap alarms (even inexpensive ones like x-10 modules that can call you if the alarm is tripped), etc. So how much of a risk with toxins are you willing to take to keep mandarins, Soapfish, boxfish, sea cucumbers and more? Long story short... the "safer" sea cucumbers are the less colorful ones. Specifically... sea apples are more toxic. And by the way... not all sea cucumbers are sea apples but all sea apples are sea cucumbers. Hmmmmm? Yes, do pursue the less colorful species and research their husbandry as well...some are detritivores that need very fine sand, some are filter feeders (tough to keep usually)> Lastly, I would love to include a pencil urchin in my tank, but have recently come into info that they too can release poison into your system. How likely is this, and how much potential threat could they cause to a small tank, say around 40 gallons or so? <I have not read that common pencil urchins have any significant toxin if at all. They are known to be extremely safe even if killed or dead in aquaria regarding some so-called toxin. Keep in mind though, that this is one of the few Urchins that is not largely herbivorous! They need meaty fare to survive> Would it be wise of me to avoid an urchin due to it's poisonous abilities? I would prefer to avoid any worries with poisons in my system. <you may need to avoid most or all sea cucumbers then. The poisonous urchins by the way that I am aware are not slate/pencil species> My apologies if I overlooked this info on your site, and thanks a bunch for your time! Jeff Rogers <best regards, Anthony> |
|
|
Features: |
|
| Featured Sponsors: |
