sea cucumber question

H

HELIREEFER

how many of you out there keep sea cucumbers sucessfully and are there and disadvantages or things to be concerned about?
I was thinking about getting on for my mixed reef
 
Russell, I have a tiger tail cuke in my main tank. They're not toxic like some of the other holothuroids.

Basically they fall into two main categories- the filter feeders and the sand eaters. The filter feeders are harder to keep, because like any other filter feeder, you have to have enough small particulate matter in the water to sustain them. They eat both phyto and zooplankton.

The sand eating ones are easier to keep, if you have a deep enough sand bed and a bioload that creates enough detrius. The tiger tail does get big, though, and needs to find a new home once they get 2-3x their original size.

(Mine started out as about 4" long and is now about 20" long.)

One other thing is that there's a rule of thumb for choosing these guys- the uglier they look, the less toxic they are. The brightly colored ones (sea apple, pink spiny) can wipe out a tank.
 
thanks scott, once again you are huge trove of information in this hobby. I appreciate the detailed post. As it were, i did like the colorful pink ones, but not anymore. It's not worth the risk!!!!! i have too much in the tanks livestock to make a careless mistake

thank you
 
No problem! I can heartily recommend the florida common and the tiger tail. I think Tom (Dalaitom) has another species. Maybe he can chime in on them.
 
I'll second the "Get an ugly cucumber, not a pretty one"...

I've got 3 of 'em in my tank... They're great detrivores, constantly eating the top layer of sand, cleaning it, and pooping out pellets of cleaned sand...
 
@Ashlar wrote:
No problem! I can heartily recommend the florida common and the tiger tail. I think Tom (Dalaitom) has another species. Maybe he can chime in on them. said:
I have three and I think mine are all the Florida common species. One has some yellow coloration but the other two are various shades of brown/tan.
The one I keep in my fuge with the macro is my largest and I can observe it at any time since it has no hiding places.
However, the other two are in my display and I rarely see them, Once they get into the rockwork, they are extremely difficult to spot. About the only time I see them is when looking in the tank after all the lights have gone off.
I highly recommend these creatures if you have the right setup.
If your tank is extremely clean and you never overfeed your fish, then you probably should not get a cuke.
However, if you're like most people and overfeed your tank on a regular basis, then these guys can be a valuable part of your cleanup crew.
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