How much do sea cucumbers actually help?

bubbaque · May 1, 2017

I currently have a couple conchs but they don't really do anything and some nassarius snails. I am thinking about adding a sea cucumber to help keep the sand looking a little cleaner. How well do they help? How many do I need for a 180 gl?

tario · May 1, 2017

I was thinking of adding one myself.

justjes45 · May 1, 2017

I have no clue, but mine is fun to watch.

Theo15 · May 1, 2017

they help alot but they are hard to keep alive ,mine sadly passed after six months ,it started to melt away in the tank ,I took him out before the toxins it was producing got out for control ....

AlexG · May 2, 2017

I have had some great experiences with cucumbers for sand cleaning. The tiger tail cucumber in my last tank split and I did not even know i until started taking my tank down. They eat the dirty sand and poop out clean sand on the other end. Normally they will target the dirtiest parts of the sand under or around rocks first. They are fairly easy to keep and unless a fish is really bothering them or they are visibly dying there is a minimal risk of them releasing toxins in the water. For a 180 I would start with one or two and see the impact they are making. Another good addition to clean the sand would be some sand starfish. I am not sure how old your tank is but it should be about 4-6 months old before adding these animals to ensure there is enough food for them.

Daniel@R2R · May 2, 2017

Following this discussion. I wonder if @Lionfish Lair or anyone else on the #reefsquad has some input.

3mm3 · May 2, 2017

I have kept one in every tank. Mine have always lasted the entire lifespan of the reef tank. My current system has a tiger tail. Over 3 years so far.
As for how effective he is I have no clue but he constantly eats. I have been getting slightly worried as mine has reached a very big size.

redfishbluefish · May 2, 2017

I've had both a tiger's tail and a red and black. Between the two, the red and black did the better job, but not as good as a diamond goby. The diamond goby had the sand white-white within two days....but you do have to put up with sand being moved all over the place.

Hyde2406 · May 2, 2017

Mine get huge too eat lots of left overs, I would try and add a horseshoe crab I had one in my 90 gallon and it totally kept the sand clean, my tank now isn't big enough

, fighting conch should be totally cleaning up, wonder why they aren't doing their jobs?

bubbaque · May 2, 2017

I am not sure I had enough conchs with only having two of them and one I never really seen more far from it's area. My local fish stores didn't have any cucumbers, so I bought four more conchs. I hope to see an improvement over the next few days.

Hyde2406 · May 2, 2017

When your ready to get cucumbers I like kp aquatics great prices and cool stuff

Bob Escher · May 2, 2017

redfishbluefish said:
I've had both a tiger's tail and a red and black. Between the two, the red and black did the better job, but not as good as a diamond goby. The diamond goby had the sand white-white within two days....but you do have to put up with sand being moved all over the place.

Yeah my Goby moves my sand around constantly. He even puts it back where it came from. He also moves shells, matrix rocks ( I had originally had in a corner for copepods) it's amazing if we didn't love him so much he be gone

Tradevg · May 2, 2017

I have a yellow watchman goby it swims to the top to compete for food when I feed the tank. Rarely do I see it filtering the sand.

Bob Escher · May 2, 2017

I have one as well and he rarely goes three inches off the sand but a diamond watchman is another story
Take a look

VbReefer · May 3, 2017

I love my cucumbers. Poop clean sand pellets all day long. I have a black and 2 Browns in my 210. Will be getting a tiger soon

Diamond gobies are one of my favorites. they are machines; and seem to do the best of all the sifters IMO.
Just yanked out a yellow head sleeper goby cause he didn't clean as good, and would take sand up into the water column and drop it everywhere. I haven't ever experienced that with any of my diamonds.

Bottom line...sea cucumbers are awesome additions to your clean up crew!

Isaac Alves · May 3, 2017

Plus 1 on the diamond sand Goby. My sand has been white he's moved in months ago.

midtnmike41 · May 3, 2017

I just had a tiger tail go through my powerhead. It was only in the tank a week and was starting to look skinny. I was going to pull it the next morning if it still looked bad. But I got up and it was all over the tank. Luckily no ill effects. My tank is about 2 years old with a 2in sand bed so I'm sure there is plenty of food there. Maybe I got a defective cucumber. I might try another one one day. I never see them at my lfs. Where is a good reputable place to get a good one?

laga77 · May 3, 2017

Mine has lasted 2.5 years. Not really sure how much it helps though.

zieg9479 · May 3, 2017

I've had one for 6 mo or so now. At this point it serves more as a curiosity. I think my twin spot goby does more work and the cuke is always wedging himself into the most tight spaces popping off otherwise very secure frags from the rocks.
When I did a tank move, I think we almost perished. He had black spots and hermit crabs were picking at him but he recovered and the skin healed.. I'd have to admit that the cucumber seems to be one tough bugger, surviving getting stuck in the overflow, a rock collapse, among other things.

kentofms · May 3, 2017

bubbaque said:
I currently have a couple conchs but they don't really do anything and some nassarius snails. I am thinking about adding a sea cucumber to help keep the sand looking a little cleaner. How well do they help? How many do I need for a 180 gl?

When I was diving in Alabama, I saw some cucumbers doing some serious sifting with their tentacles. Unfortunately they were the size of a cat.