Please help ID this half clam and what to do

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 16, 2023

Hello, I have these in my 40 gal. Have a new 220 gal that is finally setup. Wanted to transfer the good rock with Coralline into new tank but not sure what this is and if it's a pest?
Also, I have a few Asteria stars, almost don't want to move rock to new tank because of these. What are my options if I want to keep a Sand Sifting star but get rid of the Asteria is that possible?
Thank you!

KrisReef · Oct 16, 2023

That would be a limpet, algae grazer and generally considered a good thing to have.

blaxsun · Oct 16, 2023

You'll basically never see sand sifting starfish (they bury and remain in the sand 23/7).

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 16, 2023

blaxsun said:
You'll basically never see sand sifting starfish (they bury and remain in the sand 23/7).

I had one before and loved it. Seemed to keep sand cleaner. Is there something better I can use like Nassarius snail and a blenny or goby? Only problem with sand Sifting fish I heard they can cause havoc never had one in my 40 obviously.

blaxsun · Oct 17, 2023

I have black sea cucumbers.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 17, 2023

blaxsun said:
I have black sea cucumbers.

I was thinking of those but how hard are they to care for? I'm worried about them stressing or dying and releasing the toxins.

blaxsun · Oct 17, 2023

FreshSaltyGuy said:
I was thinking of those but how hard are they to care for? I'm worried about them stressing or dying and releasing the toxins.

Black sea cucumbers are super easy to care for. They're active on the sand bed 24/7. In almost 4 years I've yet to have one get stressed, die or attacked. At least for black sea cucumbers the whole toxin/death thing is over-exaggerated.

kevgib67 · Oct 17, 2023

FreshSaltyGuy said:
I had one before and loved it. Seemed to keep sand cleaner. Is there something better I can use like Nassarius snail and a blenny or goby? Only problem with sand Sifting fish I heard they can cause havoc never had one in my 40 obviously.

Conches are great. I have two tiger conches, four nassarius snails and a diamond watchman goby. I never have to touch the sand.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 19, 2023

kevgib67 said:
Conches are great. I have two tiger conches, four nassarius snails and a diamond watchman goby. I never have to touch the sand.

How big is your tank @kevgib67 ? I have 1 conche now and 4 nassarius snails as well, I was going to get a watchman goby but after hearing how gobies can turn the tank upsidedown with sand evereywhere it kind of freaked me out lol. My new tank is 220 gal. so I know I'm going to need a lot more Nassarius snails and more CUC compared to my 40.

Ordovician_Reef · Oct 19, 2023

blaxsun said:
Black sea cucumbers are super easy to care for. They're active on the sand bed 24/7. In almost 4 years I've yet to have one get stressed, die or attacked. At least for black sea cucumbers the whole toxin/death thing is over-exaggerated.

Where is a good source for these, unless you got them at a LFS?

kevgib67 · Oct 19, 2023

It is a 32g, I was just going to have one conch but after not having seen my original for a month I got another one. Within seconds after placing the new one in the original came flying out of the sand. I think they are in love. My diamond goby was a little messy the first month or two but once it made its permanent burrow it chilled and I haven’t had a problem since. I’ve had him/her for a year and 7 months. I suppose all fish have their own personalities.

Kasrift · Oct 19, 2023

kevgib67 said:
It is a 32g, I was just going to have one conch but after not having seen my original for a month I got another one. Within seconds after placing the new one in the original came flying out of the sand. I think they are in love. My diamond goby was a little messy the first month or two but once it made its permanent burrow it chilled and I haven’t had a problem since. I’ve had him/her for a year and 7 months. I suppose all fish have their own personalities.

Hahaha I did the exact same thing. So I have two tiger conches. Luckily though, my old 10g quarantine is now a softie frag tank, so I can throw the conches in there and I move them back and forth based on which needs the cleaning.

kevgib67 · Oct 19, 2023

Kasrift said:
Hahaha I did the exact same thing. So I have two tiger conches. Luckily though, my old 10g quarantine is now a softie frag tank, so I can throw the conches in there and I move them back and forth based on which needs the cleaning.

Did yours pop out of the sand immediately also? Pheromones must be at play! Here’s my original waving hello.

Kasrift · Oct 19, 2023

kevgib67 said:
Did yours pop out of the sand immediately also? Pheromones must be at play! Here’s my original waving hello.

Exactly what it did. I'm like dude... You've been MIA for 5 weeks in a 32 gallon tank. What dimension did you go to.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 19, 2023

kevgib67 said:
It is a 32g, I was just going to have one conch but after not having seen my original for a month I got another one. Within seconds after placing the new one in the original came flying out of the sand. I think they are in love. My diamond goby was a little messy the first month or two but once it made its permanent burrow it chilled and I haven’t had a problem since. I’ve had him/her for a year and 7 months. I suppose all fish have their own personalities.

So I read that black sea cucumbers are "expert" level care? Is that true? I don't consider myself there yet or close for that matter.

kevgib67 · Oct 19, 2023

That is a critter I’ve avoided because if they die they can nook a tank. According to @blaxsun my worries are over hyped and he considers them easy. I defer to @blaxsun as he knows much more and has experience with them.

blaxsun · Oct 19, 2023

Ordovician_Reef said:
Where is a good source for these, unless you got them at a LFS?

I got mine at an LFS. I have two teeny ones that don't seem to grow much and another two that are over a foot in length when stretched out.

blaxsun · Oct 19, 2023

kevgib67 said:
That is a critter I’ve avoided because if they die they can nook a tank. According to @blaxsun my worries are over hyped and he considers them easy. I defer to @blaxsun as he knows much more and has experience with them.

I initially had the same reservations when I got mine, but I've since had both tiger tails (nocturnal) and pink and green cucumbers (filter feeders) die without anything even remotely amiss in my tank. And considering I don't do water changes...

I have been "webbed" by one of the larger black ones when I tried to move him off a rock (apparently he didn't like that). They jettison a sticky substance which is actual an organ. This apparently stops predators in their tracks (possibly why none of the hermit or sally lightfoot crabs have ever given the black sea cucumbers a second look).

The crab is like totally not helping things...

The video really (really) doesn't do it justice. The best description I can give you is like getting sprayed with a handful of insta-drying super glue in a sticky, tacky web. I let my black sea cucumbers do whatever the heck they want now.

kevgib67 · Oct 19, 2023

blaxsun said:
I initially had the same reservations when I got mine, but I've since had both tiger tails (nocturnal) and pink and green cucumbers (filter feeders) die without anything even remotely amiss in my tank. And considering I don't do water changes...

I have been "webbed" by one of the larger black ones when I tried to move him off a rock (apparently he didn't like that). They jettison a sticky substance which is actual an organ. This apparently stops predators in their tracks (possibly why none of the hermit or sally lightfoot crabs have ever given the black sea cucumbers a second look).

The crab is like totally not helping things...

The video really (really) doesn't do it justice. The best description I can give you is like getting sprayed with a handful of insta-drying super glue in a sticky, tacky web. I let my black sea cucumbers do whatever the heck they want now.

Wow, the Spider-Man of the sea. I had read about that but never saw it, thanks for sharing. Ya I heard about the nuking the tank back in the 90’s or 2000’s and never gave them a thought. I should have looked into them more especially when getting back in to the hobby l learned that the holy grail of zero phosphates and nitrates wasn’t a thing. So much has changed.

ISpeakForTheSeas · Oct 19, 2023

Yeah, I've only heard of a couple of instances where a "cuke nuke" actually took place despite knowing multiple instances of cucumbers ejecting either a toxic fluid, their organs, or their cuvierian tubules, so it's definitely not a common event (at least not with sand sifting species). That said, keep in mind that the toxicity varies from one species to the next, and some species are more toxic in certain ways (some are more toxic when they expel toxins in some way, others contain more toxin in their body wall, etc.), and various circumstances (such as water volume, skimmers, running carbon or not, etc.) about the aquarium they're in can determine how much harm the toxin causes.

Personally, I'd say they generally seem pretty safe, but you need to be aware of the (relatively low) risk and have a plan in place to handle it if things go awry.

The cuke nukings:

EMERGENCY - Anemone Toxin / Sea Cucumber Toxin

Hi! Unfortunately, this morning I woke up to all my fish deceased, the sea cucumber and anemone also dead, with some gooey like slime stuck in my return pump. All of my crabs and snails are alive including my pom-pom, Anemone Crab and my Conchs, critters I thought to be extremely sensitive...

www.reef2reef.com

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1557506321000483

An instance of ejecting a fluid (nothing seemed to have been harmed in the tank, but this stuff is reportedly toxic):

EMERGENCY - New Black Sea Cucumber Red Stuff

Hey all, I recently got a black sea cucumber. I acclimated it with the drip method, and after a day it is now expelling this stuff. I've ready a lot about the toxicity, but I'm not sure if I should pull him now or not. All my SPS and fish seem to be fine.

www.reef2reef.com