What's YOUR Experience with Sea Cucumbers for CUC?

[dangles]

Sea cucumbers get a lot of bad press. At least from what I've read. Some say they release toxins when they die, but I've also heard that's BS and they just release a bunch of nutrients that spike your levels and crash your tank, and the people who have problems are people who introduce them into a tank that's too young to support their nutritional needs.

So what's your experience?

 

[Borat]

Better to buy normal cucumber for your burger..

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

my yellow sea cucumber mostly just sits under a rock, I don't think it cleans much.

Personally, I haven't been able to google even one case of someone's tank crashing because a sea cucumber died. With lots of warnings but no actual cases, I call it a myth.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Not every cuke will nuke upon death; As far as I know, that trait belongs exclusively to certain filter feeders (like the sea apple). I have had tiger tails and Florida cukes die in my tanks with no side effects.
I think they are highly valuable CUC. They actually eat the detritus, as opposed to just stirring it up like conchs or nassarius, and since they lack a skeleton, they can get into the smallest of cracks to do their work. I have had to trouble with semi-aggressive wrasses or triggers bothering them either.
My current cuke is one of the pacific black & pink varieties, and it's honestly my favorite one so far. It is out working all hours of the day, mostly on the sand but also in the rocks a bit. It isn't bothered by hermits or asterinas climbing on it, and does a fantastic job keeping my sand pearly white.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

my yellow sea cucumber mostly just sits under a rock, I don't think it cleans much.

Personally, I haven't been able to google even one case of someone's tank crashing because a sea cucumber died. With lots of warnings but no actual cases, I call it a myth.

Yeah, "cuke nukes" are extremely rare:

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

 

[musel101]

What do you say it filters the water at the same speed that a clam would?

 

[dangles]

What do you say it filters the water at the same speed that a clam would?

If I’m not mistaken they’re more for cleaning the sand bed

 

[musel101]

If I’m not mistaken they’re more for cleaning the sand bed there is certain types of filter the water as well. I just looked it up on Wikipedia.

If I’m not mistaken they’re more for cleaning the sand bed

I guess there’s some that also filter water

 

[dangles]

my yellow sea cucumber mostly just sits under a rock, I don't think it cleans much.

Personally, I haven't been able to google even one case of someone's tank crashing because a sea cucumber died. With lots of warnings but no actual cases, I call it a myth.

Sanjay Joshi has talked about cucumbers nuking his tank I believe 3 different times. I can’t find them at the moment but he’s talked about it a few times on RB

Edit - that’s the only first person account I’ve heard though

 

[musel101]

Sanjay Joshi has talked about
cucumbers nuking his tank I believe 3 different times. I can’t find them at the moment but he’s talked about it a few times on RB

Edit - that’s the only first person account I’ve heard though

But are they worth it?

 

[dangles]

But are they worth it?

That's what I'm trying to decide. I've "heard" a lot of stories, but not from the people who have actually experienced it. Always second/third-hand. That seems to be what everybody else is saying too. Possibly more myth than reality?

Those who have actually had them seem to love them. They're supposedly some of the best sand bed cleaners out there. Right up there with abalone!

 

[musel101]

That's what I'm trying to decide. I've "heard" a lot of stories, but not from the people who have actually experienced it. Always second/third-hand. That seems to be what everybody else is saying too. Possibly more myth than reality?

If you go ahead and get a couple of them, make sure you let us know you can be the guinea pig no disrespect.

 

[musel101]

And it is a little bit of an oddball, which is always cool to have in the tank

 

[musel101]

And one more thing would you be getting it from a local reef store or ordered online? Just thinking shipping would probably stress it out.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

If I’m not mistaken they’re more for cleaning the sand bed

There are sand-sifting cukes and filter-feeding cukes; the sand sifters feed from the sand bed, the filter-feeders catch particles from the water column.

Possibly more myth than reality?

It seems to be like the discussion of if Mantis Shrimp can break glass or not - they can, but the chances of them doing so are so low as to be virtually nonexistent for the average reefer:

Yeah, the breaking glass thing is really more an extreme, rare event with big specimens of large species (likely with thin glass or unnoticed structural integrity issues with the glass beforehand in at least some of the cases as well) - there are a handful of instances (see the quote and link below), but they're so uncommon as to be extreme statistical outliers.

So, the acrylic recommendation is more for peace of mind than anything.

True or False: Can Mantis Shrimp Crack Glass?

Is this a myth or can a mantis shrimp really crack a glass tank? Source

www.reef2reef.com

​

oh hate mantis shrimp, my father had on in some living rock years ago and it grew and ended up striking at something on the glass , and cracked the 8mm glass. what a performance

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Is there a minimum depth of sand anyone with experience with these recommend. I run 1 to 2 inch max sand depth. Would this be ok. Seen them for purchase just didn't have knowledge about them.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Tiger tail cukes are awesome for cleanup crew, and a super interesting and different critter to keep as far as diversity. I think the toxin concern is more for the filter feeding types.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Is there a minimum depth of sand anyone with experience with these recommend. I run 1 to 2 inch max sand depth. Would this be ok. Seen them for purchase just didn't have knowledge about them.

Shallow sand bed is fine. They don’t burrow in my experience but clean the upper layer.

 

[vlangel]

I have a common Atlantic cucumber and it's my 2nd one. I love them for cleaning sand and have never had a bad experience.

 

[beesnreefs]

There are sand-sifting cukes and filter-feeding cukes; the sand sifters feed from the sand bed, the filter-feeders catch particles from the water column.

It seems to be like the discussion of if Mantis Shrimp can break glass or not - they can, but the chances of them doing so are so low as to be virtually nonexistent for the average reefer:

@ISpeakForTheSeas thanks for the cuke info!

Two questions:

1. Do you have a preferred type of sand sifting cuke? Looking for a recommendation
2. For a 6-foot, 180 gallon tank with a pseudo-NSA aquascape (so a good bit of sand bed), is one cuke enough?