Sea Cucumber and BB question

[ShirleyM]

We are re-setting up our 8-yr-old reef this week... as a barebottom tank... will our sea cucumber need to be re-homed since he'll no longer have sand to crawl around in? Will he find enough to eat?
Thanks~

[Casey]

I would definately move him to a sandbed tank,good luck nice to see you in the BB club.

[ShirleyM]

Thanks, Casey... that's what I figured... guess we'll be giving him to a new home.

do you use starboard? where can I get it without ordering it? what thickness?

[gwaco]

try some of the local boaters stores like westmarine , boaters u.s.a. . they call it marine lumber . use atleast 1/2"

[redwinger]

I have two cucumbers in my BB and they have been doing great. They have been in there for well over a year and find plenty of stuff to eat.

[ShirleyM]

Well, I haven't given the cuke away yet, and I ordered the starboard this am from here: http://thecuttingboardfactory.com/

So you think he'll thrive ok?

[Wiskey]

I've been told that Cukes don't need sand, it just gets in their way, and that they don't even see sand until they hit our tanks.

I think Geoff also has a couple in his BB tank doing great! (I hope it was Geoff)

HTH,
Whiskey

[ShirleyM]

That's good to hear... Now... here's a weird question...

maybe needs a new thread... but here goes anyway.

We are selling our 125 system. The fish have already moved into Jeff aka Junkzoo's 180. Our reef has moved temporarily into the 125. new carpet is being installed today in that room. The 120 tank is in the garage... empty and being cleaned and some replumbing, etc.

I should have ordered the starboard a week ago, but didn't.

It arrives Thursday. It MIGHT get here Weds.

On Thursday, they are coming to put carpet in the rest of the house, where the 125 tank currently sits. We have from tomorrow until Weds night to get the reef transferred back to where it belongs in the living room.

So... Can we put the fish and corals in it, and then add the starboard a day later, after the water is in the tank? and then take the corals out, add the live rock, then put the corals back in? Or should I stall the carpet installation until after the starboard arrives and do the reef in the correct order of setup?

[Casey]

Shirley dont hold me responsible if it dies mine did went I went BB blame it on the other guys here.

[Casey]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

I've been told that Cukes don't need sand, it just gets in their way, and that they don't even see sand until they hit our tanks.

I think Geoff also has a couple in his BB tank doing great! (I hope it was Geoff)

HTH,
Whiskey

I dont agree with this part about the sand at all though.
Sea cucumbers are generally scavengers, feeding on debris in the benthic layer. Their diet consists of plankton and other organic matter found in the sea. One way they might get a supply of food is to position themselves in a current where they can catch food that flow by with their tentacles when they open. Another way is to sift through the bottom sediments using their tentacles. They can be found in great numbers beneath fish farms.
When sea cucumbers are eating, by browsing the seabed, they cannot breathe through their mouth, so they can breathe through their bottom as well. Sea cucumbers reproduce by releasing sperm and ova into the ocean water. Depending on conditions, one organism can produce thousands of gametes.

[ShirleyM]

So you're saying the cuke would be happier with sand?
You lost your corals with the BB system? Everything has been BB in the "holding tank" for the past 3 - 4 weeks, no problems... so far...
And thank you for all the info etc.

[Wiskey]

Originally Posted by Casey

I dont agree with this part about the sand at all though.
Sea cucumbers are generally scavengers, feeding on debris in the benthic layer. Their diet consists of plankton and other organic matter found in the sea. One way they might get a supply of food is to position themselves in a current where they can catch food that flow by with their tentacles when they open. Another way is to sift through the bottom sediments using their tentacles. They can be found in great numbers beneath fish farms.
When sea cucumbers are eating, by browsing the seabed, they cannot breathe through their mouth, so they can breathe through their bottom as well. Sea cucumbers reproduce by releasing sperm and ova into the ocean water. Depending on conditions, one organism can produce thousands of gametes.

Wait a moment, we are talking about diffrent kinds of cukes here. I am talking about the ones that look like a turd and eat poo. You are talking about the filter feeding ones that catch stuff with their hairs and eat it off. I don't know about the kind you are talking about, only the poo eaters.

Whiskey

[Casey]

Originally Posted by ShirleyM

So you're saying the cuke would be happier with sand?
You lost your corals with the BB system? Everything has been BB in the "holding tank" for the past 3 - 4 weeks, no problems... so far...
And thank you for all the info etc.

I didnt lose my coral just the cukes ,I probably didnt have enough food in the water column since I dont feed much at all so they couldnt get it there and with the sand gone they couldnt get it there so they could have starved to death I blame myself for not asking first like you did,in nature they are found on the sand alot so it only seems right that they would need it to forage through with there tenacles to find food,most of my friends that have them that look fat and healthy have them in sand tanks,so its up to you really,JMO thanks good to talk to you again.

[Casey]

Well theres only about a million different kinds,if its a poo eater reefer to Wiskeys poo eating replies.

[ShirleyM]

It's not a tiger tail, it's a golden colored one.