cucumbers??

[jennmac415]

thinking about getting one of these interesting critters, but first want to get your opinions on them...do they just eat detrius and not the microfauna??? What about this stuff i hear about them nuking a tank?? which one?? tiger tail?? anyone have one of these?

Thanks!

[partobe]

I have a little pink cuc. Mine is a filter feeder. It has like crown of thorns kinda like a feather duster but the arms actively reach out grab food and put the food in its mouth. I love it!! I placed it in my tank over a yr ago and it has only moved once and that was because the rocks were rearranged.

[jennmac415]

Thanks, Patrick... I am thinking of getting one of the tiger-tails or black... one that moves around the tank eating algae and detrius...and stirring up the sand... just want some feedback before i decide.

[partobe]

I think Kellie has one and from what I remember she likes it very much

[ReefNeck]

I have a tiger tail AND one like Pat has. I Love the pink one. Behaves just as Pat said.

The Tiger tail I have never seen since a week after I added it. It dug in and never showed itself again.

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by jennmac415

Thanks, Patrick... I am thinking of getting one of the tiger-tails or black... one that moves around the tank eating algae and detrius...and stirring up the sand... just want some feedback before i decide.

If you have sand, the Holothuian spp are just about a must. It is not because they stir the sand, but because they ingest the sand and digest the algae and misc. other microorganisms off the surface of each sand granule, pooping out nice clean sand for your benthos. They preferentially graze for green autotrophs, but if you've ever watched them eat, they just pretty much eat everything their oral tentacles will grasp from the surface in front of the oral opening and go. This type of grazing is benificial, not detrimental to your sand bed.

See some of the issues folks often have regarding some spp of cukes in a thread started by Phil guy in the hitchhikers forum

[whatevva]

Thanx for the info Tom, I just may look into one of these myself!

[Loverotties]

Me too!

[tony9758]

Anyone know about this "nuking" of the tank when they die?
That's my biggest concern.

[Kevin1000]

My 02

With the caveat that your tank is mature and large enough a mopping cukes is a good addition to a tank. I prefer the inexpensive "turd" cukes .. I suspect they are more hardy than the good looking ones and they are very shy and chances are good you won't see it unless you come out at night with a flashlight

[jennmac415]

Thanks everyone...so Tom, what are some examples of the holothuian spp??? Tiger tail, black?? You have had no problems with yours either?

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by jennmac415

Thanks everyone...so Tom, what are some examples of the holothuian spp??? Tiger tail, black?? You have had no problems with yours either?

Tiger tails are Holothurians, so are most of the cat turd looking ones, a few on the spiky red ones, usually smaller spp. of cukes (less than 10" in length, though they can get big in the ocean). I have at least 10 in the 180 display at last count, 2 of which have become quite large (~35 cm when they decide to come out at night...) I have never had issues with mine.

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=5&gl=us

http://www.starfish.ch/collection/seewalzen.html

http://zipcodezoo.com/Animals/H/Holo..._impatiens.asp

http://www.tolweb.org/Holothuroidea

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/echinod...thuroidea.html

http://www.coralreefnetwork.com/sten...mbers/cucu.htm

http://www.deepseaimages.com/dsilibr...y.php?cat=1325

[dobejazz]

Originally Posted by partobe

I think Kellie has one and from what I remember she likes it very much

Yep here is my black Cuke I see him out and about all the time

[Sun-n-Fun]

I have a Tigertail cucumber and had read quite a bit before making that decision for myself. The following article heavily influenced my decision to buy one and addresses the "cuke nuke" concerns quite well.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...003/invert.htm

I found this article extremely informative (and even somewhat humorous).

I've been very happy with my "sand sifting turd cuke" and wouldn't hesitate to repeat my decision. I see mine pretty regularly, but there have been some stretches where it's hard to find. Mine will pick a rock and pretty much sweep a radius all the way around the rock (crapping out quite a mound of sand) before moving on to the next rock, so if you do decide to get one, make sure your rockwork is awfully stable as it will definately eat tons of sand out from under the rocks. A pic of my cuke is below (sorry for the poor quality).

Mine has also grown quite fast - from about the size of a large caterpillar (maybe 3-4") to now about a foot long, maybe a little less. I kind of wonder just how big he'll get as I've read quite differing reports on that.

[jennmac415]

Thanks Kelli and Tom ! Kelli... he is actually kindof "cute".... Tom... you have 10 in your 180... is that the recommended amount... I am assuming that your 180 is more heavily stocked than mine since mine has only been up since August...