My Sea Apple

[kwdelre]

I have a question about Sea Apple behavior. Please spare me the "they'll nuke your tank" comments, as I fully understand the chances I have taken. (IMO I think most, only most not all, are made up or caused by powerheads)

Anyways, I have had my Apple for about two weeks now. It made its way to one of the sides and has been hanging out there for the majority of the time. This morning I woke up to find it almost to the top of the tank, about six inches away from my Korolia. So I turned it off to avoid any hazard should he decided to make a left! Is this normal behavoir? Or is he stressed? Water is completely stable and nothing in my tank is showing signs of stress, quite the opposite actually. Also, his feeders only come out about half way, and only a few times a day.

Is this normal???????

I may swallow the 60 bucks and get rid of him.....let me know.

[Kevin1000]

Sea Apples are going to move around till they find a spot they are comfortable with .. and there isn't much you can do about it.

Many would consider Sea Apples "high risk" and "expert only" - not a great choice for most tanks.

[Loverotties]

They keep moving around.But if they die,they give off a poison that kills everthing in the tank.

[kwdelre]

Yes, I understand that they "can" excrete a poison...but not when they die of natural causes. If a fish or powerhead were attacking it then I could see that happening.

I see them at the LFS in a tank full of urchins with their spines stabbing at it and it doesn't realease any toxin.....I believe they are a pumped up marine myth

[Kevin1000]

Originally Posted by kwdelre

I see them at the LFS in a tank full of urchins with their spines stabbing at it and it doesn't realease any toxin.....I believe they are a pumped up marine myth

Lots of myths in this hobby ... sea apple toxin is not one of them.

[kwdelre]

I didn't mean that the toxin itself is a myth, just the use of it. It is certainly a rare event.

Come on....do you think the LFS would carry them if they were that much of a threat? the place I go to has five, divided up into several different tanks. I don't think he would be risking thousands of dollars in livestock to sell something for 60 bucks.

[Twitterbait]

Ok... the apple will move around the tank to find a place with good flow where it can filter feed. I had a beautiful purple one that lasted for years but in the end there was not enough dissolved food in the water and it slowly wasted away... and yes you are right, it died in the tank and nothing else died from toxins.

Toxins are MOSTLY for self defense, but you never know how these animals work so be carefull either way. you will need to feed that guy or he will die.

[kwdelre]

Originally Posted by Twitterbait

Ok... the apple will move around the tank to find a place with good flow where it can filter feed. I had a beautiful purple one that lasted for years but in the end there was not enough dissolved food in the water and it slowly wasted away... and yes you are right, it died in the tank and nothing else died from toxins.

Toxins are MOSTLY for self defense, but you never know how these animals work so be carefull either way. you will need to feed that guy or he will die.

Yeah I know what you mean by the feeding part. They are relativly high feeders. Definitly not as much as my GIANT flower pot which I spot feed almost everyday!

Here's another thought...I feel that there is a MUCH greater chance that you bring home a fish that wipes out all the others, than bringing home an apple and it doing the same. I better stop now as my Apple could be proving me wrong at the moment...

[Twitterbait]

treat him like an anenome, he is going to move till he finds a place he likes. plain and simple.

[Kevin1000]

I suspect this is one of those threads where if you don't have any concern about the critter - fine. But having owned alot of cukes including apples I would not be as confident as you.

I have had a number of "turd" cukes puke their intestines on me over the yrs ... just std tank maintenance where you don't see the buggers and they get frightened ... same kind of defense response from an apple may have adverse impact on entire tank.

[kwdelre]

Well back to my original post...If his feeders are not extending very far does this mean he's unhealthy or has enough to eat. I know, that probably a very tough thing to determine.

[Twitterbait]

keep an eye on him, as long as he stays fat he is fine. if he starts to shrivle then he is starving, i would give him a spot feed too, keep in mind you want to spray at him gently.

[Twitterbait]

Originally Posted by Kevin1000

I suspect this is one of those threads where if you don't have any concern about the critter - fine. But having owned alot of cukes including apples I would not be as confident as you.

Um... this language is not necessary, I didn't get this vibe at all. Just because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't mean they don't care about their critters.

[kwdelre]

Thanks for the help Twitterbait!

[Kevin1000]

Sorry I probably should have worded my comment better .. was trying to indicate that if he was not concerned about the potential danger of the sea apple .. fine - not that he did not care about the cuke. My apology if I offended.