+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Ok, Dave you are so gonna roll your eyes at me but... I gotta ask the list at large. What's your experience with sea cucumbers nuking tanks? I've done some research and it seems like a lot of folks feel they're a time bomb. Not a matter of 'if' they will nuke your system but 'when' and how bad. I love their sand cleaning ability and my tank needs it (still on the long recovery from nutrient build up when I bought it), but I would be devastated if the cuke had a bad day and wiped out my tank. I don't think I have anything in my tank that would pick on it aside from hermit crabs. From what I've read physical stress plays the biggest role in them going into nuke mode. Advice? (ducking and running now before Dave hits me with a wet fish, I've been going round and round about his black cucumber for months now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I had a Tiger tail cucumber in my 110 for about a year with absolutely no issues. I got it when it was about 3" and it was about a foot long when I sold it with my tank. It was great at keeping the sand bed clean. I may have just gotten lucky with my experience, but I thought I would share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I had a tiger tail sea cucumber in my 36g bowfront seahorse tank for about 3 yrs. It split and gave the clone to Dapettit. One issue I encounter, my maxijet I had in for flow (I completely forgot to add a sponge over the cage)....the cucu ended in the pump...shredded and of course, didn't make it. Did a 30% water change and the seahorse, gobies and corals had no ill effect....everything checked normal. The following day I did a 10% water change, just to make sure...everything seemed fine. Now remember, I have no idea on how long the cucu was stuck to the pump....so for all I know it could of been there overnight. I still have 4-5 cucumbers in the main tank and had them for over 4yrs. with no issues whatsoever. -Cindy- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 No problems with my two cukes in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I have the Black cuke and a Tiger Tail that has split 3 times in our 150. Add one to the 58 one to the seahorses and gave one to cmanning. I have the Tiger Tail for a couple of years and only see it at night. The Black cuke I think is 6 months old and is huge. As far as I can tell nothing bothers any of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy82 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I recently lost my tiger tail cuc - guess it was too much for him when I had to switch tanks. No problems with "nuking" though... I did do a large water change before I discovered him dead - maybe that's why he didn't affect the water. I'm definitely going to get another. Before introducing him to my tank I battled all sorts of sand issues, but he kept my sand spic and span! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I've had one of the ugly black ones in one of my tanks for over 12 years. I don't hesitate to put any of the sand eating cucumbers in my tanks. I've had an occasional one presumably die ie - dissapear and never show up again, with no apparent problems. I always avoid the plankton filtering species like Sea Apples however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I have about 9 in my 75g right now, down from about 15 last year. I think a few may have starved or just wasted away. I've had a couple go through powerheads and never had a problem with a tank. My understanding is that it is the Sea Apple to avoid for the nuking. Most other cukes appear to be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 Thanks so much y'all! Really helps to hear so many positive endorsements. My kids and I saw Dave & Robins giant black cucumber at the meeting they hosted. I wouldn't call it ugly, a little creepy maybe. We enjoyed watching it. My boys thought it was totally cool and are excited about getting it. Hope the timing works out today Dave! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayneb Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Quick question: How deep should the sand bed be to safely keep cukes and have them do their thing? wayneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Quick question: How deep should the sand bed be to safely keep cukes and have them do their thing? wayneb Not much at all. Most of mine just have half an inch or so to work with. None of them have shown any inclination to bury themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FragsandMore Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 i would not worry about a cuke nuking your tank. It happens very infrequently, as you can see by the responses above, ... that being said, I have about 12 in my 210 gal home tank with no issues ever. HOWEVER, I have had it happen, dont get me wrong. BUT, that was a small 30 gal tank with poor water movement and filtration, I mean, cmon, I had a Visi-Jet protein skimmer on the thing! I think that filtration technology has come very far and as long as you have a decent husbandry regime, your tank will certsinly be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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