cucumbers

[clowninround]

I want to get one but I am worried about them spitting out there guts. How often does that REALLY happen? Is it something I should be worried about?

 

[Hara]

It happens often enough. Water conditions must be excellent, tank mates cannot harass them. Some are more toxic than others.

 

[clowninround]

ah ha no way then, I have always stayed away from them because of that, just wanted to check and see how true it was.

 

[malkore]

well, I've had mine a year, and never had a problem.
Then again, I'm not keeping anything remotely exotic or non-reef safe: false percs, royal gramma, 6 line wrasse, blue and red hermits, serpent starts, sand sifting star, and my yellow tiger cuke.

 

[Hara]

and I have a sea apple in my eel tank that is doing great. I would not think of putting it in my reef tho, where tangs, the butterfly etc might pick at it some.

 

[JPloman]

I have two sea cucumbers. One is the black kind that move around the tank and the other is a pinkish color that never moves. I have lost a few and never had any ill effects because of it.

I think they are a great addition to any reef tank and should be part of the clean up crew once the tank is fully established.

If I were you, I would test my water make sure everything is going well, then get one of the black ones that move around. Those are the least toxic from what I understand.

 

[steve-s]

and I have a sea apple in my eel tank that is doing great. I would not think of putting it in my reef tho, where tangs, the butterfly etc might pick at it some.

Smart move, it's not only the fish picking on it to worry about but also the "gender" of the sea apple. Eels and inverts are unaffected by the eggs released by a female. Fish on the otherhand would be dead within an hour or so.

I want to get one but I am worried about them spitting out there guts. How often does that REALLY happen? Is it somed thing I shoulbe worried about?

What Hara says is very true, be extremely cautious. That said though, also be sure your tank meets it's needs as far as food sources. The tank needs to be well established, have a sand substrate, suitable tank mates and excellent water quality. I would also suggest no more than one per 100 gal of tank space. There are several species that will do fine and even if they die, often do not toxify the water much beyond an ammonia spike, really depends on tank size and filtration used though. Among those are Holothuria edulis, Holothuria atra & Holothuria hilla which BTW also happen to be edible.

Cheers
Steve