Sea cucumber?

[gmeredith56880]

So I'm on vacation and collecting things at the beach and was just wondering if anyone could tell me what this cucumber is exactly. Thanks


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[Bill0181]

That whelk is going eat everything in there that's all I know


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[gmeredith56880]

That's just the bucket I caught everything in. They are separated now, was just wondering about the possible cucumber. He sprays when I move him.


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[bribo12]

I doubt anyone can 100% positive id it. Where did you collect it? What state or country?


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[gmeredith56880]

St helena island in South Carolina. He ended up dying (expelled insides) bc I only have a bucket with a small filter until I get back home. I've looked up flora and fauna for st helena and there's no mention of cucumbers. Did catch a pretty northern puffer fish today with my net and found a big clam yesterday. Thing is these cucumber things are washed up on the beach when the tide falls, so I could always get another....


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[gmeredith56880]

I guess main question is, is it definitely some kind of cucumber? And of course if anyone knows what type that would be great, I just wanted to make sure.


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[gmeredith56880]

Thank you both for your replies


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[bribo12]

It looks like a cucumber. I've caught similar looking ones in the outer banks. Sorry to hear it died. That's a typical way they will die too


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[mr_X]

You may want to just purchase a cucumber that's from a tropical area, so it's easier to keep alive in your home system. These colder water creatures don't adjust well sometimes. As for the I.D., there are thousands and thousands of them that we know of and just as many that we don't yet know. Here is a resource to start with-
The Sea Slug Forum - Species List

[gmeredith56880]

I want to buy one but my lfs doesn't have them and keeps trying to order for me. But I don't think I'll worry about that one anyways. Thank you all for the replies and thank you mr x for the resource!


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[sharkiegirl94]

I would never take anything straight from the ocean...too risky.

[gmeredith56880]

A lot of the livestock sold is ocean caught. I would assume as long as it's quarantined and dewormed, as long as everything checks out in the qt for a month should be fine.


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[Sniperhank]

I would be more concerned over the fact that it is illegal to just take things out of the ocean in many places. All states have different laws governing it and you should be familiar with them before trying to do anything like this in the future. Some of these laws have some pretty nasty consequences for them if you don't have a permit.

[mr_X]

Originally Posted by gmeredith56880

A lot of the livestock sold is ocean caught. I would assume as long as it's quarantined and dewormed, as long as everything checks out in the qt for a month should be fine.


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Dewormed? Actually, 99% of the livestock sold is ocean caught.
Many sea cucumbers eat specific things. if you have no idea what a creature eats, how can you expect to keep it alive?

[gmeredith56880]

I've read about deworming with potassium permanganate. Just to make sure internal parasites are gone. I decided against getting any more of the cucumbers since, as you know, I have no idea what they are or what they eat. Can anyone ID the snails in the pictures? They look like some breed of nassarius. I can get better pics if needed


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[mr_X]

Originally Posted by gmeredith56880

I've read about deworming with potassium permanganate. Just to make sure internal parasites are gone. I decided against getting any more of the cucumbers since, as you know, I have no idea what they are or what they eat. Can anyone ID the snails in the pictures? They look like some breed of nassarius. I can get better pics if needed


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Hard to say by the pics, but most likely whelks. They are predatory snails. Not sure what the ones you have target for food.
As for deworming, what worms do you expect to remove? To date, I have never heard of a cucumber bringing in any sort of parasite. None of them are dipped, as they are sensitive inverts. the ones you see at the LFS go from the ocean, to holding tanks, to you. I also know of very few worms that can cause trouble, and none of them will hitch a ride inside a cucumber.