Tracy,
Bob is right. The chances of the cuke doing any major damage to your system
if he should ever die is minimal. I can happen, and has, but it is not very
likely. They really only will expell thier digestive system like that if
they are injured very badly. It is a last chance self defense mechanism that
they use to try and get away from whatever is harming them. It is thought
that in the ocean, they are able to repair themselves, but cant in our tanks
(its just that they dont know this!). The main thing with your cuke is to
make sure you are not using any powerheads inside the tank, and if you are,
put a small sponge on them. You want to make sure he does not get sucked
into one and thus think he is being attacked. Also, be careful when moving
rocks around the tank as not to crush him, and as Bob said, they need to
eat, so you need some fine sand in the tank as well. Make sure to have
around an inch of it in the tank, and make sure most of it is fine sugar
type sand. He will consume the sand and digest the detritus and bacteria off
of it. Other than that, he should be fine. Dont worry about it, and enjoy
your cucumber!
FWIW
Shane C.
PS. I have had the same one in my system for about 2 years. He has never
missed a beat!
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Denton [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 10:44 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Sea Cucumber
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> I purchased a Stichopus chloronotus Black Sea Cucumber about a month
> ago hoping it would take care of detritous in my tank. The guy at the
> store told me this was a good idea but didn't give me any warnings. Since
> then I'm hearing all this stuff about cukes disgorging themselves and
> releasing toxins. Mine hasn't done that, even when I've moved him around
> (which I'll now be more wary of doing). Anyway, my question is about the
> poisoning of the tank. I read somewhere that although all cukes disgorge
> themselves, not all of them release poisonous toxins. Mostly the types
> like Sea Apples are the dangerous ones. Is this true? If my black cuke is
> capable of killing off my tank I would like to know before I add anything
> else to it.
> Thanks!
> Tracy
> P.S.--I usually DO research the items before I add them to my tank,
> but this one I obviously didn't do enough. I'll be more careful next time!
>
>
> Tracy,
>
> Sea Apples are sure "cuke nukes". I wouldn't worry too much about
> a Black Cucumber. I bought one just last week. The last one I had
> seems to have vanished without a trace/effect. (I haven't seen it for at
> least a year and a half.) I suspect that they don't do well over time
> unless they have a lot of detritus to consume and that they will wither
> away if they don't get enough to eat.
>
> Regards,
> Bob D.
>
>
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