Cucumber for sand cleaning.

[rustypixel]

I'd like to hear feedback from anyone that has or has had a cucumber for sand cleaning. What are your thoughts? Were they helpful in keeping the sand clean and white? I'll appreciate any input.

Thanks.

 

[Guygettnby]

i have 1 in each of my tanks and yes they help keep the sand clean and white. i will always have 1 in my tanks for just that reason. some will say for you to stay away from them beacuse they will kill everything in your tank when they die, but i have never had this happen to me with any of my tanks and i have had a few die on me.

but all in all they are great for keeping your substrate clean.

 

[Guygettnby]

oh and if you are planing on putting the cucumber into your 20g tank make sure you get a rather small cucumber.

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

i have a black and pink cucumber in my 20H he's about 6 inches long, i've had "IT" for nearly 6 months now with no issues at all, he sure poops alot of sand

 

[Packersfan21]

I've had 2 of them in my 90 gallon for about a year now and they do a good job of keeping the sandbed clean. I think that this type of cucumber won't release toxins if they die. Not for sure though.

 

[ScubaDiver93]

Get a sand sifting star. I have about 5 in my 180 and the sand is pristine white.

 

[mannyhernz]

had a sand sifting star before and didnt make it.....aquired a tiger tail cuc about 3 yrs ago on a rock(hitchhiker) and never had issues..only thing he divided himself into 3..so a couple of buddies got one free....

 

[szwab]

I've had the same cuke in my tank/ now sump for at least 5 years if not longer. Has been a model citizen and just keeps eating/cleaning. Just be careful if you have powerheads or a strong closed loop in the tank.

 

[content12001]

Just lost all fish in my 75gal. yesterday 12-27-08. Went to bed everybody great. Got up everybody dead. Sea cucumber got in powerhead. Had him for 3 months. Fence off powerheads with gutter guard or something like that. Sad day here. Good luck with what ever you do.

 

[RicksReefs]

was it a filter feeding cuke?

sand sifting stars should stay in the ocean. they eat the beneficial micro life then die of starvation.

 

[Kimdive]

We have a black/brown cucumber and we never really see him. We catch him sometimes in the morning, so we assume that he's nocturnal. Our sand doesn't look that much whiter, but he did have a huge battle as the tank hadn't been cleaned for awhile. To be honest, I'm not sure how the sand can get whiter when he poo's so much and it's definitely not white!!