Keeping Sand clean....Sea Cucumbers?

[GreyDC]

Question for everyone - I see a lot of tanks with sand that is very white and clean.........mine on the other hand is not......I have a few nassarius snails and plenty of other cleaners but I was thinking about getting a sea cucumber. First question is, for those that have cucumbers, are they worth getting?

Second is more general, what does everyone do to keep their sand clean and white?

Thanks for any advice and help.

 

[alan214]

In addition to the Nassarius snails, hermit crabs and sandsifting star, I have a large Watchman Goby that is constantly chewing up and spitting out sand.

 

[reverendmaynard]

They are pretty cool, and do clean the sand some, but if you're looking for 100% clean, white sand you need to address the cause, not try to clean it up.

Increased flow, decreased nutrients in the water, and a well matured tank are the keys.

 

[alan214]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9314409#post9314409 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reverendmaynard
They are pretty cool, and do clean the sand some, but if you're looking for 100% clean, white sand you need to address the cause, not try to clean it up.

Increased flow, decreased nutrients in the water, and a well matured tank are the keys.

Good points. One of the plus's of a mature tank and sandbed is that there are a lot of natural inhabitants like worms which also silently help clean the sand surface. That can sometimes take a year or more to fully develop.

 

[2639]

I thought about getting a yellow watchman. I was concerned about my DSB being ruined. Would a YWG or a sea cucumber disrupt a DSB?

 

[alan214]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9314435#post9314435 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 2639
I thought about getting a yellow watchman. I was concerned about my DSB being ruined. Would a YWG or a sea cucumber disrupt a DSB?

I really don't see how they could.

 

[reverendmaynard]

A tigertail would definitely not be a problem for a DSB. They don't generally burrow in the sand, but rather hide in the rocks and poke their heads out to clean the surface of the sand.

Not sure on the YWG. I wouldn't add one to a very old DSB (2+years) that hasn't had any burrowers before, because the risk that there's a substantial pocket of sulfides is pretty high, IMO. Plenty of people do have them (and jawfish and others) in DSB tanks, so I think it would be fine in a younger DSB.

 

[GreyDC]

The tank in question is my 72g which is a year and about a month old. The one thing I know I am not short on is worms.....have a lot of bristle's in this tank.

I will definitely look into increasing my flow and nutrients...especially towards the bottom of my tank. I just started getting more and more into sps and clams so I have been increasing my nutrient levels and pushing a good chunk of my flow towards the top of the tank.......

 

[GreyDC]

Will most cucumbers stay on top and not burrow? My lfs has a nice pink cucumber.....was thinking about going with that. I probably dont want to go with YWG....I have a real nice green mandarin (going on 8 months) and dont want any food competition with him..........

 

[johnvlahos]

I added a sand sifting goby a few days ago. It's a really cool fish and definitely cleans the sand bed. However, he dribbles sand over everything. So far the corals seem to be okay though....

 

[reverendmaynard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9314524#post9314524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GreyDC
Will most cucumbers stay on top and not burrow? My lfs has a nice pink cucumber.....was thinking about going with that. I probably dont want to go with YWG....I have a real nice green mandarin (going on 8 months) and dont want any food competition with him..........

I don't know. I defiinitely wouldn't get a mystery cuke. The only one I trust or have any experience with is the tiger tail. It's a brownish orange with lighter, tannish spikes.

 

[GreyDC]

Thanks reverendmaynard! I am going to jet to the lfs in a few (got the day off from work) and check it out. Also wanna see if they have a tiger tail.

 

[DevilBoy]

would a tiger tail cuke be ok with a sandbed of 2" ? I was told that they can only be in DSB tanks

 

[reverendmaynard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9314701#post9314701 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DevilBoy
would a tiger tail cuke be ok with a sandbed of 2" ? I was told that they can only be in DSB tanks

Yes, they will be fine with 2". They really only clean the surface anyway. The main thing you need is a pretty good surface area. Any tank smaller than, say, a 55g would be too small to support one for long. Also, it must be a majority of fine sand, not crushed coral, as they feed by ingesting the sand and digesting out anything edible. I don't believe they can process coarse substrates.

 

[miatawnt2b]

I've had misc luck with sand sifting cukes. Many of them liked to crawl on the glass and rocks more than sifting. I would think that a sand sifting goby would be the way to go.

-J

 

[Craig Lambert]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9314753#post9314753 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by miatawnt2b
I've had misc luck with sand sifting cukes. Many of them liked to crawl on the glass and rocks more than sifting. I would think that a sand sifting goby would be the way to go.

-J

And i thought I was the only one. He was on the glass regularly, and even would try to get in the overflow on occassion.

 

[650-IS350]

I have a tigertail cuke, saw him the first few days, then one day partially submerged in sand and haven't seen him in 2 weeks.

 

[reverendmaynard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9315005#post9315005 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by delsol650
I have a tigertail cuke, saw him the first few days, then one day partially submerged in sand and haven't seen him in 2 weeks.

Yeah, the same happened with mine. They are very poor shippers. Now I see mine almost every day (had it for about 6 months now), poking out of the rocks to munch on sand. Yummy!:lol:

The only time I ever saw it anywhere but on the rocks or sand was the day I turned on my CL for the first time. I can only assume it wasn't braced for the increased flow and got swept away before it could get a hold of anything. Since then, I've never seen it floating or on the glass. Perhaps it's not finding enough to eat in your tanks?

 

[cdbias2]

My understanding was that the brighter colored cukes release more toxins in the water if they die. Hence, all the ugly cukes.

 

[The Saltwater Kid]

I have a Tiger Tail in my 29g and he has done a good job at keeping my sand clean. I see him out every night chowing down. I have 4 fish now and plan on at least one more so he'll have plenty of detritus to clean up so he won't starve.