sea cucumber

[timrandlerv10]

well, today i saw the weirdest thing. it looks like my sea cucumber had a blowout like a melted bead at martinsville (if youre not a race fan, forget that analogy. he has a whole...).

it seems like he has a couple inches if intesting hanging out. other than that, he's acting normal.

if it isnt intestine, i have no idea what it is. or if its coming out or going in. and why isnt he laying in a corner suffering? he's just moving like normal...

i cant get a pic that shows it--believe me i tried.

any thoughts?

tim

 

[lazzinaro]

They do it when they get scared (maybe a fish was picking on it). I am not sure why they do this, just that they do. If you have great water quality it should be able to regenerate the intestines. Good luck

 

[Tomoko Schum]

It could be stress (physical trauma, unsatisfactory water quality, starvation, etc.) related or it may be defense related.

A cuke can eject a part of its gut due to stress (evisceration.) When it pukes its gut out, it can release some toxic chemicals in water, but not necessarily, so don't panic yet.

It can regenerate the gut, but it needs time, rest, and excellent water conditions to do so. If the cucumber was stressed enough to eviscerate in your aquarium in the first place, chances are slim that conditions are ideal for it to regenerate its gut.

If the cause is the defense mechanism on the other hand, you will see spaghetti like tubes from its anus. It releases some chemicals to discourage a predator from eating it. It can impact your aquarium inhabitants or even causes a wipe out in worst case. This is the reason that some aquarists avoid adding one of these animals, especially the notorious Sea Apples.

Hopefully, yours just need some rest.

Tomoko

 

[timrandlerv10]

it seemed, and i stress seemed, to come out of his side (in the middle, not either end...isnt that the definition of side?!).

it was very odd--i would have expected it if he had been attacked, but i havent ever seen any interaction with him in the tank with other inhabitants.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Keep a close watch for a sign of stress on others.

Tomoko

 

[timrandlerv10]

i moved him out to the coral QT tank...i dont have two, and figured corals for another 4 weeks out there is better then two dead nems...

 

[timrandlerv10]

so, he's fine now

eats, moves, etc all like normal...he has a scare like an old-style gallbladder surgery, but thats it. and even the scar is looking better each day...