Should I add a sea apple?

[uhuru]

I posted this in the invert forum but not sure where I will get the best advice. Do you think it's too dangerous to add one to my elos mini? Feeding conditions and flow should be ideal for one in my tank. However, there is not a lot of room for movement (not likely to get sucked up by pump as much as tangled in the gorgs). Also, how ****ed off do they get with water changes, because I perform them a lot!

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Before, I would have thought that a sea apple would be a terrible idea in a nano-tank if only for the fact that it is a fairly large creature and would likely knock over everything. That's of course not to mention the obvious danger of them releasing their toxic load into your tank, basically guaranteeing instant death for any fish. However, I've been having wonderful success lately with Pentacta anceps. It seems to be very happy in my tank and has its feeding tentacles out constantly feeding from the water column. Best of all, it stays in one spot on the glass of my tank and has barely moved an inch from there for weeks. This guy isn't small either, he's at least four and a half inches long. I'm really tempted now to get a sea apple if they behave similarly.

 

[uhuru]

What do you think it eats mostly? Phytoplankton? Bacterioplankton? Zooplankton?

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

I'm not too sure if it eats phytoplankton or bacterioplankton. I dose a good amount of phyto and it likely has access to bacterioplankton. If it's eating it, I have no easy way to know really. However, I have noticed it shows a strong feeding response to cyclops, leading me to believe it feeds primarily on zooplankton. I can tell it is feeding because its tentacles will actually curl up individually, stick inside its mouth, and pull out slowly. It's actually a pretty cool sight.

 

[Western_reefer]

I'm not too sure if it eats phytoplankton or bacterioplankton. I dose a good amount of phyto and it likely has access to bacterioplankton. If it's eating it, I have no easy way to know really. However, I have noticed it shows a strong feeding response to cyclops, leading me to believe it feeds primarily on zooplankton. I can tell it is feeding because its tentacles will actually curl up individually, stick inside its mouth, and pull out slowly. It's actually a pretty cool sight.

Like this? Here is a video of my cucumber.
View My Video

 

[uhuru]

Cool video Moses. I actually see my gorgs and dendro doing the same thing, just on a much smaller scale. I think they have a sticky mucus that traps food and helps extend their reach.

 

[slapshot]

Like most things in this hobby sometimes it works sometimes it don't. They can be wonderful pets and they can be the worst pets. The only problem with this beautiful creature is if they get ****ed your tank is done. Most of the time they stay in one spot and either slowly fade away from starvation or live happy in their spot. They can however move and if they hit a powerhead or a territorial fish your tank is finished. For me its not worth the risk or the lost sleep. The decision is all yours. :sad1:

 

[uhuru]

Another concern is that I've read they like to hang out in the upper part of the tank. I will often lose 1/2 the water level in the display when doing a large w/c, and I do them quite often, so I'm thinking this could also kill it or make it " dangerously unhappy"

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Do what I do, run a constant water change. It's much less work anyway.

 

[mak3mydae]

You could put a cup over the sea apple to keep water in while you siphon out water

 

[Sk8r]

I personally think it's dangerous to add one to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium reef---they're not inclined to survive long, and when they go, they are a large messy biomass.