how do you tell if cucumbers are healthy?

jasonkola

New Member
I got me a couple of sand sifting cucumbers for my tank today. one seems ok but the other one seems somewhat colapsed and has a couple of spots on it that look dammaged. I am not sure how to tell if they are alive well. they do not seem to move about. I do not want to take a chance and put these in my tank if they are dead or dieing or dammaged and have them contaminate my tank. any help on how to tell if they are ok would be great thanks. Jason
 

ophiura

Active Member
Would need a picture.
How did you acclimate? What are your parameters, especially specific gravity?
What size tank do you have (to sustain 2 you would need a pretty decent size tank)
 

jasonkola

New Member
I have not acclimated yet. they are still floating in the bag in the tank. I am acclimating the rest of the fish and inverts that came today. I will acclimate the cucumbers later seperately if I deside they are healthy and safe to add to the tank. I do have a deep sand bed. the spacific gravity is aprox 1.0225.
 

jasonkola

New Member
Well I finished acclimating the inverts and now I am acclimating the cucumbers. One definately looks not ok perhaps dead. The other is now moving arround. I will post a pic if I can get one posted. oh and my tank is a 55 gal. looks like I will have to try to get a credit of refund for the other or a replacement.
 

coral head

Member
First be sure the rind is firm and green. No soft spots or bruises. The inside should be white with clear or white seeds . . . . . . .
Oops, sorry . . . . . I thought this was the Food Channel Message Board.
 

life~reefer

Member
Originally Posted by Coral Head
http:///forum/post/2932129
First be sure the rind is firm and green. No soft spots or bruises. The inside should be white with clear or white seeds . . . . . . .
Oops, sorry . . . . . I thought this was the Food Channel Message Board.

 

alix2.0

Active Member
Originally Posted by Coral Head
http:///forum/post/2932129
First be sure the rind is firm and green. No soft spots or bruises. The inside should be white with clear or white seeds . . . . . . .
Oops, sorry . . . . . I thought this was the Food Channel Message Board.

beat me to it.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Coral Head
http:///forum/post/2932129
First be sure the rind is firm and green. No soft spots or bruises. The inside should be white with clear or white seeds . . . . . . .
Oops, sorry . . . . . I thought this was the Food Channel Message Board.

that is so not right funny but not right
 

jasonkola

New Member
The one that looks not so good has expelled some of its innerds out the rear. plus it has several spots of white mucus all over its body and part of its body looks collapsed I am thinking it is a goner the other seems just fine and is moving about. I doubt nitrates are an issue as they arrived in the bag they were shipped in this way. By the way that was pretty funny Coral Head.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Ok now we are getting serious expelling internal organs is NOT a good sigh that is a defense mechanism any of your other inhabitance that eat what is expelled have a good chance of dieing get the cucumber out and as much of what is expelled out of your tank NOW
FYI
Evisceration - the violent expulsion of the gut. In this case, the cuke basically expels a portion of its digestive system (guts) onto the substrate. It may be the fore or hindgut depending on the species in question, and may or may not be a serious trauma to the cucumber (Rupert and Barnes 1994). Evisceration can be induced in a variety of ways (including such factors as chemical stress, physical manipulation, crowding, etc.), and in some species, every individual in the population appears to be at the same stage of regeneration, suggesting that evisceration may be a normal seasonal phenomenon in some species (Ruppert and Barnes 1994). It is unclear why individuals go through the evisceration, but possible explanations include periods of inactivity when food is naturally rare, or the elimination of toxic wastes that have accumulated in the internal tissues (Ruppert and Barnes 1994). Whatever the cause, this? Puking your guts out? Response usually includes some or all of the digestive system (and in some cases other organs such as the respiratory tree and gonads), but is not necessarily accompanied by chemical discharge (Brusca and Brusca 1990; Ruppert and Barnes 1994). Because there is not necessarily any chemical discharge that accompanies evisceration, even a highly stressed sea cucumber that ejects its intestines may not have much of an impact on your aquarium, depending on the situation. Despite the fact that this stress response may not wipe out your tank it can poison inhabitants that eat what is discharged. It is certainly not trivial to the sea cucumber? The cuke loses its digestive capacity in the process and although it can regenerate the gut, 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 them to regenerate their gut, either.
 

jasonkola

New Member
I do not plan on putting it in my tank. instead I will ask for a replacment from saltwaterfish.com which sent it to me like this. Hopefully the next one will be in good shape.
 

ophiura

Active Member
As an aside, a specific gravity of 1.022 is pretty stressful to inverts and I would propose taht could be a further issue. For inverts, above 1.024 is preferable, and even better, 1.025-1.026.
 
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