sand dollars?

[delira5cal]

i want to get some sand dollars, they look sooooo cool. what do they do? will they hurt anyhing? any info will be appreciated :help:

 

[lovethesea]

I think they have very specific food needs......not sure if a tank would be able to support them.

 

[clown123]

i find them all over the beaches on long island but there dead!

 

[brainrush]

From what I've heard the dig into the sand and you will never see them again. It makes sense. The white ones you see at the beach are dead...that's why they are white.
Live sand dollars are actually brown.

 

[ophiura]

Please do not try and keep them. They do have very specific needs. Some species even need silica based substrate over calcareous!!! They need a very very deep sand bed (they burrow at an angle) and most will certainly die in our tanks. Not a good animal to keep.

 

[kpptn]

do not keep them. i agree with ophiura and I know cause a friend of mine tried to keep some. they died within a week. and yes they are a brown color when alive.

 

[chipmaker]

I routinely find small sand dollars about the size of a dime on the beaches here in the Gulf of Mexico, and I still refuse to bring any home, as they will not last long. They need deep sand and a well estaablished sand bed with lots of stuff for them to eat......This is probably why you never see tem for sale in most lfs, with them being as plentifull as they are, there has to be a reason no one really stocks and sells them, except perhaps the odd online vendors.

 

[27mtaylor]

Not to change the subject, but a quick question about sand dollars. While swimming in the Gulf, I will find them with my feet and when I pull them up and look at them, they leave a yellow ink like substance on my hand. Is that a defense mechanism or something and would that be toxic to your tank?