turtlegirl933
Member
Can you give me some info on sand sifting cucumber? :-}
Sand Sifting Cucumber?
- Thread starter turtlegirl933
- Start date
goldrush
Member
I've had one in my reef for almost 2 years. When I got it, it was about 2" long and the girth of a pencil. Now it is about 4" long and as wide as my big thumb. It goes all over the tank (mostly at night) and no one bothers it nor does it bother anything else. A great addition, in my opinion. Good luck.
mudplayerx
Active Member
Do a search for sandsifting cucumber and you will find a wealth of information already posted.
First thing is to make sure you are purchasing a sand sifting cucumber and not a filter feeding cucumber. The filter feeding cucumbers have large tufts of feathery gills. Do not get one of these as they frequently starve and are highly toxic should they die.
Sand sifting cucumbers need regular aragonite sand or they will starve to death. No sand bigger than 1-2mm in diameter will do. A general rule of thumb is 1" of cucumber per 10 gallons of aquarium to avoid starvation.
They do not do well at all with aggressive fish or critters as they are fairly slow moving and have little to no defence mechanisms. They are also prone to being sucked into powerheads and pump intakes so make sure that all of these are covered with sponges or the like.
They do not like to be moved and should not be moved. This can result in an injury to the sea cucumber and in rare cases may result in eviceration (the cucumber expels its internal organs).
All in all I'd have to say that my sand sifting cuke was probably one of my favorite critters in my tank. Definately interesting and unique.
First thing is to make sure you are purchasing a sand sifting cucumber and not a filter feeding cucumber. The filter feeding cucumbers have large tufts of feathery gills. Do not get one of these as they frequently starve and are highly toxic should they die.
Sand sifting cucumbers need regular aragonite sand or they will starve to death. No sand bigger than 1-2mm in diameter will do. A general rule of thumb is 1" of cucumber per 10 gallons of aquarium to avoid starvation.
They do not do well at all with aggressive fish or critters as they are fairly slow moving and have little to no defence mechanisms. They are also prone to being sucked into powerheads and pump intakes so make sure that all of these are covered with sponges or the like.
They do not like to be moved and should not be moved. This can result in an injury to the sea cucumber and in rare cases may result in eviceration (the cucumber expels its internal organs).
All in all I'd have to say that my sand sifting cuke was probably one of my favorite critters in my tank. Definately interesting and unique.
cannonman
Member
All I can tell you is that I've had a black sand sifting cuke for over a year now in my 75 reef and he works 24/7 cleaning the tank, mostly the sand...he kind of mops it up, consumes it, and later poops out little balls of pure white clean sand... nifty little creature and very hard working.
mudplayerx
Active Member
Very nice cucumber, thanks for sharing!
S
saltycrab
Guest
I have one of the black sand sifters for maybe five months. He is growing fast. He comes out right when the lights go off and is constantly sucking up sand. I can tell where he has been the night before because he leaves a pile of sand pelts behind him. He just did a good job of cleaning up my diatoms.