Sea Apple Help

M

mikerunkle

Guest
Having a problem with a sea apple. I've had it for about 6 months, been doing fine. 3 days ago I noticed a small wound on it about the size of a pencil eraser. I could only characterize it as a bite mark. There was a slight white, milky "bleeding" coming from the hole. Concerned that it was in trouble, and all of the info I had read about it becoming a "cuke nuke", I removed it and placed it in a hang-on "holding box" (I change out the water every few hours) The hole has expanded now to the size of a nickel. The apple appears to be acting fine, breathing, feelers out looking for food and eating...but this wound is getting uglier. Any advice how to treat it and should I keep this guy out of the tank until we reach some kind of end state? (either healed or dead)....Any idea what the heck could be chewing on a sea apple??? I mean, who does that??
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
Youre best bet would be to get a picture. It could be a bite from a non-reefsafe fish, or possibly even a baterial infection as well. Im not too good with treatments, but maybe a type of general anti-bacterial (if such a thing exists) would benefit.
I highly remove you consolidate the mixing of the apples water with the DT's water. I read a post on -- yesterday about a sea apple dying and nuking the tank again, and would hate to see that happen to you.
 
M

mikerunkle

Guest
Picture of the poor guy should be attached (if it works). As you can see, the wound is now larger than a quarter.
Tank specs:
150 Gallon
Reef. Mainly softs and zoos
Been setup for about 9 months.
All inhabitants have been cooperating and living together for at least 6 months. They include:
Bamboo shark
zebra eel
lyrtail anthias
blue damsels
yellow tang
percula clown
lawnmower blenny.
Multiple snails, crabs, serpent stars
No one has ever bothered or even expressed interest in either apple (I have another who appears fine)
This apple has been positioned in the front of the tank around a large sand patch and not touching anything/anyone.
Food in the tank:
Oraglo, Marine "A", frozen mysis and krill, live copepods, liquid phytoplankton.
Nitrates: negligible
Salinity: 1.024
Ph: 8.4
Is there something I can use to treat this, whatever it may be? I can't imagine he is going to last too long just trapped in that little box even if he starts to recover. (I change out the water as often every couple of hours, but....)
 
M

mikerunkle

Guest
Ok, his guts are now pouring out of the hole, I'm thinking he is done......
 
nick76

nick76

Active Member
Originally Posted by mikerunkle
http:///forum/post/2526898
Ok, his guts are now pouring out of the hole, I'm thinking he is done......

remove it from the tank asap! The internals will kill everything in your tank if you leave it in there.
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
+1
sorry about that though. was it always that color? the ones i see are mostly a lighter pink. i really like the deeper red.
 
M

mikerunkle

Guest
Well, he isn't done yet....In typical cucumber fashion he apparently can survive without most of his guts....Despite his insides being still being on the outside through that nasty hole, he still reacts to the water changes and has fed...go figure. By the way, he has been out of the main tank since the hole first appeared. I've got him in a small hang on plastic isolation bucket thing...you know the kind I mean... I dump out the stagnant water every couple of hours and add fresh.
Still no idea what has caused this. I can only assume some kind of bacteria infection. I am now treating him and the whole tank with "Melafix" just in case there are some nasty wee-beasties still in there.
No idea if he is going to pull through, but he's still kicking as of this writing...
For those who asked, his guts look like cotton mixed with pink string.....
oh, and yes he's always been a bright red color with blue stripes and yellow feet. Quite a nice specimen.
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Yikes! I know Melafix says its reef and invert safe but i dont know if that was such a good idea.Unless you know for sure its a bacterial/fungus that caused its injury.IMO thats a little risky considering the amount of cash you must have invested in livestock.But then again i dont know much about fish disease or treatment.As a matter of fact,i dont know much about coral,inverts.......
.
Good Luck anyway.
 
M

mikerunkle

Guest
Well, he is still kicking this morning. But check this out. I found this half-way buried in the apple this morning, like a tick. I have never seen a crab like this. Keep in mind that the apple has been in isolation since tuesday, so this guy may have been hiding inside the apple(??) Anyone know what this is?
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by mikerunkle
http:///forum/post/2528271
Well, he is still kicking this morning. But check this out. I found this half-way buried in the apple this morning, like a tick. I have never seen a crab like this. Keep in mind that the apple has been in isolation since tuesday, so this guy may have been hiding inside the apple(??) Anyone know what this is?
WOW
That thing looks like a cross between a crab and a parasite... weird for sure.... I am hanging out to see if anyone knows what it is.
 
K

kat74

Guest
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
http:///forum/post/2528393
WOW
That thing looks like a cross between a crab and a parasite... weird for sure.... I am hanging out to see if anyone knows what it is.
Me too!!~ Wow!
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Ok here you go.... I think this will pretty much clear up all the questions.... I did some research, I was dieing to find more info on this.
Sea cucumbers and apples can be hosts to many different organisms, including Pearlfishes/Carapidae, Polynoid polychaete worms, Periclimenes shrimps, as well as crabs.
And what type of crab this is? It looks to be a Pea Crab, family Pinnotheridae. These are small crabs that live in cukes, tunicates, bivalves, etc., with varying degrees of commensalism to downright parasitism. While some live and do only low key, if any damage to its host, others can cause more threatening damage, such as atrophy of the respiratory organs.
YIKES

If you look up pea crab you will see that it looks exactly like your pic. Hope this helps.. Good luck.
 
M

mikerunkle

Guest
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
http:///forum/post/2528731
Ok here you go.... I think this will pretty much clear up all the questions.... I did some research, I was dieing to find more info on this.
Sea cucumbers and apples can be hosts to many different organisms, including Pearlfishes/Carapidae, Polynoid polychaete worms, Periclimenes shrimps, as well as crabs.
And what type of crab this is? It looks to be a Pea Crab, family Pinnotheridae. These are small crabs that live in cukes, tunicates, bivalves, etc., with varying degrees of commensalism to downright parasitism. While some live and do only low key, if any damage to its host, others can cause more threatening damage, such as atrophy of the respiratory organs.
YIKES

If you look up pea crab you will see that it looks exactly like your pic. Hope this helps.. Good luck.

You're the man and I'm just the guy talking to the man..

Yep, that fits to a "T", which means after I show this little bugger off to a few more people, he's bound for the "other" tank where a spiny puffer and picasso trigger would love to meet him.

As for the poor apple, he is still hanging on. Most of the expelled guts have detached and are being washed out with my water changes. Cucumbers are pretty darn hardy as a species (I once rescued one I thought was dried up drift wood on the beach, he lived for 3 years after his dessication), so maybe he'll pull through after all. I'll keep posting since there is so little info on these guys on the web.
 
K

kat74

Guest
WOW! YOU are awesome!~

You can always be counted on to research and know what you are talking about before you make a post. I've GOT to commend you for that!

Originally Posted by PerfectDark
http:///forum/post/2528731
Ok here you go.... I think this will pretty much clear up all the questions.... I did some research, I was dieing to find more info on this.
Sea cucumbers and apples can be hosts to many different organisms, including Pearlfishes/Carapidae, Polynoid polychaete worms, Periclimenes shrimps, as well as crabs.
And what type of crab this is? It looks to be a Pea Crab, family Pinnotheridae. These are small crabs that live in cukes, tunicates, bivalves, etc., with varying degrees of commensalism to downright parasitism. While some live and do only low key, if any damage to its host, others can cause more threatening damage, such as atrophy of the respiratory organs.
YIKES

If you look up pea crab you will see that it looks exactly like your pic. Hope this helps.. Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top