Sea Apple?

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lion-clown

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2008
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177
Location
Tumwater WA
I know this isn't a corral but i couldn't find a better place to put it. Are sea apples kind of safe I heard they aren't but one guy was telling me he kept one for years and never had a problem. Any ideas I think I might want one one day because they are so awsome looking but am scared. Any one else ever keep one?
 
I know this isn't a corral but i couldn't find a better place to put it. Are sea apples kind of safe I heard they aren't but one guy was telling me he kept one for years and never had a problem. Any ideas I think I might want one one day because they are so awsome looking but am scared. Any one else ever keep one?

I saw one I fell in love with....they are worse then cucumbers...if they die they will release toxin and kill your tank. Actually, I take that back..from this article it is a type of cucumber.

But here is an article that can tell you more about them
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/invert.htm
 
They are a expert invert. Reason being they like mature astablished tanks with steady level water readings. And many fish will pick at them. If it dies then you could lose lots if not all your stock. So geting one means your ricking all your time and money on one purchase. I wouldnt.
 
I agree with what has been said. Here is a past thread, where someone was asking about them, and I added some additional informative links.

Cucumber Question
 
Have 2 in my 270 no probs they move from time to time 25 fish no one picks on them just spot feed they fill in dark areas great with color need decent flow otherwise they will move
 
I believe they need filter feeding constantly or will starve to death slowly.
This seems to be what has happened more often than wiping out a tank ASSUMING YOU LOOK AT IT DAILY !! as signs of stress and decay will show up before that happens.having carbon in the sump and a good sized skimmer should take care of most toxins assuming you remove it when you see problems.

This is also in the article NaH2O linked to under post #2 Sea Cucumbers part 2 Rob Toonen


" The dangerous reputation of this attractive sea cucumber is certainly based in reality, however, as I explained in my previous articles (Toonen 1998b, 2002, 2003), sea cucumbers have a variety of defenses that are generally tried before they resort to a general release of their toxic chemicals for defense. In general, it is only when a sea apple is extremely stressed that they will actually release the toxic chemicals that are capable of wiping out an aquarium, and many people have had one of these animals die in their tanks without any evidence of toxic release. Furthermore, there are many animals that we commonly keep in our tanks (in particular some sponges and zooanthids) that have much more potent chemical defenses than do sea apples. So, basically the main reason that sea apples are potentially dangerous to a reef aquarium has less to do with their chemical defenses than with the fact that they move around and are more likely to meet an unpleasant end in our reef tanks than an equally toxic sponge or soft coral. "


And yes another quote from the same article

" However, I do want to say something about the dire warnings that often appear on the web about ever adding a sea cucumber to an aquarium. While I will repeat that it certainly is possible for a sea apple to kill tankmates if sufficiently stressed, I have often included a sea apple in my own tanks without any problems. If proper precautions are taken to ensure that the sea apple is not damaged by a pump intake or overflow, chances are very slim that you’ll ever see any evidence of the toxicity of these animals. In my experience, reports of “cuke nukes” most often occur when the tank is small, runs an undersized (or no) skimmer, does not use or regularly replace carbon, or when the tank is not checked on a daily basis (such as when someone goes away for vacation and has a friend look after their tank)"


I am thinking of adding one to my tank .


:)

Paul
 
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Fish out of water ? Related to sea apples .

"stay away.... had one wipe a tank out after 2 years with no issues."

Was this YOUR personal tank?

Did you spot filter feed it often?

Tell us did you watch it daily?

So it NEVER looked Stressed before it died?

Did it die due to moving next to a pump?

Did you have a good skimmer and carbon in your sump?

Curious Paul :)
 
I love sea apples and cucumbers but haven't kept one in years. Many of my reef friends have very happy and healthy ones.

Yes when they die they can take out a tank. Just like a large anemone or even a big fish can do the same.

If you are familiar with pets that need excellent water in a very mature tank with lots of available food to filter out, go for it.
If fairly new to this hobby, stay away from most inverts except for snails and hermits. Of the inverts, these are quite advanced.

When they die, not only is your tank at risk, but one more Ocean creature is gone before it's time.
If they were easy, everyone would be doing it.:)
 
I have two and love them. Thats great that you asked. Lots of great points. Anyone know the signs that its going to die?? or will it one day be fine and 10min later your tank is dead.
 
salmonslayer - I'm not sure? I do know one person who had one for awhile, then one day her tang decided to pick on it. The next thing she knew, everything was toast.
 
Yea i read the article and it sounded like there are pretty obvios signs that there going down hill if you watch your tank carefully.
 
with all the differnt liquid foods availble on the market keep one of these animals is not impossible
 
I'm keeping 2 of them, really big and a small one, in dedicated tank, refugium type. No fish, all macroalgae, I could find, rock wall to harbor pods. Heater in sump, or should be protected by heater guard.

Have them not for a long time, less than year.

Several times a day feedings by any smallest food, I could lay my hands on, including smallest live rotifers once a day, and variety of preserved phytoplankton.

Here is link to another thread with my tank photos and another keeper experience (1yr+) with feeding MicroVert and ChromaPlex.
Other keeper, more, more, more, target feeding technique, that didn't work for my sea apple.

HTH
 
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