Sea Cucumber Pet Information
Unlike its name implies, the sea cucumber is not a vegetable but an animal. It's a marine invertebrate that can be found living on the sea floor in oceans all over the world. It is commonly added to salt water or marine aquariums and kept as a component of a coral reef.
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Environment
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Sea cucumbers require live sand, very high water quality and a friendly community of fish that are not aggressive and will not scavenge and possibly try to eat the sea cucumber. Measures should be taken to prevent sea cucumbers from getting stuck in tank filters, and the nitrate levels in the water should be kept low. Copper can be toxic to sea cucumbers, and sea cucumbers should be removed if copper-based medication is added to the tank to treat fish.
Temperature
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Sea cucumbers are found all over the world, but different species are found in different water temperatures. When choosing a pet cucumber, determine which area of the globe it is from to provide it with the best captive temperature and to decide if it is a good fit for your marine aquarium. Colder reef aquariums are generally 75 to 77 degrees, while warmer ones may be 78 to 80 degrees.
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Diet
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Sea cucumbers kept as pets eat tiny pieces of debris that gather on the sand at the bottom of the tank. They can go up to a year without eating, but may starve if there is no suitable food source or if conditions are not hospitable to the food they require. When eating, the sea cucumber will appear to be swallowing piles of sand to filter its food from the substrate internally.
Benefits
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Sea cucumbers are beneficial to marine reef keepers because they keep the sand at the bottom of the aquarium clean.
Warning
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One species of sea cucumber that is commonly kept as a pet in community marine aquariums is called the sea apple. When injured, it can release toxins into the water that will kill all of the wildlife in the tank. If injured, a sea apple should be removed as soon as possible.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit sea cucumber image by Amjad Shihab from Fotolia.com
