Is this thing going to nuke my tank?

[Apollo7235]

Hi all,

I stupidly, emphasis on stupidly, accepted an exchange at WWC today where they took back some Babylonian snails that they sold to me previously as 'super nassarius snails' and gave me a tiger tail sea cucumber.

I am well aware that I should have just asked for my money back, but now that I have the thing, I need to figure out what to do with it. I am going to call a LFS tomorrow and see if they will take it as a buy or trade, but until then, I have it in my empty fish QT where it is currently curled up on the sand bed. I dropped some New Life Spectrum Thera Plus A pellets on the sand bed in the hopes that it might swallow them as it takes in the sand, but I am super afraid that it is going to nuke my little QT.

Any advice? If it does, do I need to throw everything out and start over?

Thank you in advance!

Here it is. I really don't like the way it's pinched in places like that....... (The milky stuff is something on the inside of the tank glass, not something floating in the water)

 

[DJF]

Cucumbers are great clean up crew- they eat dirty sand & it poops out clean; your sand looks too clean for it tho- they get a bad wrap and could “nuke” a smaller tank. IMHO- your tank is a tad too young for a tigertail.

 

[Cell]

It's going to starve in your tank.

 

[Apollo7235]

It's going to starve in your tank.

@DJF

Cucumbers are great clean up crew- they eat dirty sand & it poops out clean; your sand looks too clean for it tho- they get a bad wrap and could “nuke” a smaller tank. IMHO- your tank is a tad too young for a tigertail.

I don't want to keep it, I really just want to keep it alive until I can take it to someone who can properly care for it. Any advice?

 

[Montiman]

I love tiger tails.

They need an established tank but having lost some in the past they will not nuke your tank like the filter feeding cucumbers will.

I have one at home that seems to have turned into 3 but I only see them about once every other week.

 

[DJF]

I don't want to keep it, I really just want to keep it alive until I can take it to someone who can properly care for it. Any advice?

Really just rehome it at your earliest convenience; It shouldn’t die overnight. The alternative would be to get some dirty live sand in there but whoever gets you that sand would probably take it off your hands.

 

[Apollo7235]

Really just rehome it at your earliest convenience; It shouldn’t die overnight. The alternative would be to get some dirty live sand in there but whoever gets you that sand would probably take it off your hands.

Okay, that’s what I’ll do. I’m trying to get it to an LFS tomorrow if I can, I just really don’t want it to die overnight. I’d feel really awful if it did.

Thanks!

 

[malacoda]

As long as it's a stable QT tank at normal salinity (33-35 ppt) and temp (73-83 F) it'll be fine.

They don't starve overnight. It takes many, many weeks (and the slowly shrink down to literally nothingness ... like the size of a TicTac ... as it happens).

And they don't just go nuclear for the slightest little reason. It'd take a LOT of stress ... mangled in a powerhead, savagely ripped up by a fish, etc. ... for it to happen. Even then, tiger tails are among the least toxic, and GAC and water change can mitigate the chances of any ill effects.

Great sandbed CUC IMO. Can't wait to get one in my 65g ... hopefully they'll be in stock during my next fish order.

 

[Apollo7235]

As long as it's a stable QT tank at normal salinity (33-35 ppt) and temp (73-83 F) it'll be fine.

They don't starve overnight. It takes many, many weeks (and the slowly shrink down to literally nothingness ... like the size of a TicTac ... as it happens).

And they don't just go nuclear for the slightest little reason. It'd take a LOT of stress ... mangled in a powerhead, savagely ripped up by a fish, etc. ... for it to happen. Even then, tiger tails are among the least toxic, and GAC and water change can mitigate the chances of any ill effects.

Great sandbed CUC IMO. Can't wait to get one in my 65g ... hopefully they'll be in stock during my next fish order.

I would love to keep it, but I am not ready for one yet, unfortunately. If you were in Central Florida, I would just give it to you!

The tank is fairly new, but I seeded it using media from my seemingly magic other QT over the weekend, so I would imagine it's alright. Salinity and temperature are fine and the ammonia badge is showing clear.

Thank you! I appreciate the response.

 

[CoralB]

I would take back and ask for conch snails , I have Nassarius snails as well which work good under the sand but when I got the conch snails they move on top and below the sand stirring it up all day while eating detritus and leftover food left in the sand . They are reef safe , never seen them on rocks , they don’t bite or eat coral but they will move them out of their way if not attached . Had them for four months so far and never bothered my coral on the rock .

 

[Apollo7235]

I forgot to update this thread (sorry), but I took the little guy to a LFS 2 days after my original post. Unfortunately, they don't do buy/trade, but I just gave it to them anyway. It wasn't the happiest looking little cucumber for obvious reasons, but at least now it has a shot at a much more appropriate home.