[YoHo]

Gah, so My wife wakes me up this morning telling me that the fish is dead and the cucumber is hurt. I check it out and sure enough, my clown is dead as a Doornail. My wife said he was fine a half hour earlier. Then I check the cucumber out. he's trying to climb out of the tank and the majority of his body has been destroyed somehow.

not knowing what to do I take the rest of him out and put it in a container in case he's still among the living.

The tank smells really bad. I then notcied one of the the pumps not working and I find SOMETHING in it.

looks like the cucumber got himself stuck. Do cucumbers have poison? I can't remember.

The snails are dropping like flies, but the crabs seem content to eat the fish carcass.


Anyone have any ideas?

[zhenya]

Originally posted by YoHo
Do cucumbers have poison? I can't remember.

The snails are dropping like flies, but the crabs seem content to eat the fish carcass.


Anyone have any ideas?

depending upon wich species of Holothurian you have,yes,they can wipe out entire tank.The dull brown looking cuckes are not as bad(carribean species) but more colorfull ones are very dengerous in that they are very poisonous(the bright colors are worning of that). Here's a link to read FAQ about cuckes.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seacukefaq2.htm

Sorry to hear about your losses and problems. I would recomend few back to back water changes and use of GAC,pronto.That is the only advice I have for this
Hope things work out for you quick

[YoHo]

Thanks, he was kinda beigeish.


The Astera snails are the ones most affected. The turbos seem fine.

got them all out and into fresh-salt water until the tank is a little better off.

[zhenya]

Yes,I would expect fish and snails to react fast to this toxins. After few w/changes and carbon use,I'm sure things will return to normal. I had Doc Shimecks article about cuckes somewhere on my hard drive but can't locate it at the moment.I'll post a link as soon as I find it
Posts like yours about this sort of problems is the very reason I stay away from this Echinoderms

Ok, found the article,if you're interested

http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/a...wb/default.asp

Here's an abstract from it:

Some cukes, particularly tropical species, may have defensive structures called “Cuvierian tubules” or “Cuvierian organs,” which are derived from the respiratory trees. If these animals are stressed they may expel these tubules from the anus during a partial evisceration.

The Cuvierian tubules are sticky and contain a vertebrate-specific toxin called holothurin. In nature, this reaction probably just distracts, irritates and sickens a potential predator. It is unlikely that it would be lethal. However, the predator is probably deterred from that particular cuke, which lives to regenerate its lost parts. In the enclosed volume of an aquarium, this response can rapidly kill all the fish and perhaps some of the invertebrates.

[YoHo]

The Cuke lost more then half his length. Is he still alive?

The sticky substance is easily seen. Does it keep giving off toxins after the initial expulsion? The crabs seem to want to eat the stuff.

Should I just let them clean it up?

[zhenya]

Originally posted by YoHo
The Cuke lost more then half his length. Is he still alive?

The sticky substance is easily seen. Does it keep giving off toxins after the initial expulsion? The crabs seem to want to eat the stuff.

Should I just let them clean it up?

I'm not quite sure what you are seen. Some cuckes will regenerate after evisceration,some do it seasonally. Did you read the article ? If you run some carbon and do water changes the effects could be minimal.

Good luck to you