help.....

[simonssymfony]

i think my pink sea cucuber is dying..

[eklikewhoa]

I'd flush it before the rest of the tank is affected

[makatak123]

You know he can crash a tank and kill everything. I would take him out now and put him in a little container if he is not dead yet.

[simonssymfony]

ive put him in my back up tank..he has stringy stuff coming from his butt

[eklikewhoa]

Take a video of this happening.

[simonssymfony]

im just not sure what caused this ..he was eating and doing so well..i started adding a dose of plankton to the tank for the scallope could this have caused it

[eklikewhoa]

Could be a spike in water params due to the food if your water quality is on the verge of a break down.

[simonssymfony]

the stringy stuff isnt attached to him anymore..what should i do with the tank ..am i feeding too much ..did he just poop and freak me out

[eklikewhoa]

without pictures it would be hard to tell.

I'd toss the thing in the toilet to keep from anything bad from happening otherwise.

[simonssymfony]

arrgghhh....im new at the salt water tanks and just wanna have fun but dont want to be killing anything....is the plankton cause the water to slightly elevate the nitrite

[eklikewhoa]

idunno what do your water params look like and what do you do for water quality? Also details on the tank setup would be of great help too.

Without details there's not much help to be offered other than random guesses.

[johnnymisty]

Ya do you have an RO/DI filter or using tap water How long has your tank been running

[simonssymfony]

tank has been running for over 2 monthes now..yes i use tap water ...its a 20 gallon long tank ..all the readings are 0 except the nitrites went to slightly blueish purple..i have live rock and live sand...i have 2 filters running ...one of which is a bio filter

[eklikewhoa]

Your tank isn't cycled
Tap water has a lot of things you do not want in a sw tank with inverts/cucumber
Could you elaborate on the two filters and this "bio filter"?

[simonssymfony]

ummm we have well water sorry ...and the tank has cycled and the filters are one reglar filter and one bio wheel filter..

my nitrites were bright blue till i started adding the plankton



my husband found this article...thanks for the help...im assuming this is what mine has done...id rather believe this than flush a living animal down the toilet!

Before we get into the fact, I just want you to know that the sea cucumber is related to the sea star and is actually an animal that is shaped like a cucumber. So what do they do if they are approached by a hungry fish? Some species of sea cucumbers are able to discharge sticky threads to trap their predators. I know you are thinking that this is not nearly as bizarre as shooting blood from your eyes or exploding your own body but stick with me. You see there are other species that get so stressed when threatened by a predator that it just tears them up inside. I am not kidding! The sea cucumber is able to remove parts of its body and shoot them towards the predator. Seriously!! This little cucumber-like animal can violently contract their muscles causing their internal organs to be released through their anus. This would obviously confuse and distract the would be predator giving the sea cucumber time to get away. So what about the lost organs? Luckily enough the sea cucumber will regenerate their organs in no time at all. Remember that the sea cucumber is a trained professional so please don’t try this at home.