Beans is here!!!!!!

[bluespotocto]

Ok i will get one. What kind of species do you have or what kind should i get? Also since they eat the algae you dont have to feed them right?

 

[Tommycs]

That is correct, you do not have to feed them so long as there is a sufficient amount of algae in the tank. I believe I have Holothuria floridana but really any species so long as it is a simple algae eater is fine, I think some of the more colorful ones need some more advanced care and at that point it's more trouble than it's worth. I'm fairly inexperienced at this so I am unsure if there is a reason why they should not be kept together. But if there is please someone step in and correct me.

 

[bluespotocto]

So pretty much any sea cucumber will work with that eats algae? Will they eat any kind?

 

[DWhatley]

Look up cuke nuke. Unfortunately, dead cucumbers can be devistating to an aquarium but, as always, some are less of a problem than others. Stay completely away from the sea apple cucumber. I have no issue with keeping them but they require special attention and an experienced aquariest (and their own tank IMO). The plainer the better is a general rule when using them for clean-up and I would suggest small (lower amounts of toxin if it dies). My son and I have kept several and never had a water poisoning issue when they died but Animal_Mother lost a tank of seahorses and you will see many warnings under the research I suggested above.

 

[bluespotocto]

So i got a sea cucumber to help with my algae problem in the sand. I put him in the tank and he started cruising around. Then beans came over and checked him out. She picked him up and kinda like through him. Also has any one ever seen a grey like hair algae that grows in the sand? It grows super fast.

Also beans keeps squirting water out of the over flow. How can i stop her from doing that? Its ruining the wall.

 

[bluespotocto]

Can i keep a sea urchin with an octo? Will she eat it? Also where can i get a ton of hermit crabs to help clean and for the octo to eat?

 

[DWhatley]

My best suggestion would be to rig something over the place he squirts so that the water goes back into the tank.
Jean has some interesting stories about one of their octopuses squirting a particular employee anytime she walked by. Because of the negative (both sides if I recall) relationship is seems this aquarium employee got octo tank clean-up more often than her equal share of the time She also had one that would delight in squirting the light fixture and shorting out a major circuit.

Hermits might be a good answer but I the color of the stuff is odd. You can get them just about anywhere on-line and I would check locally to see if you can do better without the shipping but Lynn can get you as many as you want. You might try taking a few handfulls and soaking it in freshwater overnight then rinsing it in saltwater and let it set another night. It will kill the good bacteria but should not be a major impact and should not create a mini cycle if you do it this way for maybe a two week period.

 

[Dustinh]

Can i keep a sea urchin with an octo? Will she eat it? Also where can i get a ton of hermit crabs to help clean and for the octo to eat?

i second that question.

 

[bluespotocto]

So can i keep an urchin with her? I want one so it will eat the algae.

 

[DWhatley]

Octos seem to leave urchins alone (don't know why exactly since large fish love to eat them, the same fish that enjoy the common delight in spiney lobster). There is an unanswered question about which urchins are safe concerning the skin of the octopus. Any kind of puncture is an almost a guaranteed infection in an aquarium and could be life threatening. Octopuses don't seem to pay a lot of attention to what they climb on or over unless it stings them so mixing sharp objects and octopuses is something to avoid. There is one urchin that usually has blunt spines (pencil urchin) but some of these also have a very sharp set in addition to the blunted ones.

I am a fan of urchins and keep several caribbean varieties but only put them in an octopus tank when it is between octos. I have kept pencils in with octos though and not had any problems with the pairing. Unfortunately, an underfed pencil will turn to eating polyps and other soft coral (IME this does not reverse if there is later enough food) and I generally keep this kind in my sumps except when put to work cleaning an aquarium. I have not seen pin cushion and rock urchins munch polyps but both have sharp spines (particularly the rock - as my fingers will sadly testify - the pin cushion will eat coraline algae before attacking any other). Of these two I suspect the pin cushion might be an acceptable octopus companion but I have never risked the combination. I do throw one in SueNami's tank between octos though since it gets overrun with coraline algae and the tank looks like one big purple rock.

 

[bluespotocto]

Ok so i think i might try a pin cushion. I am making an order form island marine life. You told a good kind of polyp. It was called giant sun zoanthid. Do you know if IML has any or where i can get some?

 

[bluespotocto]

Never mind i found some at sea life inc.

 

[bluespotocto]

Has any one tried the brown short spine urchin?

 

[DWhatley]

If you would rather order from IML, send Lynn a note that you want the sun polyps and mention my name. I get brownie points but more importantly, he will trade with Ken to fill the order . Either vendor is very reputable and ecologically sound for collecting (I am webmaster both sites ).

As for the brown urchin, click on the thumbnail and I think you will have your answer. Those spines are not flexible. Additionally the tips of the thicker spined urchins will break off when you accidently brush against them cleaning the tank - the black rocks on my black backgrounds go unnoticed way too often - and leave nasty tiny pieces in the puncture holes in your skin. It takes irritating months for your body to reject them. The pin cushion spines are not as problematic and is one reashon I feel they may be acceptable but have not tried them with an octo.

 

[bluespotocto]

Ya thats what i was thinking also when i looked at the picture. My LFS has some tuxedo urchins. What about those?