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  #1  
Old 12/25/2007, 12:21 PM
rnelson rnelson is offline
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Location: Abilene, Texas
Posts: 431
Word Of Warning - Please Read

Just want to warn people of this so that they don't have to go thru what I'm going thru tonight.....

It's 3:45 AM Christmas Day and I've been up for about 4 hours, pulling dead fish out of my tank......

DO NOT EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER PUT A CUCUMBER IN A TANK!!!!!!!

I found my pink/black cucumber in my sump tonight, dead. It has completely poisoned my tank. So far I have lost:

5" Vlamingi Tang
4" Harlequin Tusk
2" Pajama Cardinal
4" Red Sea Sailfin Tang
4" HiFin Snapper
4" Blue Regal Tang

UPDATE from this morning at 11:00 AM:
Lost 4" Purple Tang
Lost 7" Miniatus Grouper
Lost the 2 remaining Pajama Cardinals

My Harlequin Sweetlips will die later today.

The remaining inhabitants can't really be removed due to size or inability to remove them....they are:
14" Jeweled Eel
24" Zebra Eel
23" Horn Shark
10" across disk BlueSpot Ray

I hope they make it.......

So please, don't risk putting in a cucumber......just not worth it. If someone listens to this, I'll at least not think this night has been completely in vain......

By the way, don't think just because you have a large tank that this can't happen to you.....my tank is a 480gal with a 100gal sump.
  #2  
Old 12/25/2007, 12:33 PM
FOSELONE FOSELONE is offline
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wow...sorry to hear bud...hope your okay...
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  #3  
Old 12/25/2007, 01:07 PM
snorvich snorvich is offline
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Location: Barrington, Illinois
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Cucumbers, sea apples, boxfish, any more that can take down a tank?
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Warmest regards,

~Steve~
  #4  
Old 12/25/2007, 01:17 PM
01saleen 01saleen is offline
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sorry, that really sucks..
  #5  
Old 12/25/2007, 01:21 PM
boostd2valve boostd2valve is offline
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Wow..thats a major loss..I got one of these when i bought some LR off a guy..I didnt know what it was, but I did some research and I made sure i got rid of it the next day!!...Sorry to hear about the loss...
  #6  
Old 12/25/2007, 01:49 PM
Animal Mother Animal Mother is offline
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Yup, lost 13 Erectus seahorses to a cuke nuke about 8 months ago. Corals still aren't quite the same.
  #7  
Old 12/25/2007, 01:56 PM
rnelson rnelson is offline
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I'm running lots of carbon.....guess I need to do a big water change also?
  #8  
Old 12/25/2007, 02:14 PM
crazedpuffer crazedpuffer is offline
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Definitely.
Sorry for your losses
  #9  
Old 12/25/2007, 02:35 PM
Freed Freed is offline
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Sorry to hear. Did it get stuck in a pump or just die for some odd reason? Did it just decide to release toxin for some unexplained reason?
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  #10  
Old 12/25/2007, 03:58 PM
KUDA KUDA is offline
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That's awful! I was considering ordering one but now I won't for sure!
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12 Gallon Aquapod
37 Gallon Macro Algae Tank with 15 Gallon Sump

55 Gallon Reef Under Construction
  #11  
Old 12/25/2007, 04:20 PM
H^2 Salt H^2 Salt is offline
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Terrible expierance to say the least...sorry fro your loss....i had a similar incident with my fully stocked reef and lost every coral
  #12  
Old 12/25/2007, 07:01 PM
zemuron114 zemuron114 is offline
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how did it get to your sump??? tigertail cucumbers generally dont nue tanks when they die (they just slowly get eaten by the clean up crew) I wasn't aware that pink hotdogs would destroy a tank... Did it make the water cloudy and did it stink??

that sucks on christmas... Sorry to hear
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  #13  
Old 12/25/2007, 07:24 PM
Animal Mother Animal Mother is offline
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Really sucks, especially on Christmas holidays... not very cheerful at all.

I did several water changes over a couple of days, ran the skimmer heavy (typically didn't run the skimmer on the pony tank) and added a HOB filter to run carbon. 3 of our seahorses were on the bottom of the tank...among the other dead ones... breathing very slowly and looking very weak. I moved them to another tank and a few hours later they were swimming around again.

Didn't notice any difference in the water as far as smell or color goes. Looked fine on first glance, then I noticed all of the horses laying on the bottom in a mass grave... depressing.

Cucumbers should be boycotted IMO.
  #14  
Old 12/25/2007, 08:19 PM
rnelson rnelson is offline
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zemuron114,
Well, the only way is over the overflow, into the durso and down......quite a trek. Water was not cloudy but it doesn't smell good....

Animal Mother,
Agreed.....no one should buy one......guarantee you I never will
  #15  
Old 12/25/2007, 08:58 PM
Freed Freed is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Freed
Sorry to hear. Did it get stuck in a pump or just die for some odd reason? Did it just decide to release toxin for some unexplained reason?
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  #16  
Old 12/25/2007, 09:29 PM
rnelson rnelson is offline
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Freed,

Not sure....I found it in my sump next to the bulkhead that runs to my skimmer.....also, my skimmer was off.......took the cuke out and turned my skimmer pump back on, everything looked fine and it came on.....I don't know, maybe it got sucked into my skimmer pump and stopped the pump...then floated back out when the pump stopped?

I just hope I got all of it out......

Just had a feeding....the shark/ray/eels all ate very eagerly....the sharks respiration rate looks normal......hope they make it, they look just fine....

I will do a 100gal water change tomorrow.....couldn't do one today because I didn't have much salt and the stores are closed for the holidays.......
  #17  
Old 12/25/2007, 10:42 PM
InvaderJim InvaderJim is offline
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Hope your remaining fish pull through.
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  #18  
Old 12/25/2007, 10:45 PM
ACBlinky ACBlinky is offline
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Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada
Posts: 3,804
I'm so sad for you, what an awful experience - and on Christmas, of all the days!

I knew sea apples were potential bombs, but until I read this I didn't realize pink cukes could cause this kind of damage. I've considered getting one in the past (probably a tiger tail) but never got around to it. Now, I want you to know I'll never buy a cucumber, specifically because of this thread. I'm glad you took the time and energy to post about what happened - I'm sure this will help quite a few people, if that's any consolation.

I hope your tank recovers quickly, I'm so sorry for all your losses. I hope the rest pull through.
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  #19  
Old 12/25/2007, 11:29 PM
rnelson rnelson is offline
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Location: Abilene, Texas
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Yeah, I didn't write this thread to illicit any sympathy, though I do appreciate it. I just want to warn people that there could be a disaster waiting for them, and maybe if they listen then my loss will not have been in vain.

Thanks ACBlinky
  #20  
Old 12/25/2007, 11:48 PM
mrwilson mrwilson is offline
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Location: Dublin, Ohio
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This is now the second or third time I've seen a thread about a terrible cucumber incident like this, where practically a whole tank gets wiped out. Just out of curiosity, why does anyone get cukes? Is it just that some people are unfortunately unaware of this danger, or is there some benefit that is thought (by some) to override the risk? (If all they do is clean detritus, etc., there are clearly much safer animals to do that.)
  #21  
Old 12/26/2007, 12:14 AM
LukFox LukFox is offline
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Location: Los Gatos, CA
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Mr. Wilson, if you take a look at his stocklist, the regular clean up crew of snails, shrimps, and hermits would get eaten in no time. I know that's why I got a cucumber at least... Everything except the cucumber and urchins are on the menu. I've had my tiger tail cucumber for two years, but after reading this thread I think I'm going to remove him...
  #22  
Old 12/26/2007, 01:18 AM
zemuron114 zemuron114 is offline
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tigertail and pink cukes are probably the best detritus and clean up crew you can get... 1 tigertail will maintain a 75-100 gallon tank (depending on size)

there are drawbacks of course.... some can gamble. It just seems odd that 1 pink cuke could wipe out a 480 gallon tank... are you sure there isn't anything else??
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  #23  
Old 12/26/2007, 01:32 AM
temec_luver temec_luver is offline
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tiger tails wont release posions
  #24  
Old 12/26/2007, 07:15 AM
rfields rfields is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by temec_luver
tiger tails wont release posions
Tiger Tails

Taken straight off LA's website about Tiger Tails:

"Caution: Cucumbers must be maintained with peaceful tank mates to avoid potential accidents. Although this species does not have tubules of Culvier, if attacked by aggressive fish or injured by unsecured pump intakes, it will expel its internal organs, which may be toxic to fish."

From what I have seen this one is the best to have in your system IF you are going to have one but you are still running a risk.

Rod
  #25  
Old 12/26/2007, 09:43 AM
SDguy SDguy is offline
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Location: San Diego
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Quote:
Originally posted by zemuron114
how did it get to your sump??? tigertail cucumbers generally dont nue tanks when they die (they just slowly get eaten by the clean up crew) I wasn't aware that pink hotdogs would destroy a tank... Did it make the water cloudy and did it stink??

that sucks on christmas... Sorry to hear
FWIW, I had a sea apple nuke a tank many many years ago. No cloudiness, no smell. Water and inverts look normal. Just dead gasping fish within a half hour. And this sea apple was only 1-2" diameter...tiny.
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