Pink & Green Cucumber Question   1/14/06
Hi,<Hello Mordy>
Thanks for taking the item to answer all these questions, you are an
invaluable resource. <Thank you.>
I purchased a pair of pink & green cukes described by the online vendor as
Holothuria sp., what I got however was a pair of Pentacta anceps. They
certainly look nicer but I am not sure how to feed them. Are they detritus
eaters or filter feeders? They are in a heavily stocked FOWLR & Inverts 125
gal tank running for about two years. Water parameters are stable and within
all normal ranges. Mordy, they are detritivores feeding on particulate and dissolved organic matter.  Phytoplankton/zooplankton is on the menu also.  They do require food on a daily basis or they will shrink up and waste away.  In an aged tank such as yours there should be enough food supply to sustain one.  Keep in mind injured cukes may release mild to potent toxins into the water.  James (Salty Dog)>
Please advise.
Mordy Eisenberg

Black Sea Cucumber Problems (3/29/04) 
Hello to whomever is at the helm today. <Steve Allen at your service tonight.> I have a question about my black sea cucumber that I got about one year ago. When I first got him, he ate the sand in my tank, and I would see pellets of sand coming out 
the other end, but after a week or so, he left the bottom of the tank and would spend his time on the live rock, and on the back of the tank. 
Now he is much skinnier and doesn't move much at all. <very concerning.> If I put him on the sand he will crawl back into an upper corner of the tank and just sit there. Did I get a specimen that is doomed to starvation? <Probably> I thought they eat sand and digest the detritus that they take in. <Yes. It sounds like there's not enough food in the substrate.> Could he be eating algae off the tank glass? <not likely> I have a 2-21/2 bed of sugar fine aragonite. <Could be that it needs a little coarser substrate if it is fairly large, but I am uncertain.> PH usually 8.1-8.2, SG 1.025. No ammonia, Nitrite or nitrate. Any advice on my lethargic cuke? <You might want to try target-feeding with frozen Cyclop-Eeze. This may work. Unfortunately, it sounds like it's wasting away. May be to late. Do some more searching on the web. Consider starting a topic at www.wetwebfotos.com do get other opinions.> Thanks for your help, and I really enjoy your website! Cord. <Good luck with this. If the cuke is obviously dying, take it out before it starts to disintegrate and let out toxins.>

Cucumbers
What do most cucumbers eat? Also What is the best thing and way to feed them? 
>>
Most species in the world (and all the ones I'm familiar with in the trade/hobby) are detritivores... using their tentacular "head" to scrounge up small living things from substrates. There are other feeding modes (of other "wild" cucumber species... some are walking, swimming predators...).
The best thing to feed them, is actually "nothing"... that is to instead rely on placing them in a suitable setting where they slowly feed on what they can find in the way of detritus... In a well-established reef setting.
Bob Fenner