Australian Sea Apple

[Shawn_epicurious]

I am not sure this is the right thread for this question, but here goes...

You can see the cucumber in the pic below. I’ve had him in my tank for as long as I’ve had livestock... call it four months. I originally put him pretty high up in my tank and he had fairly high flow. He moved himself under the rock I put him on... it was kinna cool. He was basically hanging from the roof of a cave. And he stayed there... nothing really changed. He decided to let go and fell under my rock in a place I could not retrieve him. He is finally in a place where I can get to him now. So... now is my chance. I can net him right now. He is not attachEd to anything atm.

You can‘t see him in the second pic. His is hidden from view on the bottom right side. Where should I try putting him?

 

[Retro Reefer]

I would be very careful with that apple, its probably not going to do well in that new tank.. They have been the demise of many reef tanks and are best left to experienced reefers with proper systems to house them.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I have been very careful with him. Today was only the second time he’s been touched by me. This isn’t the first time I’ve owned one of these, but last time was over 15 years ago. He has been fine this whole time. I loved where he put himself before. I may have inadvertently reduced the flow where he was and he stopped liking it.... dropped to the floor. I now him just below the halfway point in my tank. I put him on a ledge that he can easily move forward on if he wants less light. He has better flow now than he did.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I would be very careful with that apple, its probably not going to do well in that new tank.. They have been the demise of many reef tanks and are best left to experienced reefers with proper systems to house them.

Btw, I get what you are saying. I really never should have put him in my tank. I wasn’t ready for him. But, I do have him, so I want to make sure he does as well as possible.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Wow, you guys must all really dislike this Apple : ) that’s funny : )

I am watching him.. have been all day. That little cliff I mentioned that I set him on? I said he could easily slide down the front of it if he didn’t like the the light...? Lol It’s a crappy pic...

scotch is involved lol

 

[mort]

I don't think it's that we all dislike them, more we know their reputation.

Personally I wouldn't be moving it. It will find its happy place and stay there. It's the same with anemones, the wonderful place we chose for them is normally the one place they don't want to stay.

 

[Garia666]

i think people say this because he is very poisonous and that if they die in your tank they wil spoil there gutts and you whole tank is ruined. as most stuff will die..

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

So I had some thoughts about this guy last night. I broke ties with the LFS guy that sold me this. He was very unethical in many ways. While I must retain the blame for this Sea Apple being in my tank... I would not be at all surprised if that LFS guy sold me this hoping it would kill everything in my tank so that he could sell me more livestock... because that is exactly the kind of guy he is!

Why else would he want to sell this to someone who’s tank had just completed its cycle. I just thought it was a cool looking cucumber at the time. ...again, the fault is mine. I let happen.

 

[Sosuke]

I have a sea apple, when I first got him about 6 months ago I put him on a tall rock and eventually he snuggled himself into the corner of my tank, so they do find their spot eventually. I would say a newly cycled tank is not a good environment for him but if your LFS won't take it back then its best to try and care for him as best as possible.

The first sign of stress and or death is peeling or tearing of the skin this usually means they are stressed, if it shows any signs of death such as tearing of the skin and/or body turns mushy or melts take it out immediately. They do require filter feeding foods I feed at least 2-3 times a day if not they will starve especially in a new system. But feeding does cause excess nutrients so if you're filtration isn't adequate for that amount of food try to see if anyone else can take him off your hands. Hopefully this helped a bit, here's some more info from LiveAquaria

The body and tentacles of the Sea Apple, or Philippine Sea Apple, can be a vareity of colors, but it always has yellow feet. The oral region is usually blue to violet, hence the common name Violet Sea Apple or Violet Sea Urchin.
It prefers an established reef aquarium with room to move about, and large amounts of live rock from which it receives a majority of its food. Once it finds a favorable location, usually in a high current area, the Sea Apple will generally stay there. Protect all intakes on pumps and power heads, to eliminate any possibility of being sucked in. It is very sensitive to high levels of copper-based medications. Sudden changes in pH or salinity can cause it to shed its oral tentacles.

Do not house these cucumbers in an aquarium that contains any fish that may pick on its tentacles. Generally, any fish that is prone to pick on feather dusters, will pick on the tentacles of the Indonesian Sea Apple. These fish include; Butterflyfish, Large Angels, and any species that is listed not safe with invertebrates.

When feeding, it will extend its oral tentacles into the current to filter out food. As the food is trapped, it will then draw its entire tentacle into its mouth. In the aquarium, it will need to be fed a diet of phytoplankton - frozen, liquid, or dried - on a daily basis.

 

[mort]

I've never been convinced these are the major killer they have the reputation of. It's similar with other sea cucumbers, in that they definitely have the potential to wipe everything out but they normally just starved to death and shrink into nothing. They can swell up to be massive and this is the sign that it's probably on its way out.

The most likely scenario in which they would kill your tank is if they were constantly pestored by a fish and eviscerate their internal organs, or more likely they take a trip through a powerhead.

 

[Sosuke]

I've never been convinced these are the major killer they have the reputation of. It's similar with other sea cucumbers, in that they definitely have the potential to wipe everything out but they normally just starved to death and shrink into nothing. They can swell up to be massive and this is the sign that it's probably on its way out.

The most likely scenario in which they would kill your tank is if they were constantly pestored by a fish and eviscerate their internal organs, or more likely they take a trip through a powerhead.

+1 cover your powerheads and intake if you have any. The problem with it even melting away is that it will probably cause an ammonia spike in a new tank

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I have a sea apple, when I first got him about 6 months ago I put him on a tall rock and eventually he snuggled himself into the corner of my tank, so they do find their spot eventually. I would say a newly cycled tank is not a good environment for him but if your LFS won't take it back then its best to try and care for him as best as possible.

The first sign of stress and or death is peeling or tearing of the skin this usually means they are stressed, if it shows any signs of death such as tearing of the skin and/or body turns mushy or melts take it out immediately. They do require filter feeding foods I feed at least 2-3 times a day if not they will starve especially in a new system. But feeding does cause excess nutrients so if you're filtration isn't adequate for that amount of food try to see if anyone else can take him off your hands. Hopefully this helped a bit, here's some more info from LiveAquaria

The body and tentacles of the Sea Apple, or Philippine Sea Apple, can be a vareity of colors, but it always has yellow feet. The oral region is usually blue to violet, hence the common name Violet Sea Apple or Violet Sea Urchin.
It prefers an established reef aquarium with room to move about, and large amounts of live rock from which it receives a majority of its food. Once it finds a favorable location, usually in a high current area, the Sea Apple will generally stay there. Protect all intakes on pumps and power heads, to eliminate any possibility of being sucked in. It is very sensitive to high levels of copper-based medications. Sudden changes in pH or salinity can cause it to shed its oral tentacles.

Do not house these cucumbers in an aquarium that contains any fish that may pick on its tentacles. Generally, any fish that is prone to pick on feather dusters, will pick on the tentacles of the Indonesian Sea Apple. These fish include; Butterflyfish, Large Angels, and any species that is listed not safe with invertebrates.

When feeding, it will extend its oral tentacles into the current to filter out food. As the food is trapped, it will then draw its entire tentacle into its mouth. In the aquarium, it will need to be fed a diet of phytoplankton - frozen, liquid, or dried - on a daily basis.

Thank you for this write up. I have to admit, I have recently learned a lot about this little guy since I started this thread. I am going to write this off as a newbie mistake and try to keep him happy and healthy as long as possible. Everything you wrote is spot on with the research I have done over the last few days.

Nothing in my tank is messing with him at all. My cleaner shrimp were crawling all over him yesterday after I did move him... over night he found his own happy place already and his feeding tentacles have been moving in and out again... so that’s good. He is not completely swollen up anymore.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I've never been convinced these are the major killer they have the reputation of. It's similar with other sea cucumbers, in that they definitely have the potential to wipe everything out but they normally just starved to death and shrink into nothing. They can swell up to be massive and this is the sign that it's probably on its way out.

The most likely scenario in which they would kill your tank is if they were constantly pestored by a fish and eviscerate their internal organs, or more likely they take a trip through a powerhead.

This also jives with everything I’ve read about this little guy in the last few days. There does seem to be quite a bit of debate about this cucumber And his “tank killing” abilities. Hopefully, I know what to look for as signs of trouble now... I may talk to my (New) LFS guying aBout taking him off my hands.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

+1 cover your powerheads and intake if you have any. The problem with it even melting away is that it will probably cause an ammonia spike in a new tank

That is really the primary reason I wanted to move him back to the rock... he was moving his way towards the glass walls on my tank. My power heads do all have covers, but I didn’t want to give him a chance to get close to one.

 

[Smarkow]

I would not move him. His tissue looks healthy. Just make sure you are feeding phyto heavily. If you want him to move adjust the flow pattern.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I would not move him. His tissue looks healthy. Just make sure you are feeding phyto heavily. If you want him to move adjust the flow pattern.

It wasn’t a planned move : ) It was reactionary... he ended up under my live rock where I couldn’t get to him and then ended up right next to the glass... the tank wall. I couldn’t let him start climbing the glass towards a powerhead... so had to make a decision.

I am feeding Algea Barn Phytoplankton daily. 50ml per day... 200 gallon tank.

 

[Smarkow]

I am feeding Algea Barn Phytoplankton daily. 50ml per day... 200 gallon tank.

Sounds good. I feed a but more than you do and finally graduated to running my own cultures - easier than I thought but takes up a lot of space. I have 2 apples and a filter feeding cucumber. I feel like having more organisms eating the phyto lets me feed heavier without polluting the tank... so my own future solution if I see animals shrinking in size will be to add more animals AND up my feeding. Someone tell me if that doesn’t make sense, lol?

 

[ChicagoReef]

I had several Australian Sean Apple's over the years. I never had a problem. After a few years, a fish picked on the Sea Apple a bit and in less than an hour everything in the tank was dead except a few corals. I tried water changes and carbon as soon as it happened and still everything died. It was not a huge tank, but it was 60 gallons. Beautiful creatures - I will leave them to the sea. Best of luck - clearly some people keep them and never have a problem.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

I had several Australian Sean Apple's over the years. I never had a problem. After a few years, a fish picked on the Sea Apple a bit and in less than an hour everything in the tank was dead except a few corals. I tried water changes and carbon as soon as it happened and still everything died. It was not a huge tank, but it was 60 gallons. Beautiful creatures - I will leave them to the sea. Best of luck - clearly some people keep them and never have a problem.

I do absolutely live with that fear! To be honest, I am trying to get my LFS to buy mine from me.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Wow, you guys must all really dislike this Apple : ) that’s funny : )

I am watching him.. have been all day. That little cliff I mentioned that I set him on? I said he could easily slide down the front of it if he didn’t like the the light...? Lol It’s a crappy pic...

scotch is involved lol

Is that a nudibranch , looks like a nudibranch. ..heeee