Removing Sea Cucumber

I've had a sea cucumber in my tank for a few weeks now and after doing some research I have been worrying he's going to go postal on my tank so tonight's the night. How do I get my tiger tail cucumber out of my tank without him blowing up?

 

Don't worry about a Holothuria sp. cuke, if that's your only issue with it. Holothuria sp. rarely cause any problems, and are the most forgiving of the cukes.

However, if you want to remove it, just pick it up gently (don't jostle it around) and pull it out.

 

Are there any tricks when the cucumber is super tight on the glass? I wanted to purchase one a couple of weeks ago, and it was so firmly attached to the glass, we couldn't budge it. The LFS guy tried squirting some cold water on it (don't know why) but no effect. Not trying to hijack the thread.....

 

Not hijacking at all, I wouldnt mind knowing the answer myself.

 

You kinda need to treat them like sea stars when trying to remove them from the tank panels. Usually a persistent, gentle wiggle can loosen them. However, if one really sucks down onto the glass, they can be difficult to remove short of prying them off, which often injures them. Sometimes, you can get under them with an old credit card or the like, but you need to be super careful not to damage their "feet".

 

FWIW, I had a cuke nuke a few years ago and have since purchased another one. The one I had was your standard pink and black. It wondered into a maxi jet and WHAMMO all fish dead. Now, no maxi jets or any pumps like that in my display. Only my koralias and wp40

 

How did it affect your coral if you don't mind me asking?

 

They slimed but I didn't lose any. Cuke Nukes affect the oxygen in the water, smothering the fish. I also didn't lose my cleaner shrimp. Everything else was gone.

 

Was the cuke a Cholochirus sp.? It sounds like it. The Cholochirus cukes are more likely to nuke a tank than Holothuria.