Why should I avoid these critter?

[xxaquanutxx]

Hi all,

 

I keep on reading from posts that you should : Avoid cucumbers, starfish, urchins, nudibranchs, etc.

 

 

Why is that so??

 

Thanks!

:

[onthefly]

Well,

 

Urchins have lone spines and things can get speared....take alook at the "DREAD/RIP" thread. Also, I think some can eat coralline...

 

Nudi's are gorgeous, but their niche is so specific that they will only last if they have a location-specific algae....the exception to that is the lettuce nudi, but that leads to the next problem. They have a PH death wish.....Nudi soup is NASTY! Some will chew on Zoo's!

 

I'm not totally sure, but when cuc's die they can spoil the hole tank.......

 

Finally, starfish are hit and miss. Some are not reef safe (i.e. asterinas) and will eat coralline and other corals. The being said, some have asterinas and say they've never laid a hand on their corals, while other have seen they chewing away on an SPS. Many brittlestars are safe, but again, some aren't....

 

Bottomline, these are all things that look awesome, but with such difficulty identifying the subtle differences between ones that are reef safe and the ones that aren't.......makes them more of an problem than anything else.

 

HTH

[xxaquanutxx]

Thanks.. Does any one Know which cool critters I can put in the tank to clean the sand bed besides snails, shrimp, and crabs?

[Physh1]

Some cukes are toxic some aren't I use tigertail cukes myself....they are great and safe.

 

Cameron

[Acoustic]

Believe me when I say.....Do not ever get an urchin. I had one for about a month. All it ever did was eat coraline algae. It also wore anything that he touched. It was so messy and tore up the whole tank.