Feather Cucumber

[rhiannoncum]

Hi,

my feather cucumber that i've had for about 4months now dissppeared this morning,when i found it,it was just its head!! The feathery bits that it feeds with are still there and working, and just a very small amount of its body is left. I cant find the rest of its body in the tank,will it pollute the water because i know they can release toxins into the water when they die. if it has split because its reproducing surely both parts would be the same sort of size??

The head part is about 1cm long and the rest of its body (where ever it is!) is about 25cm.

Is this strange?? Should i be worried???

Please help!

 

[xNOTLOCx]

lol hmm well im not sure if ive ever heard of a feather cucumber, theres 4 different types of cucumbers most are familiar with
Halathuria sp.)
(Holothuria edulis, Halodeima edulis)
(Colochirus robustus)
so i was wondering if you had a different name for it since i couldnt find an ounce of info on it,
Sea cucumbers reproduce with organs consisting of a single branch (called a gonad) that opens to the ouside of the dorsal surface either within the ring of oral tendrils or back to it. This gonad is probably homologous to the axial organ of other echinoderms. Sea Cucumbers usually have seperate sexes, however certain hermaphrodites do occur. Several species carry the eggs and young in pouches. Cucumbers, like all other echinoderms, have great regenerative powers. They are able to rengerate lost parts, and certain species can break themselves in two by transfer division, each half becoming a new animal. In most species, the young are hatched in the body cavity, where they undergo development, ultimately emerging through a rupture of the body wall.
so i think you dont need to worry monitor your water parameters and make sure everything is acting fine, trust me if it was dying the toxins most likely would have made a huge impact on your tank already

 

[rhiannoncum]

Thanks for that, it was sold to me as a feather cucumber and is know in the trade pretty well, unfortunately i also cant find anything on the net about it.

I still cant find the rest of its body, i suppose if it has split in two to reproduce then it will be interesting to see the other end grow a mouth feeding part.

Its called a feather cucumber because its feeding part has a few extentions that are feathered, its body squashes up to around 10cm and at times it streaches itself out to around 40cm!! Colour is very patch grey, black and white and has very tiny hooks along its body that feel sticky if touched.

its a very strange looking thing but its great fun to watch!
I'll see if i can post picture soon.

 

[xNOTLOCx]

Thanks for that, it was sold to me as a feather cucumber and is know in the trade pretty well, unfortunately i also cant find anything on the net about it.

I still cant find the rest of its body, i suppose if it has split in two to reproduce then it will be interesting to see the other end grow a mouth feeding part.

Its called a feather cucumber because its feeding part has a few extentions that are feathered, its body squashes up to around 10cm and at times it streaches itself out to around 40cm!! Colour is very patch grey, black and white and has very tiny hooks along its body that feel sticky if touched.

its a very strange looking thing but its great fun to watch!
I'll see if i can post picture soon.

thatd be awsome, i wanna c it, ya i called my lfs just to ask and they said that thatd its name and its very common, i guess it might be called somethign else on the net or places just dont sell them. im not sure its a mystery lol im sure someone on this forum knows more about em! good luck

 

[rhiannoncum]

Hi again,
I found the latin name for this cucumber, Synapta Maculata on the net.

I would post a picture but today i cant find the head or the body. . . . wierd!!!