{"product_id":"tiger-tail-sea-cucumber","title":"Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber","description":"\u003cp\u003eTiger Tail Sea Cucumbers (\u003cem\u003eHolothuria\u003c\/em\u003e sp.) are sand-processing machines — they spend their day plowing through substrate, ingesting sand along with the detritus and organic particles it contains, digesting the organic material, and depositing clean sand back out the other end. In a mature reef with a well-developed sand bed, this is genuinely useful work: cucumbers process and turn over sediment that would otherwise become an anoxic nitrate factory under the rock.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe one real caution with sea cucumbers as a group deserves serious attention: many species carry holothurins — potent defensive toxins sequestered in their tissue — that are released when the animal is severely stressed, injured, or dies in the tank unnoticed. Holothurin release in a closed system can kill fish and invertebrates rapidly. The risk is manageable: keep an eye on the animal, don't rough-handle it, avoid putting it in a tank where it's likely to get shredded by aggressive inhabitants, and don't let it die undetected in a power head intake. In a stable, established reef without aggressive tankmates, the risk is low and the sand-processing benefit is real.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScientific name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Holothuria sp. (Tiger Tail complex; several species sold under this common name)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/strong\u003e Indo-Pacific and tropical Atlantic — sandy and silty reef zones, lagoon floors, seagrass beds\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWater parameters:\u003c\/strong\u003e Temp 72–80°F · Salinity 1.023–1.026 · pH 8.1–8.4\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTank requirements:\u003c\/strong\u003e 50+ gal; deep sand bed (3\"+ preferred) for adequate substrate processing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDiet:\u003c\/strong\u003e Detritivore — organic material and bacteria in sand; no target feeding needed in established systems\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompatibility:\u003c\/strong\u003e Reef safe; passive with all species; avoid tanks with aggressive fish or mantis shrimp that may stress or injure it\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHusbandry note:\u003c\/strong\u003e The biggest risk with sea cucumbers is a slow death going unnoticed. Check on yours regularly — a healthy cucumber is actively moving and plowing. One that's retracted, deflated, or stationary for days needs investigation before it becomes a tank-wide chemical event.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"YoCamron's Aquatics","offers":[{"title":"Wild-Caught","offer_id":50153134883053,"sku":"SWINV-TIGER-TAIL","price":45.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/1032\/8813\/files\/lg-86525-Sea-Cuc-Tiger-Tail.jpg?v=1786966813","url":"https:\/\/www.yocamronsaquatics.com\/products\/tiger-tail-sea-cucumber","provider":"YoCamron's Aquatics","version":"1.0","type":"link"}