Tigertail Cucumber - Holothuria hilla

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The Tigertail Cucumber (Holothuria hilla) is well known in the aquarium trade. They are brown with white 'thorns' and may grow to several feet in length. They should not be confused with the striped Holothuria thomasi from the Atlantic, also known as the Tigertail Cucumber.

Holothuria cucumbers are often known as "sand-sifting" or "sand-mopping" cucumbers. While most cucumbers extend feeding oral tentacles into the water to catch free-floating plankton, these cucumbers move along the bottom and use their sticky oral tentacles like mops to collect detritus, bacteria, microalgae and other food particles. Many will burrow into the substrate or extend their bodies out from the protection of rockwork to feed. With the exception of very large systems, it is best to limit cucumbers to one per tank. Multiple cucumbers can often deplete an aquarium of their food source and lead to the cucumbers starving unless fed heavily.

Like most other cucumbers, these cucumbers can release holothurin toxins which can be very harmful and dangerous to tankmates. They usually only release toxins when threatened or harassed; avoid keeping cucumbers with large hermits or other potential predators. Most fish will not eat a cucumber because of these toxins but cucumbers should not be kept with fish known to be invert predators like triggers, puffers, parrots or fish with similar temperaments and diets.