Conch or Cucumber?

Since my sand is already turning brown I'm thinking that one of the first things I'd like to add to my tank would be a conch. I've also read a lot of good things about sea cucumbers. Any recommendations as to which one I should use?

Edited by Shayne - April 26 2012 at 2:12pm

I would do just a conch. A lot of cucumbers can pretty much kill an entire tank when they die. They release toxins into the water which will kill fish and corals. So I would say that a conch is a safer bet, at least to start with.

Edited by Ann_A - April 26 2012 at 2:44pm

Tiger Tail cucumber is supposed to be safe from doing that when they die, they eat the sand and poop it out clean.  They are a bit harder to come by however.

I guess I should say that I'm not going to run right out and buy a conch. I just jumped the gun on feeling like I'd received enough responses to this thread. (I haven't. Please feel free to add your opinions.)

Anyway, my tank is technically one and half years old. I have been running it for the last 18 months pretty much fallow. I filled it with salt water, a couple pieces of live rock, and a little live sand. I then proceeded to let it run dark for 18 months. During that time I got a large population of small white featherdusters but that's all I could visibly see.

I'm going to be blunt here, for a reason. Do not add any kind of sand sifting creature in that tank. That would be the wrong thing to do. It could starve. Also, that is not what this tank needs right now. The brown algae growing on the sand and rocks is a normal part of a new tanks growth. Yes, this is like a new tank, because without much light, nothing was able to grow as it should.

Thanks for the pics. For me "a picture [really is] a thousand words".
ASAP, I'd add 20 Astrea Snails along with 10 Cerith Snails and stand ready to add more as needed to eat the algae that will start to grow on the rock and glass. Because of how this tank had some life added but has been sitting in the dark, my worry is that a nuisance algae bloom could come on fast and hard. Don't worry about the sand right now. In normal cases it goes away on it's own and the Ceriths will help keep it from getting out of control.

Also, I should apologize to Ann. I shouldn't have singled out her statement.
The thing I have found is that Cucumbers do not die and kill properly set up and biofiltered tanks. The horror stories we hear and which get rumored all over the www are started by hobbyists, usually newer hobbyists, with little knowledge of how to keep things alive and thriving. Sure, Cucumbers do put out a toxin but for a properly set up tank that has enough growth in the sand to support a Cucumber, death is rare and of no consequence to the other organisms. The coral and/or fish might get a little stressed for a short while, but AC can quickly absorb the toxin.
The key is, as I said above, to learn the needs and take proper care of our tanks and our animals.

Astrea do fine and are plentiful. Nerites are good too. I like a mix of snails because each one does it's job a little differently and the combination does a far better job than just one type alone.
No Hermits at this point.

i have a conch in my 46 gal as well as a sand sifting cucumber because i was told by a member on here that if it did die it woundt kill off my tank but both are doing awesome

Hated my conch it was clumsy and tipped over any frag I put on the sand, I'm with Adam on this one "cucumber guy here"