Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber (Holothuria impatiens) Care Guide
Holothuria impatiens is a slim, banded, nocturnal deposit-feeding sea cucumber that cleans sand and rubble in reef aquariums.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Holothuria impatiens is a slim sea cucumber of the family Holothuriidae. According to Wikipedia it has an elongated cylindrical body with leathery skin, mottled brown, grey or purplish-brown, often banded in alternating pale and dark colour, with low rounded papillae that feel rough. It is a nocturnal cleaner of sand and rock surfaces in reef systems.
Taxonomy
- Family: Holothuriidae
- Genus: Holothuria (subgenus Thymiosycia)
- Scientific name: Holothuria impatiens
Habitat
Per Wikipedia its range spans the tropical Indo-Pacific, the tropical western Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and the Mediterranean. It lives on reef flats and lagoons, usually underneath rocks or coral rubble, at depths from about 2 m down to 40 m, and is described as nocturnal and very cryptic.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 150 L
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Salinity: 1.024-1.026 SG
- dKH: 8-11
- Adult size: 15-30 cm; Wikipedia reports about 15 cm
- Lifespan: 5-10 years
Diet
It is a deposit feeder. Per Wikipedia it sifts through sediment with its feeding tentacles and ingests dead biological material such as fragments of seaweed. It emerges to feed at night and requires a mature substrate rich in detritus; it is not target-fed.
Compatibility
Peaceful and reef-safe, it is best kept with non-aggressive reef fish. Avoid triggerfish and pufferfish, which may harass it. Wikipedia notes the species readily expels sticky Cuvierian tubules when threatened as a defence against predators.
Breeding
It is a broadcast spawner. On the Great Barrier Reef, Wikipedia reports reproduction takes place once a year, in late spring or early summer, with females producing a small number of large eggs. Captive breeding is impractical.
Holothuria impatiens Breeding Guide
Overview
Holothuria impatiens, the tiger-tail or burrowing sea cucumber, grows to about 15 cm with leathery skin mottled brown, grey or purplish-brown and banded in alternating pale and dark colours. It is a nocturnal, very cryptic deposit feeder that sifts sediment with its feeding tentacles and ingests dead biological material such as seaweed fragments. Its range spans the tropical Indo-Pacific, western Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean at depths of about 2 to 40 m.
Reproductive Mode
The species is gonochoric and reproduces sexually by broadcast spawning, casting gametes into the water; reproduction takes place once a year, in late spring or early summer on the Great Barrier Reef. Females produce a small number of large eggs.
Asexual Reproduction
Although several related sea cucumbers reproduce asexually by transverse fission, H. impatiens has never been observed to do this. Population increase in this species therefore depends entirely on its annual sexual spawning.
Sexual Reproduction
Broadcast fertilisation produces planktonic larvae. As in sea cucumbers generally, development passes through the ciliated auricularia and barrel-shaped doliolaria stages before the juvenile form is reached, requiring weeks to months of suspended planktonic feeding.
Common Challenges
The planktonic larval phase cannot be supported in a display aquarium, so the species is not propagated at home. When handled, H. impatiens readily expels sticky Cuvierian tubules as a defence, and like other holothurians a dead or severely stressed specimen can foul the water.