Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber

The Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber (Holothuria hilla) is a large deposit-feeding cucumber that rakes sand into its mouth continuously, extracting bacteria and organic particles and leaving the substrate cleaner behind it. Wild adults reach ~40 cm, though LFS specimens are usually sold much smaller. Unlike sea apples and the toxin-expelling Actinopyga, H. hilla is not documented to actively release Cuvierian tubules — but any cucumber should be kept away from intakes and handled minimally, since a stressed or shredded one can still foul a tank. It needs a thick, mature sand bed to feed and is an expert-level animal.