Sand Dollar Care

Discussion in 'Inverts' started by rjestrada, Nov 30, 2008.

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  1. rjestrada

    rjestrada Plankton

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    I was interested in purchasing sand dollars and keeping them in my reef aquarium. My LFS could not tell me how to take care of these guys and I could not find any information on the web regarding sand dollar care. Does anyone know how to take care of sand dollars? Are they difficult to care for? Are they reef safe? Do they have any special needs? All those good questions!!
     
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  3. Bogie

    Bogie Snowflake Eel

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    Interesting, I've never seen a sand dollar alive before.
     
  4. ziggy222

    ziggy222 Fire Goby

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    they need lots of sand to filter feed in.if you break open a dead one they have tiny doves inside
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2008
  5. ZachB

    ZachB Giant Squid

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    Last year a storm blew thousands of sand dollars in over at Clearwater Beach. Just walking out into the water you could feel them under your feet, and they ranged in size from tiny to 6" across.

    Interesting creatures, they're brown and bristly until they die and bleach out to what most people recognize. Their bristly spines are similar to that of an urchin, except they are shorter, like small hairs. The flower / petal shape on their body is visible while it is alive as well, and it's these pores that allow them to use the water to move.
     
  6. Jason McKenzie

    Jason McKenzie Super Moderator

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    A very well established sand bed is required. I honestly do not believe they should be kept in Aquariums as we can not provide enough food without polluting the entire system

    J
     
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  7. PharmrJohn

    PharmrJohn The Dude

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    I used to go to my grandparents house on Vashon Island. It was a beach house. We would always try to find the sand dollar bed at low tide. The sand dollars were always buried. So I would presume, as stated above, that that's where they feed. Don't expect to see much of them. They will be part of your cleaning crew. And don't get too many. The food will run out.
     
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  9. ZachB

    ZachB Giant Squid

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    Agreed - I doubt you would even see them, and they would probably die in the sand bed.
     
  10. PharmrJohn

    PharmrJohn The Dude

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    Good point.....and you should see the slime that comes out of them when they die. It is disgusting.
     
  11. coral reefer

    coral reefer Giant Squid

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    Very difficult to maintain, as a result mainly due to lack of sufficient food stuff being available since these inverts are grazers in the benthic areas of our oceans.
     
  12. LCP136

    LCP136 Sailfin Tang

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    The only living sand dollar i've ever seen was in the wet lab of my friend who works at the New England Aquarium. I thought that they were cold water Atlantic animals, but there could be more than one species and I could certainly be wrong.