Sea Apple Information

Sea apples are a form of sea cucumber. They are brightly colored to warn of their poison. They are available for aquaria but require expert care and maintenance. They have an interesting array of defense mechanisms.
    • Aquarium

    Characteristics

    • Sea apples are round, up to around 4 inches long, with tubular yellow feet. They are typically combinations of blue, red and yellow. At rest, they are sausage shaped.

    Defense

    • When stressed, sea apples inflate into balls or shrink to be very small. They can also jettison their feeding tentacles along with poison, which can kill all the fish in a tank and deter predators.

    Food

    • Sea apples filter phytoplankton from the water. They clamp onto reefs with their feet, and extend their oral tentacles, which catch and move the food into the mouth.

    Environment

    • Sea apples are native to warmer parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, especially Indonesia, Australia and Singapore. While they can be kept in reef aquaria, they might not be suitable because of their toxicity.

    Family

    • Sea apples belong to the Pseudocolochirus genus, part of the Cucumariidae family. Species most likely to be sold for aquaria are Pseudocolochirus violaceus (Australian sea apple) and Pseudocolochirus axiologus (Indonesian sea apple).