--- title: "Sandfish Sea Cucumber (Holothuria scabra) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A sediment-swallowing sea cucumber that is one of the highest-valued species in the bêche-de-mer trade." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/sandfish-sea-cucumber-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-11" --- # Sandfish Sea Cucumber (*Holothuria scabra*) > **Status**: Checked against 8 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A sediment-swallowing sea cucumber that is one of the highest-valued species in the bêche-de-mer trade. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Sub-Bass Dub & Industrial Heavyweight // Rhythm & Sound, "Mango Drive" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/29Bx7ullHh1OeH0lpNS0X7) > **Vibe Match**: A sandfish works the sea floor at a steady pace, about 26 sediment pellets an hour through 10 hours of daylight feeding. Rhythm & Sound's dub moves the same way: one slow, unhurried pulse that keeps going under a haze of hiss. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Holothuria scabra* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Vulnerable ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2026-1.rlts.t180257a272668462.en)) - **Superpower**: Turns sea floor sediment into about 26 pellets an hour - **Habitat**: Shallow soft-bottom habitats, generally behind fringing reefs and in protected bays, across the Indo-Pacific - **Diet**: Sediment, swallowed as it feeds - **Tags**: invertebrate, benthic, ocean ## Natural History & Behavior ## Eating the sea floor The sandfish, *Holothuria scabra*, is a sea cucumber that ingests a considerable amount of sediment while it feeds. In Fiji, researchers counted what came out the other end: each animal produced an average of 26 sediment pellets an hour, and each pellet weighed about 0.36 g. The sandfish there fed for about 10 hours a day, in daylight, and sat inactive for the other 14. At low tide they generally stayed buried. Add it all up and the researchers estimated the local population could rework the top 5 mm of sediment about two and a half times a year. ## Size and range In the Fiji study area, the most common length was about 15 cm, which works out to about 200 g. Sandfish are widely distributed across the Indo-Pacific, in shallow soft-bottom habitats. They generally live in low-energy environments behind fringing reefs or in protected bays and shores. A 2012 paper reported some specimens collected by snorkellers at a depth of 5 m at Qeshm Island, the first record of the species in the Persian Gulf. ## A sandfish's day job > **Sandfish removal test** > In Fiji, the depth oxygen reached into the sediment fell by 63% after a 6 °C rise in water temperature over two months in pens with no sandfish. In pens with high sandfish densities, no such change was observed. Sandfish are closely associated with seagrass beds. In two caging experiments, seagrass grew 5% less in one year and 12% less in the next where the sandfish were kept out. In laboratory trials, newly settled juveniles stayed on seagrass leaves for 4 to 5 weeks, then migrated to sand at around 6 mm long. In a Madagascar hatchery, buried juveniles exposed their posterior end to breathe. ## The dried-seafood trade Sandfish are one of the highest-valued species in the bêche-de-mer trade. Bêche-de-mer is sea cucumber that has been gutted, cooked, salted and dried. A 2014 study found sandfish and golden sandfish to be the most valuable tropical sea cucumbers in dried seafood markets in China, with one Hong Kong store selling very large sandfish for US$1,668 a kilogram. The same 2012 paper called it the most exploited sea cucumber species in Iran. A 2022 review reports declines in wild stocks over the entire distribution range. The IUCN Red List lists it as Vulnerable. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How big is a sandfish? In a Fiji sample of 27 sandfish between 8 and 16 cm long, the average was 13 cm and 145 g. That size class was the most abundant across the reef flat. *(Source: [Lee et al. 2018]())* ### Can sandfish be farmed? Yes. A 2022 review of more than 950 publications calls it the only tropical sea cucumber that can currently be mass-produced in hatcheries. *(Source: [Advances in Marine Biology 2022]())* ### What happens to the sand when sandfish are removed? In Fiji enclosures with no sandfish, sedimentary oxygen consumption, a measure of how much oxygen the sediment's community uses, rose about two-fold in the first month. *(Source: [Lee et al. 2018]())* ## Sources 1. [Purcell, Hamel & Mercier (2026). Holothuria scabra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026: e.T180257A272668462.]() 2. [Lee et al. (2018). Effects of sandfish (Holothuria scabra) removal on shallow-water sediments in Fiji. PeerJ.]() 3. [Global knowledge on the commercial sea cucumber Holothuria scabra. Advances in Marine Biology, 2022.]() 4. [Wolkenhauer et al. (2009). The ecological role of Holothuria scabra (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) within subtropical seagrass beds. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.]() 5. [Dabbagh et al. (2012). Holothuria scabra (Holothuroidea: Aspidochirotida): first record of a highly valued sea cucumber, in the Persian Gulf, Iran. Marine Biodiversity Records.]() 6. [Mercier, Battaglene & Hamel (2000). Settlement preferences and early migration of the tropical sea cucumber Holothuria scabra. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.]() 7. [Purcell (2014). Value, market preferences and trade of beche-de-mer from Pacific Island sea cucumbers. PLoS ONE.]() 8. [Becker et al. (2004). The skin ulceration disease in cultivated juveniles of Holothuria scabra (Holothuroidea, Echinodermata). Aquaculture.]() *Published October 11, 2026. 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