Hiding Cucumber

[ReefRian]

Have any of you had cucumbers that wouldn't go on the sand? I've had it for about 3 or 4 weeks and immediatly it went into my rock work and has never got back to the sand. For a week or so I thought it had died, but I finally found it and it's still alive, but hiding completely in the rocks. I've check in the night and never see it then either.

Rian

 

[Anonymous]

perfectly normal, especially with black nobbies and tiger tail cukes. There will be times when you wont see the bugger for several weeks, end up assuming it died and the next day it'll reappear... I didnt see my tiger tail for 5 months, figured it died and the janitors took care of the carcass, brought another home, and as I was floating the bag(the bag floatd into the corner of the tank) the original cuke crawled onto the bag as if to check out its new roomate...

 

[ReefRian]

So it could hide in my rocks was not the reason I got it. Can I expect it to ever come out and work on my sand?

Rian

 

[Anonymous]

sure when it gets hunrgy... they're described as nocturnal so you might not ever see it on the sand with the lights on too...

 

[Jacques Cousteau]

I've never seen mine.

 

[Will C1]

i have 3 tiger tails(bugger keeps reproducing) i see them most frequently at night after i turn off the mh's or in the morning thier stretched allong my glass, they will get to the sand dont worry.

 

[ophiuroid]

Unfortunately, many stores mis identify cucumbers and there is a good chance that you don't have a sand sifter at all. You may have a filter feeder, which will crawl up on the rocks and stay there.

What color is it?

Have you ever seen the tentacles? Are they highly branched, like a tree?

There is also the possibility that the cucumber was stressed during handling, and eviscerate (basically puked out its guts). It can, eventually, regrow these...but may spend a good deal of time doing nothing in the interim.

 

[ReefRian]

I haven't seen any tenticles on my cuke. There is a chance that it did puke out its guts, but it did not happen from the LFS to my house. Hopefully if that is the problem, he is fixing himself and will eventually come out and enjoy the tank. He is brown with spotted bumps. Looks like a tiger tail from all the photos I've seen.

Rian

 

[ReefRian]

i have 3 tiger tails(bugger keeps reproducing).

Will, how do they reproduce? How long have you had them?

 

[ophiuroid]

They can reproduce asexually, by splitting.

Here are some more articles/related threads for you, by Rob Toonen:

Scroll down to "BioGeek" reply

Article 1

Article 2

 

[ReefRian]

Thanks all! I finally saw it out. It's been two nights in a row. It comes out around 9 or so in the evening (my lights go off around 6 or 7). The room lights don't seem to bother it. I guess it was waiting for one reason or another.

Rian