New Cucumber Avoiding the Sand

[K-Mello]

Greetings All,

I added one of these turd resembling creatures to my tank Wednesday of this week. The next morning (Thursday) I looked around and didn't see him. I thought, great, he's somewhere in the sand doing his thing. Right before I left that morning I noticed that he was actually up near the top of the tank, close to the pre-skimmer unit. When I returned that afternoon, he looked like he was working his way INTO the pre-skimmer unit, but he was still partially on top of the sponge thing near the opening where the water goes in, so I pulled the sponge out and the cucumber with it, and gently directed him to the bottom of the tank. He eventually landed almost right on top of one of the many patches of red hair algae I have on my sand. This morning I noticed he was clear on the other (left) side of the tank, looking like he was trying to wedge himself between my cleaning magnet and the sand. When I got home this evening, I thought for sure he had went to work on the red stuff, especially when I didn't see him. Something told me to look up near the pre-skimmer unit, and there was again, an inch or two from the opening where the water comes in. What is it about that pre-skimmer unit that keeps attracting him? The pre-skimmer unit hasn't been cleaned since I put it in there 3 or 4 months ago. Why doesn't/hasn't he attacked that sand and got to that red hair algae yet? The tank has been up for about 5 months.

He's actually starting to grow on me (I don't look at him and see a turd all the time now), but I want him to do what I put him in there to do, which is to clean that sand. Or is that just his way of getting used to my tank?

[mfp4073]

I had one....I say had becaue I found him shreded in the intake of a powerhead today, but thats another story. He would chunk around all over the place. Up the glass, near the heater, down on the sand....never found him on the rock though. He was like that for 5 months until today. Dont really know what made him commit the harecari

[Snowsrfr]

What kind of cucumber did you purchase? There are sand sifting ones, and ones that filter the water for food. I have a black cuc and while he spends 90 percent of the time in the sand, I've found him all around the tank.

[aquarius77]

Sounds to me like hes got a filter feeding cuke, the reason its going to the pre skimmer is because there is flow there, hes filter feeding in the flow.

[drummereef]

Mmm, my tigertail did the same thing until he met his demise in a powerhead. I used to peel him from the glass and put it back in the sand from time to time. Keep a close eye on them for sure.

[K-Mello]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9146088#post9146088 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Snowsrfr
What kind of cucumber did you purchase? There are sand sifting ones, and ones that filter the water for food. I have a black cuc and while he spends 90 percent of the time in the sand, I've found him all around the tank.

I don't know what kind of cucumber I purchased, didn't know there was a whole lot of difference. All I know is I was told that he would be good at filtering/cleaning the sand, and I have a CRAZY red hair algae outbreak that I was hoping he would attack, but he has not touched to my knowledge.

He successfully found his way into the pre-skimmer unit a few days after introducing him to the tank, and to my knowledge he has not come out. He's still alive as I noticed changes in his position in the pre-skimmer unit, but it would be nice if he came out and got that red hair algae.

[K-Mello]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9147659#post9147659 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquarius77
Sounds to me like hes got a filter feeding cuke, the reason its going to the pre skimmer is because there is flow there, hes filter feeding in the flow.

When you say flow, you are talking about the water being pulled into the pre-skimmer by the MaxiJet in there, correct? Is there something different about the attraction to that flow instead of the flow of where the other two MaxiJets move water through the tank, or is it just the fact that the pre-skimmer is pulling in stuff from the surface of the water? If it is the latter, how did he even know to go up there when he was introduced to the tank right near the flow of the other 2 MaxiJets? Unless being a "filter feeding cuke" he instinctively knew to go near the surface of the water. What a fascinating experience this thing provides!