HELP!!! Cucumber appears stuck....

[68551]

I have a yellow cucumber about 4 inches long that I got about 2 months ago... Usually he is crawling around on the sand & part way up on the glass. I couldn't find him all day today & after lights out I got out the flashlight & went on a search mission....I finally found him under one of the main display rocks where a tunnel had been burrowed by a goby before the goby went carpet surfing....I could see the cucumber moving but now he is so far under the rock I can't see him with the flashlight on either side of the rock....Are they able to get out from under rocks themselves without my having to tear down the whole rock display????

[buy_baff]

Don't worry it'll come back out. I have a tigertail have had him for 3 years and he spends alot of time under the rocks.

[68551]

I saw the serpent star over by the rock he was under last night & if I haden't seen the cucumber move I would be concerned....Thanks!!!
He"s still not out this morning...
I always noticed as he crawled along the sand by the front glass that under him were always amphipods moving along with him....I thought that was strange & seemed like it would tickle him....

[68551]

Cucumber still MIA....How long does yours stay under the rocks???? I can't see him at all.....

[Guygettnby]

my cuc's will go missing for days at a time. some times even weeks will go by. i would not worry yourself too much over it. i am sure it will pop up outa nowhere soon enough.

[68551]

I'm glad to hear that because I STILL have not seen him!!!! Do they stay under rocks that long or do they ever borrow in the sand like a conch???/

[Guygettnby]

mine are all over the tank. they 99% of the time stay on the sand bed but they go into some pretty small places and yes mine even go under the rock work. like i said, i may see them once a week sometimes even longer. so i wouldnt worry too much about it. but if you are really that worried you can always atempt to rip apart your tank and search for it.

[jrwap]

Mine always looks stuck under a rock... he seems to have found one rock that he likes the best and very rarely moves around.

-JRW

[68551]

Ok, so never found the yellow cucumber....I really liked him, maybe he's in there maybe not...Checked amonia every day since I haven't seen him & always came up 0.....Missed not seeing him in the tank so I bought a 6" black one about a week ago....He's been crusing around the tank & last night I saw him up by the overflow wall....I figured he would crawl back down so I went to bed....Got up this morning & couldn't find him anywhere in the tank. Went behind the tank to check things out & he is behind the overflow wall back in the overflow chamber.....With the durso pipe & return pipe I can barely get my hand in there much less get him out without stressing him (and me).... I can't believe he crawled up & over the overflow teeth out of the water & back down the other side!!!! I wouldn't mind him being back there but we are leaving for a 10 day snowmobile vacation 12 hours away in a week & he could crawl past the guard to the durso pipe to the sump & if he curled up just right he could clog the pipe & cause a major flood.....If he would crawl down the pipe & die I would have to tear apart the glued pipe to get him out....If he would make it to the sump there is a giant white spotted hermit crab that is down there that would love to eat or stress him to the point that he spills his guts & nukes the tank.....I thought of putting a sponge guard on the durso pipe but I was concerned about flow & blockage while we are away....I guess I could be optomistic & hope he crawls back out but I get stressed enough about leaving the tank for 10 days much less this!!!! I REALLY need help this time!!!!! Suggestions????

[68551]

bmp

[68551]

anyone out there????

[Elysia]

Where are you located in Central Pa? May be best to have a tank sitter.

[68551]

Already have a tank sitter....My LFS is Treasures of the sea & they provide the service & will be comming 3 times in 10 days....I am north of Carlisle....

[Guygettnby]

if you are scarred to leave him back there or think he will cause a problem then simply remove him. as long as you are gentle and do not squeeze him you will not cause it any damage or stress. mine have always stayed on the sand bed so i have never had this problem personally but i also have a top over my overflow to prevent light going in and causing unwanted algea growth in there. so that might be a good option for you to think of aswell.

[68551]

I am not afraid to touch & remove him....The problem is that all of the plumbing pipes make it difficult to reach my hand in at all....He is staying behind the return nozzles between 2 pipes catching detritus as it comes through the weir....He's moving but generally staying in the same area....I have put a filter sock over the durso pipe to the sump so he doesen't go down the plumbing to the sump or get caught in the pipe....If he went on that side of the overflow he would be easier to reach since there is more room for my hand....I'm running out of time, we leave on Fri & I don't want to leave a filter sock on the durso pipe for fear it would slow the flow to the sump causing my osmolator to keep adding RO to compensate...
Ps....The cover is a great idea I will put one on when I get him out....Did you use styrofoam for the cover???

[68551]

Any other ideas anyone ....Friday is comming real soon & I noticed my osmolator kept running a lot....I had put a sump sock over the durso pipe inlet so he wouldn't crawl in the pipe when I wasent home...Its been on there for 3 days & started to clog up with detritus causing he water level to rise....I have now removed it but I don't want him crawling down that pipe. There is a guard on it but the openings are big enough that he could probably get himself in trouble....If I was home & saw him could probably reach him but he keeps crawling up the corners where there is too much piping to reach him....All of my pipe is glued in place so I can't remove it...
Please help....

[Guygettnby]

i made a cover out of acrylic and then applied black vinyl to both sides. as far as getting him out i wish i could help ya but it was not a great idea to glue all your pipes to were they could not be removed. i wish you the best of luck and hope it turns out ok for you

[68551]

Yeah....I don't know why I was worried about pipes leaking that are underwater.....Chalk it up to being a noobie plus I had noone to ask & was itching to get the new tank up since my old one didn't have an overflow....Talk about a learning curve.....I am also considering putting a large pipe in the corner that if he craws in I could maybe get him that way (it was a great private message suggestion from someone in my area that offered to stop by every day to check on his whereabouts & that no flood has ensued)....I'm just hoping to get him out before fri....(ecept if I do there is no assurances that while we're away he won't just crawl back again!!!!

[Guygettnby]

make the cover for the over flow before you leave and that would solve the problem of him getting back there again. that is once you get him out.

[Elysia]

Sue, the more I've thought about this, the more I think that this cucumber must have used the 1" gap by the return to access the overflow -- at least, that makes the most sense to me -- I just do not think that it would want to claw out of the water.

I know how impossible it can be getting things like hands and nets into overflows. If you are able to get something into the area that the cucumber keeps crawling onto (whether it be a tube of some kind or even clamping some plexiglass into the corner), if the cuc would wander onto it, then perhaps you could get a large media bag (like those made to hold carbon) below the tube, in case the cuc lets go while you are trying to move it.

I just don't know how to "bait" a cucumber.... but I did manage to get a dottyback out of the small overflow area in my one 'Pod by submerging a large nylon media bag and feeding him -- and waiting...... until I could quickly close the drawstrings & voila! dottyback in a bag! I suppose, if the cuc was willing to climb over it, you could do something similar in your overflow. Perhaps lay some screening against the sides of the overflow and use the screen sort of like the tube -- or maybe just wad some up and place it in the overflow, in the hopes that the cuc will crawl over it and you can somehow "wrap" it w/ the screen and bring the entire thing up and out of the sump (since you could use tongs to grab at the screening.)

Just brainstorming here....

[68551]

Love the ideas!!!!....Right now I have a piece of plastic pipe about 1 1/2 inches against the corner hoping he will crawl into it... He's about 3 inches under it so if he crawls up I am ready....Will keep you posted,.....

[68551]

FINALLY!!!!! I got the Black cucumber out of the overflow!!!! He was along the wall where there was less than 2 " of space between the glass & the pipe....I couldn't even get my hand in there but he was about 5" from the top of the overflow so I was able to reach underneath him with a ziplock baggie....I tickled him with the bottom of the bag til he let go of the glass....When he did he fell into the bag & Yippie Skippy, I GOT HIM!!!! Thanks for all of your great ideas...I will now attempt to put a cover on the overflow if I can just figure out how to do it.....

[Elysia]

That is great! Congrats! I hope everything works out!

[68551]

Thank You!!!! Overflow is safely blocked from entrance now & cuc is doing well in the tank....I can go tomorrow feeling a little more comfortable about going away from the tank...(Do we EVER really feel comfortable letting someone else take care of our tanks???)