Question for Experienced Cucumber Keepers

[dangles]

I have a tiger cucumber that I got a couple of months ago. I saw him roaming the sand bed for the first couple of nights, then he disappeared for about a month. Then I saw him start coming out at night again for about a week or so. The other night I came out and he was tumbling around in the current. I thought maybe he was dead but the next morning he was curled around the base of a rock again. But he still hasn't burrowed back into the sand. The last few nights and days he just floats around the bottom of the tank, only sometimes showing any "signs of life.

If it's relevant I have Tampa Bay Saltwater live sand from the Gulf. It's pretty chunky but does have fine sand mixed into it.

Is he dying? Is this normal behavior? I pulled him out and put him in an isolation cup in the sump in case he is dying. He does move a little bit after I stimulate him by lightly touching with a pointer rod. I'm not really sure what to do at this point. Or how to tell if he's sick and dying.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have a tiger cucumber that I got a couple of months ago. I saw him roaming the sand bed for the first couple of nights, then he disappeared for about a month. Then I saw him start coming out at night again for about a week or so. The other night I came out and he was tumbling around in the current. I thought maybe he was dead but the next morning he was curled around the base of a rock again. But he still hasn't burrowed back into the sand. The last few nights and days he just floats around the bottom of the tank, only sometimes showing any "signs of life.

If it's relevant I have Tampa Bay Saltwater live sand from the Gulf. It's pretty chunky but does have fine sand mixed into it.

Is he dying? Is this normal behavior? I pulled him out and put him in an isolation cup in the sump in case he is dying. He does move a little bit after I stimulate him by lightly touching with a pointer rod. I'm not really sure what to do at this point. Or how to tell if he's sick and dying.

Not an expert here by any means, but to hopefully get the ball rolling for you here in figuring out what's going on:

-Does the cuke have enough food?

-Have you been feeding it anything, or just letting it feed on whatever's in the sand in the tank?

-What size is the tank, and how old is it?

 

[littlefoxx]

I would 100% remove. My tiger cucumber somehow got in my sump and went into the return pump. Shredded himself and nuked my tank. I would be afraid of it tumbling into a power head. Just my two cents

 

[dangles]

Not an expert here by any means, but to hopefully get the ball rolling for you here in figuring out what's going on:

-Does the cuke have enough food?

-Have you been feeding it anything, or just letting it feed on whatever's in the sand in the tank?

-What size is the tank, and how old is it?

120 gallon (not including the sump)

7 months old but I feed A LOT, I don’t siphon the sand. The microfauna has exploded in the last few months.

I don’t feed it specifically.

I don’t *think* lack of food is the issue but I could be wrong!

 

[dangles]

I would 100% remove. My tiger cucumber somehow got in my sump and went into the return pump. Shredded himself and nuked my tank. I would be afraid of it tumbling into a power head. Just my two cents

I’ve isolated him for the time being, but I’ve heard a LOT about how tigers DON’T pose the same risk as other cucs. Lots of info out there

 

[littlefoxx]

I’ve isolated him for the time being, but I’ve heard a LOT about how tigers DON’T pose the same risk as other cucs. Lots of info out there

Yeah Ive read that too which is why I got one, but what happened with my tank speaks for itself. It might be because of how it died but if its in an isolation box thats good!

 

[dangles]

Bumping for more exposure