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MIA Cucumber

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
One of the items we picked up at the swap was a cucumber. Came home, acclimated the little guy, and threw him in the tank. Quickly went into the rocks and haven’t seen him since. Looked during the night - looked during the day – no sign. Is this normal or could he possibly have bitten the big one? Is there anyone in the tank who would prey on cucumber? Have the regular mix of snails, hermit crabs, mithrax crab (now gone), pistol shrimp and three fish; 2 clowns and a gobi. Also have a couple unwanted small bristle worms. I should also point out that I haven’t been able to keep other shrimp in the tank without them going MIA. I think I’m up to loosing two or three peppermint shrimp and a red shrimp…there one day, gone the next…they would only last a week or two. Oh, also have a RBTA and a cynarina…both meat eaters…with smiles on their faces! Otherwise, everyone else has been happy as pie.
 

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I have had BTAs and cynaria without losing any shrimp to them (sick and dying would be the only way for that to happen, I'd think). Cukes can hang out in the rocks for a while (or the sand behind the rocks which may be heavy with detritus). Ours usually turn up though.

The shrimp are another matter. SG, Iodine, Trates, ... etc could affect their ability to survive.
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Phyl said:
The shrimp are another matter. SG, Iodine, Trates, ... etc could affect their ability to survive.

I don't test for iodine, but SG is 1.025, with all my other parameters pretty sweet.
 
Whenever I have a fish go MIA I check to see if my hermit crabs/scavengers are around . If there all out of site I assume they are eating the missing fish/critter and this usually is true . I'm not saying they killed it ,there just doing there job . If the fish/critter is missing and crabs/scavengers are all around the fish usually shows up.
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
What an amazing past couple of days. One of the clowns finally found the anemone after 3 months and now, the cucumber that has been MIA since the swap shows up. I was convinced that this little bugger was DOA…been looking and looking and looking. Tonight I go in to check the tank before going upstairs to bed and what do I see, little Gerkin hanging out on the sandbed. What a shock.

Cucumber.jpg
 
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