Odd behavior- sand sifting cucumber

[Mike]

Okay we have a big black sand sifting cucumber in the 210g. It cruises around and helps keep the sand clean. So, I bought a much smaller yellow sand sifting cucumber for the small 20g hex. It has been in there several months and helps keep the sand much cleaner.

Here is the odd behavior- it has taken to climbing up the glass. It was eating the algae from the glass and vortech.

So am I starving my small cucumber? Anyone else have any experience with them? It is not getting smaller or thinner, but I sometimes worry about these things.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Europhyllia]

I have never seen sand sifting yellow cucumbers. The only ones I know are the filter feeding yellow cucumbers. Like these:
http://reefscavengers.com/yellowminicuke.html
Should be fine as long as you dose phyto, etc.

[Mike]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+502+707&pcatid=707

Nope Karin, think more like this guy, but 1/3 to 1/2 of the one pictured and yellow.

[Europhyllia]

Ewww. That one's kinda yucky. lol. I like the little fuzzy ones. ;)
Probably going to be tough to say what he's up to without knowing exactly what kind he is.

[Mike]

Kristy says the big black one in the 210g looks like a turd... can I say turd on here? The one we are talking about in the small tank is yellow and only about 2 inches... he is on the glass again tonight...

Anyone else with experience with these guys...

[cyrus]

I have 2 pink filter feeders and a black sand sifter that I have had for about 5 months in my 29 reef. They shrink when they are under fed. With the filter feeders I just whop the phyto to em til they plump back up. The sand sifter on the other hand is a little tricker. I re-introduce media from my growth tank but the little fella is about half the man he used to be and I haven't had much luck plumping him up. They generally stay on the glass. In my opinion the pink filter feeders are more beautiful more active and easier to care for. This pict is of my most active pink.


http://maast.org/forums/album.php?albumid=167&pictureid=1433

http://maast.org/forums/album.php?albumid=167&pictureid=1433

[Kristy]

Thanks for the comments about keeping your cukes plump. For the record, your pink ones are WAY prettier than our yellow one. Why can't Mike pick one of those instead of these ugly ones? He just LOVES the odd inverts!