Best sandsifters?

[RockyProndoa]

So - I am in desperate need of some inverts to start turning my sandbed. Currently, I have a few hermit crabs and some cerith snails - though the hermits seem to be lowering their numbers .

Anyways, looking for something rather "hermit-proof" to turn the sandbed? I have a 150g attempting to become a reef

 

[shadowmonster]

How deep is your sand bed? Your best bet IMO is to get a small powehead and use this to turn your sandbed over once every month or so. Do this right before a water change and hook up a filter sock or something similar to help polish the water for you. If your dead set on adding some invertebrates you might want to look into those larger Tongan Nassarius snails. While not crab proof, the sheer size of them makes it a little harder for the hermits to take down. Keep in mind though that they will be limited by the rocks in your tank, where as a powerhead knows no bounds. It's amazing what can accumulate UNDER your rocks sometimes.

 

[RockyProndoa]

Luckily, I don't have to worry about too much accumulating under my sandbed, as the rocks are set on the glass with the sand surrounding them.

 

[shadowmonster]

Unless your rocks are completely flat on the bottom, the contours will allow quite a bit of crap to accumulate under them over time. Trust me.

 

[badbreath]

I subscribe to the belief of not touching it. You have a bunch of bacteria in that sandbed working for you.

Get a bunch of nassarius and some conches and let them turn it slowly.

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[lmm1967]

Fighting conch and cucumbers. Both are doing great in our tanks.


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[RockyProndoa]

I subscribe to the belief of not touching it. You have a bunch of bacteria in that sandbed working for you.

Get a bunch of nassarius and some conches and let them turn it slowly.

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Yeah - I'm not a big fan of manually turning sandbeds either, hence why I was looking for some "invertebrate labor"

Any suggestion on the type of conch? Does it matter?

 

[RockyProndoa]

Fighting conch and cucumbers. Both are doing great in our tanks.


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Guess this answered my previous question about the type of conch - thanks!

 

[badbreath]

Yeah - I'm not a big fan of manually turning sandbeds either, hence why I was looking for some "invertebrate labor"

Any suggestion on the type of conch? Does it matter?

I don't know if it matters. I have had a variety since starting. They can be lazy! Staying inactive for weeks at a time, but if you have enough they can keep your sand some what presentable.

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[sam.basye]

Conchs are good and so are a lot of bottom dwelling gobies that grab a mouth full of sand to filter through their gills.

Crabs don't really do much for the sand bed, but the best types are scarlet and thin stripe hermits. They are both peaceful and don't touch snails. The thin stripe will make a big dent in some types of nuisance algae.
Blue legs and Mexican red legs are the worst when it comes to killing snails and being useless.

Pistol shrimps will move sand around near their burrows, but not really a solution to the whole tank.

There will eventually be a time when your tank reaches the point of maturity where you don't need anything to clean/aerate the sand. It will stay clean and white without any input from a clean up crew (or you). Just takes time.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I use a yellow sea cucumber from the Florida Keys. Google KP Aquatics, they are based in the Keys and sell a lot of cool things they collect in the area including the yellow sea cucumber.

 

[SeaCucumberFan]

Sea cucumber