Cleaner required!

[Sapi]

Hello

I've got a 55g tank and currently slowly adding fish. I've noticed that the sand (about 2-3inches) where it meets the side of the tank is looking pretty dirty. Someone suggested putting an orange spot goby and watchman goby in as they pair up and o.s. goby will clean the sand. Thoughts or any other recommendations for something to clean the sand?

Cheers

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Whoever told you two different types of gobies will pair up was mistaken. Watchman gobies will sift a little bit of sand near their burrow, but they will not clean the whole tank. What you want is a goby from the genus Valenciennea. Diamond gobies are the most common. Gold Head Sleeper Gobies are also readily available but they make a little more mess while cleaning the sand.

Make sure it is eating and is not skinny before you buy it. Also know that they are used to eating constantly and they are very active, so they require lots of food to keep them healthy.

I also should warn you - sometimes they make a bit of a mess and dump sand on corals on the sandbed. If you have very fine sand and a lot of flow, there may be a constant sandstorm in your tank (especially with the gold heads, who tend to take a mouthful of sand halfway up the tank before releasing it). For my last 3 tanks, I use a thin layer of a larger grain sand (Caribsea Seaflor Special Grade) and keep a diamond goby and when I broke the tank down, the sand was clean enough to re-use without rinsing.

 

[Genera]

I wouldn't get a sand sifting goby or star. They both eat beneficial infauna in the sandbed. Plus the gobies make a huge mess and eat a lot. I'd just leave it alone, get some dwarf cerith snails to help a bit, and let nature take its course.

 

[rssjsb]

I wouldn't get a sand sifting goby or star. They both eat beneficial infauna in the sandbed. Plus the gobies make a huge mess and eat a lot. I'd just leave it alone, get some dwarf cerith snails to help a bit, and let nature take its course.

This. Maybe you could increase or just redirect the flow in your tank to avoid dead zones so the debris won't collect there.

 

[Dmorty217]

Are you talking on the bottom inch of the tank before the sand, or the actual part that is covered by the sand?

 

[snorvich]

I wouldn't get a sand sifting goby or star. They both eat beneficial infauna in the sandbed. Plus the gobies make a huge mess and eat a lot. I'd just leave it alone, get some dwarf cerith snails to help a bit, and let nature take its course.

This. Flow pattern change may also help as Robin says.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

No matter the flow or number of snails, I've never been able to get that pristine white sandbed without a sand sifting goby. But I guess they're not for everyone. FWIW, they do less damage to the critters living in your sand than you would think. I still had a healthy population of spaghetti worms in a 90 with a pair of gobies that worked the sand constantly.

 

[Sapi]

Thanks for all the info. DMorty217 - its the actual sand I mean as you look in cross section. Surface of the sand looks ok - its the bit in cross section of the sand that looks pretty dirty.

Based on the advice I'm going to steer clear of the gobies I originally mentioned