DSB's and burrowing animals: Disruption?
- Thread starter techreef
- Start date
Amphiprion
Premium Member
They do not burrow deep enough to truly disrupt these zones. Most only dig to around a centimeter. The conchs are probably the only exception, though they usually don't go much deeper, either. Above any of those, my favorite larger sand sifter are the Cerithid snails. Just so you will know, the smaller organisms tend to be the best--such as Amphinomid, Cirratulid, and Terebellid worms.
Travis L. Stevens
Active member
No, they don't burrow deep enough for that to matter. In fact, they actually help by disturbing the first layer of sand so detritus doesn't build up as much. On top of that, some of these guys will also eat it.
I don't know size-wise. Queens, of course, get huge. I wouldn't be surprised if the fighting conches couldn't get at least a third that large. I have one two inches long, Tongan. They clean up detritus, will burrow completely under the sand, or go about atop it. They will clip off hair algae at the roots (and let it float into your overflow: watch it!) and they can climb over low obstacles. I'm very fond of mine. I may have two of them...Hilda hasn't appeared in a while, but they can do that. They have a spur or spine that looks pretty wicked, but mine crawls all about a fragile plate coral and never harms it. The 'fighting' part comes from a misunderstanding about their mating activity. They're gentle, bothers-no-one sorts. I wouldn't get them if I had fish inclined to bother them: the eyestalks stick up above the sand and are too easy a target for nip-prone fish. Those in my livestock list below are safe with them.
