recommendations for sand sifters
- Thread starter an411
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grantquick
New member
Golden headed sleeper goby. One of my favorite fish in my tank. Sifts sand all day long!!
jnb
Premium Member
couple of caviets JME JMHO
some say that sand star and I guess it depends on the size often eat too many good things that are in your sand and in a smaller tank may starve after a while
and while gobys are fun to watch sift, etc - beware that they can spit sand all over things - for example plate corals which sort of wore on me when I had diamond gobys - I say had because i no longer have them - all 4 I tried jumped out of the tank (one of them into a freshly made up batch of makeup water and survived until his last jump)
some say that sand star and I guess it depends on the size often eat too many good things that are in your sand and in a smaller tank may starve after a while
and while gobys are fun to watch sift, etc - beware that they can spit sand all over things - for example plate corals which sort of wore on me when I had diamond gobys - I say had because i no longer have them - all 4 I tried jumped out of the tank (one of them into a freshly made up batch of makeup water and survived until his last jump)
Urchinhead
Member
unless you have a very large tank with a deep sand bed do not go with a sand sifting star. It will ultimately starve to death, kill off all the beneficial bacteria in your sand bed, and die someplace hard to get to thus spiking your tank. I am personally a very big fan of Staghorn crabs for sandbed cleaning.
They are a bit harder to keep than hermits as their shell is live coral and can be stung plus need good lighting but they eat diatoms, detritus, etc and are cool looking. Plus they don't go after snails and other hermits and they can't climb very easily and **** off your other corals. Look for one that is about 3/4" or bigger as the survival rate is better with them.
They are a bit harder to keep than hermits as their shell is live coral and can be stung plus need good lighting but they eat diatoms, detritus, etc and are cool looking. Plus they don't go after snails and other hermits and they can't climb very easily and **** off your other corals. Look for one that is about 3/4" or bigger as the survival rate is better with them.
Nassarius snails would be my #1 recommendation. I'd also agree with staying away from sand sifting starfish for the reasons stated (though they eat fauna, not bacteria), but that's based on what I've heard from people much smarter than me. A couple other suggestions would be a Cerith snails, fighting conchs and sand sifting cucumbers. I've always had issues keeping conchs alive, but it may just be me. Those three really don't do a lot to stir up the sandbed as they stay on or near the surface, but they'll help keep it clean.
jnb
Premium Member
I agree - perfect in my experience. I have nass, cerith, and a 2 inch fighting conch (i have been lucky i guess - it has been in the tank 3 or so years) - increased flow can help too OH, I SEE YOUR FLOW - KICKS BUT - I think you have to research and make sure you get the right cerith (or maybe it was the nass) - one of them there are more than 1 flavor and one is great, the other choices not great or perhaps bad - i forget
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rgentry123
Member
since everyone is on the subject, would a tigertail cucumber be a good sand bed cleaner?i have been thinking about getting one and i hear that this is one of the few non-toxic ones to pickup. i want somthing that wont affect my pod population and i have heard that sand sifting stars and sandsifting gobies will all eat the pods in your sand bed. will this guy be a good addition to my tank? (sorry to hijack the thread an411)
TheORKINMan
New member
Pistol Shrimp and Strombus Conchs will do a lot of moving of the sand.
Tigertails are a great addition. I have a different species in my tank, but it serves the same purpose.\
Oh, and "+1" is just a way of saying that you second the comment, recommendation, etc. I.e. add 1 person that recommends nassarius snails.
Oh, and "+1" is just a way of saying that you second the comment, recommendation, etc. I.e. add 1 person that recommends nassarius snails.
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