Sand Cleaner

[havoc1010]

I'm looking for a good sand cleaner....I had a sand sifting star and my emerald crabs got a hold of him. What should I do? Pitch the emeralds or is there another type of star or something?

Thank You

 

[xtrm suv]

my conch's do a good job...

 

[jmac4978]

you could get a goby. I really like yellow watchman gobies but there are several types to choose from. They're neat to watch "eat" the sand and see it fall from their gills.

 

[Avi]

You can get a Diamond Goby which takes mouthfuls of sand and passes it through their gills, it seems. I have one and it really works to keep the sand nice. Some people find that their Diamond Goby disrupts the sand, putting it on some of the coral toward the bottom of their reef, but mine doesn't....it takes it in it's mouth and then just lets it out of its gills right there on the substrate.

 

[havoc1010]

Would my mated clowns have a cow if there was a goby introduced to my 29tall with about 75lbs of LR? I haven't got an anemone for them. Should I get them an anenome first before I introduce any other fish?

 

[everl0ng]

clowns may not even take to an anenome. it's almost a gamble. if they don't have an anenome i have seen where they take to other soft corals such as mushrooms, and others...even powerheards.

 

[Sinsaint]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8060881#post8060881 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by havoc1010
Would my mated clowns have a cow.....

I'd love to see two clowns have a cow.

 

[jmac4978]

:lol:

 

[pony_killer]

lol you guys are comedians...but on a serious note, i read somewhere that some sand gobees or cleaners cause amonia/nitrate/& nitrite to spike which is not so good. i would just stick with hermit crabs

 

[havoc1010]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8060898#post8060898 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by everl0ng
clowns may not even take to an anenome. it's almost a gamble. if they don't have an anenome i have seen where they take to other soft corals such as mushrooms, and others...even powerheards.

On a sad note....i had an anemone that they did take too but it died when I went to new york last year. So I know they will take. But the watchman gobey sounds like the man for the job.

When my clowns have a cow, this will be the first message board to know. :bum:

 

[bertoni]

For that size tank, I'd consider a sea cucumber, although I'd pick the species carefully, since some are toxic. If there's a fair amount of open sand, a fighting conch might be a better choice.

 

[Sinsaint]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8061211#post8061211 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by havoc1010
When my clowns have a cow, this will be the first message board to know. :bum:

I hope they are bright orange with big white blotches. That would be awesome.

 

[afelder]

Try nassaurius snails they do a great job sifting through the sand bed.

 

[wuteva]

take this reply with a grain of sand, um salt....i have only been doing this for about 2 months, and my tank was a gift, and with my impulsivity, I just buy stuff the guy at the store says is ok and give it a try - mostly successful.....HOWEVER, I had a diamond goby, chowed big time for a week, I left town for 2 days, and returned never to see him again.....my friend suggested that if he was sick and went down, the blue legged hermits would devour him in 24 hours....SO, on to my sand sifting star....looked awesome, moving around nice, and 2 days after purchase, I see the crabs had eated an arm off him...have not seen him yet this morning, he may have buried himslef in a self-created grave, been eated, not yet sure....

My tank is a 24 gallon Aqua Pod, and it has been mentioned on this board, and other reading that perhaps the tank is too small to produce enough waste for the star to live on....same problem with the goby? not sure, but I do know I am 0-2 in sand helpers....everything else I bought is doing great except what I expected to be the heartiest 2 purchases....go figure????

 

[havoc1010]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8061255#post8061255 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
For that size tank, I'd consider a sea cucumber, although I'd pick the species carefully, since some are toxic. If there's a fair amount of open sand, a fighting conch might be a better choice.

What species do you recommend?

 

[Avi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8061129#post8061129 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pony_killer
on a serious note, i read somewhere that some sand gobees or cleaners cause amonia/nitrate/& nitrite to spike which is not so good. i would just stick with hermit crabs

I think the problem that was being related was a goby that too energetically delves into a DSB may release something in the sand that is toxic because of the anaerobic nature of the deep sand bed. I don't think this is common thing, and if you don't have a DSB, of course it wouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[DerekABZ]

bear in mind if your tank is open top gobies are prone to jumping i speak from experience just worth bearing in mind.

 

[bertoni]

The tiger tails seems okay:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=712

Also, this one would probably be fine:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=703

I haven't ordered from that vendor, by the way. Also, note the warnings on the animals. I wouldn't put a sea cucumber in a tank with aggressive fish.

 

[xDave]

What type of fish would be bad with those, in general. Are there even "reef safe" fish that would bother them?

 

[bertoni]

I wouldn't put it into a tank with puffers or triggers, for example. I don't think one would hurt the tank, but it wouldn't last long. There are lots of reef-safe fish that don't pick on invertebrates, though.