Sand sifter besides a diamond goby?

[NickBee]

I know people on here love diamond gobies as sand sifters. Ours died recently but I was not happy with his housekeeping skills. While he did sift the sand nicely he would also make a mess pouring sand over our LR (especially the rock he lived under). Are there other gobbies or jawfish you would recommend besides diamonds?

Thanks!

 

[luke33]

I like the lawnmower blenny's. There great at algae control on the sand and also churning it. I hear once they get large they stop though. Not positive on that.

 

[NickBee]

I’d like some other thoughts on the Lawnmower. I was checking them out last I was at my LFS. Would he do ok with my current livestock?

Thanks guys!

 

[650-IS350]

If you want REALLY good sifters then check these guys out... Dragon Gobies

They constantly sift and will move tons of sand in your tank.. sometimes IMO too much.... hahah

They will also breed in captivity ( well mine has )
The eggs in this pics are on top of the female... as of now she is preg again ....

 

[NickBee]

Those dragons do look cool. But do they make a mess on LR? My diamond was not horrible, but every now and then we would go through fits and dump sand all over our rock.

 

[jer77]

This guy was cute and loved to sift sand. He's a tiger watchman goby. He ate lots of mysis shrimp and brine shrimp and other meaty foods. He was smaller than the diamond gobies so he didn't spread sand everywhere, but not too small that he disappears in your tank.

 

[luke33]

The lawnmower won't make a mess...atleast mine has not, usually just sifts through the sand and thats that. He would do fine with your livestock imo, they get up to 5" and its an impressive 5". they are very stocky. As long as you don't add any other fish with the similar body type, he will be fine, he'll fight with his own kind. The dragon gobies are pretty cool, but may spit the sand all over the place. But you take that chance with any sifter.

 

[650-IS350]

Dragon are not just bottom dwelling like most watchman gobies.. they actually swim all over the tank and water column, but do a lot of sifting as well and if not more...

watchman gobies tend to mostly dig near or around ther burrows only... tried most gobies that people tend to get... best sifter ( and sometimes too much are the dragon IMO )

but if you want aveg. to above ave sifting and not really getting sand all over your rocks then I suggest and diamond goby ( orange).. they are more bottom dwelling and only sift at the bottom... and don't swim in the middle of the tank while sifting.

 

[slider162]

I'm just a newb, but I have read a lot of good things about the Dragon Goby. I couldn't find one locally so I went with the Two Spot for my 75G. They don't get many recomendations and some have had mixed success with them. It might take him two weeks to get around the whole tank, but he is constantly sifting and has never made a mess. The two spot probably won't keep your tank as tidy as the Diamond Goby, but with some help, they might work for you.

 

[zooty]

Any fish that sifts sand will get sand onto your rock. If you want a sand sifter you will have to live with the sand getting stirred up and landing on rock.

 

[seaduck]

my lawn mower blenny is 4 to 5 inches and doesnt touch the sand except to sweep it away with his tail where he is feeding on the rock or glass...he never sucks it up and spits it out.

 

[phoenix3717]

try a starfish?

 

[650-IS350]

NO on starfish, sand sifting stars will kill of benefitial animals in your live sand bed....

if you want something to really clean your sand without making that much of a mess try a TIGER TAIL CUCUMBER. Have one as well. I heard they are the least of the toxic one if any. They look really cool too.

 

[NickBee]

I’ve heard that starts will generally starve one they deplete the natural food source in the sand bed. And I’m not going to risk the toxic nature of cucumbers. But thanks for the recommendations.

 

[luke33]

Nick, in a 75g with a 30g sump, a cucumber wouldn't be toxic imo. Maybe if it died in a 20-30g tank.....just like the boxfish theory.

 

[650-IS350]

I've read somewhere as the stuff they excrete is more of a irritant than actuall poison. I have a 4 inch tiger tail in my 100gal, figured with a deltec and cpr protein skimmers.... anything nuked would get collected right away.