Sand Sifter

[trav_shock]

I have tried a sand sifting sea star but after a month or two it died and I was wondering what would be a good sand sifter that won't die right away. Right now I have some Nassarius Snails but they aren't doing a very good job.

 

[D-Rod]

Bump

 

[ophiuroid]

Well, how about more about your system? What are you trying to remove? Detritus, brown slime?

How old is the tank?
What are your parameters?
What type of substrate do you have?

 

[650-IS350]

From what I have heard and read here on RC is that Sand Sifting stars just eat up all the good stuff that you need in your live sand.. stirring the sand while searching for food.

If you want a real good sand sifter, a banded goby with be could
( DRAGON GOBY ) or another one would be a golden sleeper head.. not much luck keeping those guys compared to dragon's.
Mine ate everything even Hair algae. I had a mated pair...

only things sucks is that they do soo good a job at sifting that you get sand all over the place.. but they keep your sand nice and white...

 

[ophiuroid]

Sand sifter stars, and sand sifter gobies, are equally bad if you are looking for a functional sand bed. Both are "sifting" and eating beneficial critters in the sand bed I am afraid.

 

[650-IS350]

Get the tongan nassarius.. they are huge... bristle worms are good for turning sand too ( only when tiny ).

Conch's are great to.. I have 2 of them. I believe its 1 per 20 gal.

If you have a deep enough sand bed.. ( mine is 2-3 inches ) a dragon goby is good enough as they only sift the first layer of sand.. about an inch or so only... engineer gobys move sand around too... but like a pistol shrimp only near their homes and the engineers don't eat your valuable micro fauna