Will my tank be able to support this livestock and do they count as CUC?

[Weboh]

I know I need more of a CUC to clean my sandbed. I like sleeper banded gobies and brittle stars and was planning on getting one of each. I have a few questions about this:

Will they eat enough? Between them and the cleaner shrimp I plan to get, will the sandbed and everything be kept clean? If not, I'd like to get a fighting conch. I think I should stay away from hermits since I heard they don't play nice with feather dusters.

Will they eat too much? I know sleeper banded gobies sift the sand pretty much all day, so will a 30 gallon tank realistically be able to support one? What about a brittle starfish as well (since both compete for the same food source)?

I know that with a 30 gallon tank I can't really have that many fish. I was planning on only having four: the two clowns and damsel I have now plus a firefish. But since a goby would spend most of its time in the sandbed would it be a problem for the other fish in that they'd run out of space? Do you think the bioload would be fine?

 

[billdogg]

First things first - your tank is already overcrowded with the clowns and a damsel (all same family btw)

The star will do fine although i would go for a serpent rather than a brittle star. Either will scavenge just fine, and will also happily eat any food that makes it to the bottom.

I would be hesitant of the sand sifting goby just because of the mess it will make in such a small tank. Mine would happily eat prepared food as well, so starvation should not be an issue.

If you do decide to get the goby, you MUST have a good escape proof top on your tank or it probably won't last 24 hours. They are big time jumpers, especially with territorial fish like what you currently have. A DIY mesh top is your best (and easiest) choice for a cover.

hth

 

[Weboh]

First things first - your tank is already overcrowded with the clowns and a damsel (all same family btw)

So it's overcrowded because they're the same family"”not because of the amount of fish? So will adding more fish that aren't in the same family be bad? They all hang out in different parts of the tank as is (clowns on the top, damsel in the middle, usually hiding in the rocks. The goby would be in the bottom most of the time).

The star will do fine although i would go for a serpent rather than a brittle star.

Because you like the way it looks better or because it's easier to keep or does a better job cleaning or something?

I would be hesitant of the sand sifting goby just because of the mess it will make in such a small tank. Mine would happily eat prepared food as well, so starvation should not be an issue.

I wouldn't mind a mess on the bottom of the tank as I don't plan on having any corals or anything there that'd be hurt by a mess (doubt there's enough light there anyway). All rock, basically. Except for the feather dusters but they wouldn't be buried, would they? I think they'd appreciate more stuff stirred up right in front of them as it would give them easier access to nutrients"”like "snow," right? (it seems to me anyway. I could be wrong).

If you do decide to get the goby, you MUST have a good escape proof top on your tank or it probably won't last 24 hours. They are big time jumpers, especially with territorial fish like what you currently have.

Yep, my tank is pretty much sealed except for the part where the skilter is. Do you think he'll jump of there? The gap is pretty small, (3 inches wide, 6 inches long, skilter goes into the tank and takes up about one an a half inches more below the opening) and it's right below a strong current. Plus, if he can get out, chances are he'll land on the skilter and fall back into the tank. It seems fine to me, but someone else here may know better.

 

[billdogg]

It's overcrowded because of the territoriality of those fish. A pair of clowns will own a 40 breeder in short order, and depending on the damsel, 50g is the suggested minimum tank size to keep aggression at bay.

I prefer Serpent Stars over Brittle stars because they won't eat small sleeping fish. The Green Brittles especially are known predators. And yes, I think the Harlequin Serpent stars are very cool looking critters.

If you don't mind the mess they make, there is nothing at all wrong with the sand sifting gobies. They actually have a ton of personality.

They can (and will) easily jump through eggcrate with 1/2" square openings. IMHO, a 3x6 opening is an invitation to jump. The current produced won't slow them down one bit. And FWIW - they can easily clear the top of your skilter.

On the topic of skilter filters - what else are you using for water circulation and filtration? If you do a quick search, you will find that of all the HOB filters out there, Skilters consistently rank in the bottom .1%

I'm really not trying to be negative even if it seems as though I am. I would really like you to succeed, so keep the questions coming! There are quite a number of us on here with decades of experience (I had a skilter in the late 1980's lol)

 

[davehead86]

I had a 20g with two clowns a goby and a star fish. They got along just fine. Even added a Coral Beauty for a while while waiting on the upgraded tank to get finished. So your fish load IMHO isnt too much. However, a damsel and clown are the same family and both are territorial so dont be surprised if that does become an issue as the other poster stated. This could cause issues bringing in a goby if all three of the other fish are fighting the goby may never leave its hole and die of starvation. Same with the firefish.

My suggestion ... get rid of the damsel or the clowns if you want more fish.


As for a clean up crew. A diamond goby is great at turning over the sandbed and getting extra nutrients out of the system. You need a slew of snails. Turbo snails suck because if they get turned upside down they cannot turn themselves over = food for someone else in the tank. Asteria and Nassarian are my personal favorites. One set cleans the glass the other cleans in the sand bed. Id say 5 big ones or 10 small ones. Get an emerald crab or two also, they are great for cleaning up problem algae before it becomes a problem.

Algae will eventually become a problem with your tank and that filter on the back. HOB filters are not needed for Saltwater tanks, they end up holding onto nutrients and causing problems if not thoroughly cleaned frequently (like weekly).

 

[Weboh]

However, a damsel and clown are the same family and both are territorial so dont be surprised if that does become an issue as the other poster stated. This could cause issues bringing in a goby if all three of the other fish are fighting the goby may never leave its hole and die of starvation. Same with the firefish.

My suggestion ... get rid of the damsel or the clowns if you want more fish.

I'll watch them and see what happens I guess. If they're too aggressive toward him or he doesn't look well I'll take him back.

As for a clean up crew. A diamond goby is great at turning over the sandbed and getting extra nutrients out of the system.

But a sleeper banded goby is not?

You need a slew of snails. Turbo snails suck because if they get turned upside down they cannot turn themselves over = food for someone else in the tank.

Yep, pretty sure that's why one of mine died. Though I'm not sure how he turned himself over to being with...

Asteria and Nassarian are my personal favorites. One set cleans the glass the other cleans in the sand bed. Id say 5 big ones or 10 small ones. Get an emerald crab or two also, they are great for cleaning up problem algae before it becomes a problem.

Would I need Asteria with the sleeper banded goby? I know between him and the starfish they'll do a decent job cleaning it. Do I still need some? Would a fighting conch do the job?

I've seen how much algae my urchin eats. He even devoured half my macroalage. He gets around the whole tank, on the glass and everything. He does seem to ignore the algae on the rocks, but maybe that's just because the macroalgae is so much easier to get. I don't know if I can get anything else that's main diet is algae. I would like to get an emerald crab but I heard they like to kill feather dusters.

Algae will eventually become a problem with your tank and that filter on the back. HOB filters are not needed for Saltwater tanks, they end up holding onto nutrients and causing problems if not thoroughly cleaned frequently (like weekly).

Yeah, I noticed that the water inside the filter box is pretty nasty because everything just stays in there. I guess I could just remove the filter cartridge?

 

[Weboh]

They can (and will) easily jump through eggcrate with 1/2" square openings. IMHO, a 3x6 opening is an invitation to jump. The current produced won't slow them down one bit. And FWIW - they can easily clear the top of your skilter.

I guess I'll cover the top of the skilter run-off with one of the little plastic things the tank came with to cover the opening. Not sure how much good it'll do. We'll see.

On the topic of skilter filters - what else are you using for water circulation and filtration? If you do a quick search, you will find that of all the HOB filters out there, Skilters consistently rank in the bottom .1%

Nothing. When bubbles come out of skilter or food goes under the filter, I can see the current. The water seems to circulate really well with only the skilter. A moderate flow across most of the tank. It can supposedly be used even with a 120 gallon tank, so I guess it's designed for flow and it should work as the sole filtration source on a 30 gallon tank. :spin3: Anyway, it had better be good. I spent $100 on it... :strange:

 

[schnebbles]

I got a brittle star and it hangs out on my HOB skimmer. It never goes down into the tank. I still like it, I like feeding it, I think it's pretty neat. It's a huge one, each arm is probably 8" long or so.