YM Goby sifting sand?

[JC_UF_ITK]

What exactly is my goby doing when he puts a pile of sand in his mouth and it falls out of his gills?

 

[marduc]

sifting it for food.

 

[Duff Man]

Gobies are fun to watch. Always busy.

 

[ahullsb]

He filters out any nutrients he may find and then passes the sand through his gills. Leaving you with freshly cleaned sand. There are debates over whether it is too clean though. I personally like mine and find him to be the hardest worker in the tank!

 

[ahullsb]

He or she. I respects its privacy so I don't know for sure.

 

[ocellaris06]

I liked my YWG too! It worked hard to sift the sand. It always hide under the live rock and came out to eat during the fish dinner time. I planned to buy him a pistol shrimp. But it just passed away yesterday after a few day of unwilling to eat and swim!

 

[earthboy17]

A. Do pistolshrimp and sand sifting gobys get along?

B. What exactly ARE gobys eating in the sand?

 

[marduc]

A. in nature YWM Gobys for a symbiotic relationship with some species of pistol shrimp, no guarantee that you will get them to pair up with any pistol shrimp though.

B. Zooplankton and Phytoplankton both as well as bits of algae, so any small tidbits of plant and/or animal it finds, including the critters that can be beneficial for your sandbed.