Best Sandsifter: Whats your thoughts?

[gmpolan]

So after having the tank up and running for a few months now, i am looking to purchase something thats really gonna keep the sand clean and "sparlly" white, lol. Ive owned linkia's and currently have a pink bar goby but alot of times the sand still never gets cleaned. So what im asking is for anyones opinion on a great "for sure" invert or fish that will clean the sand? Ive heard diamond gobies, tiger gobies, sand stars, and cucumbers will but i kind want to see what my options are before pulling the trigger.


Thanks for your input...

 

[miami dolfan]

Yellow headed sleeper goby.....but expect to have sand all over everything.

 

[purplegorilla]

I would suggest a sea cucumber. They eat dirty sand and poop clean sand. I have 2 in mine and they don't creat any dust storm and very reef safe.

 

[rbredding]

Miami Dolfan;592976 wrote: Yellow headed sleeper goby.....but expect to have sand all over everything.

yeah ^^ what he said...


he'll cover everything...

 

[fish scales2]

IMO you should use an assortment but be careful to make sure that the system is established enough to handle.

Aurora Watchmen goby with pistol shrimp
Nassirius snails
Sand sifting Starfish
Scarlet Reef crabs will help as well
SMALL cucumber

IMO Diamond Gobies, Dragon Gobies, Enginner Gobies and the like are more of a hassle than they are worth. Great in fish only systems where you do not have to worry about coral getting covered in sand.

 

[gnashty]

I love my diamond goby - hes a fat lil effer and is always munching on sand...yeah, we have had our moments but as long as I know what he is all about its all good. I have several coral on my SB and yes, he does what he does I just keep them away from his home and he is doing a much better job of not burying them....

 

[lilrobb]

gnashty;593035 wrote: I love my diamond goby - hes a fat lil effer and is always munching on sand...yeah, we have had our moments but as long as I know what he is all about its all good. I have several coral on my SB and yes, he does what he does I just keep them away from his home and he is doing a much better job of not burying them....

What he said - my DG digs everywhere, so I don't keep too delicate stuff on the sandbed.
Problem solved and always nice clean sand...

 

[gmpolan]

beccamc10;593047 wrote: I have a Pink Spot Goby that does great, does not really cover my coral and when it does its not often. You could also get a Conch

Def own a pink spot and he hardly ever touches the sand....

 

[jenkins2212]

Absolutly hands down a diamond goby!!!! They are the hardest working addition you can purchase for an aquarium. You can just sit and stare at them working for hours.......

 

[jonathan]

Diamond all the way. You will only need 1.

 

[schwaggs]

I have Tiger Tail cucs in my tank and the do a great job with a couple caveots:

1) They multiply. I started with one and ended up with ~6 of them. Not sure how this happend as they are not supposed to "split" as far as I know.
2) They tend to pull the sand into the rockwork. They like to keep a portion of their body in the rockwork to allow for a quick getaway so all the sand they take in their mouth ends up being deposited in the rockwork.

 

[lilrobb]

You should sell me one of these splitting ones...

 

[raz0945]

If your tank is 75g or larger the Diamond Goby is the way to go! Don't put anything on the sand he might want to cover up. Holley

 

[gmpolan]

well if i get a diamond, the pink has to go and i have no clue on how to catch him...ill need to consider this heavily and thank you everyone for your input, it is very much appreciated

 

[linda lee]

andregarcia_73;593187 wrote: Wondering uf there are any drawbacks to cucs? Also what about tank sizes? what size tank is this working for you in?

only drawback I've ever found with cucumbers is they're so darned ugly. 'Specially the brown ones that look like something in the bottom of a toilet. :yuk:

Carefully directed flow, limited feeding and reasonable bioload also go a long way to maintaining pristine substrate.

 

[linda lee]

andregarcia_73;593470 wrote: Thanks linda. I guess what im really asking is if one dies in my aquarium or my shark eats it.is it.poisonous, risky?

We had a rather large brown one (about the size of a small zucchini) die in a 180g and it didn't crash the tank. As for something eating it, I heard they were toxic and critters wouldn't try to make a meal of one.

 

[gmpolan]

I ended up going with a sand sifting starfish as im very picky about my fish selections ( aka i have some things id rather throw in vs a diamond) and it has done wonders...my sand is absolulety pristine, thanks for the input guys