Sand Sifting Goby

[kirkwood]

I have been thinking about getting a gold head sleeper to clean my substrate (I have hawaiin black, which is a course size particle).

I am thinking about the possible negative of this activity which would be spraying the substrate all over the tank and potentially irritating corals.

Anyone have experience with that?

 

[kilralpine]

In my experience when mine kicked up sand as long as the flow was on, usually most of my stuff never got covered; its in dead spots where the sand just seems to linger on top of stuff. despite them covering corals with sand them kicking the sand up in itself feeds corals to a degree.

 

[rjrgroup]

They are messy little buggers. Look into a sand clean up crew...IMO.
Conchs, Nassarius snails, sand sifting starfish, etc.

 

[kirkwood]

kilralpine;820985 wrote: In my experience when mine kicked up sand as long as the flow was on, usually most of my stuff never got covered; its in dead spots where the sand just seems to linger on top of stuff. despite them covering corals with sand them kicking the sand up in itself feeds corals to a degree.

yeah i don't really have sand per se as my black substrate is larger particles.. So my flow won't really blow it around.. I just don't want big particles landing on top of montis, leathers, zoas, etc and closing things up... I do agree with the benefit of kicking things up to assist in feeding corals...

Edit:

rjrgroup;820992 wrote: They are messy little buggers. Look into a sand clean up crew...IMO.
Conchs, Nassarius snails, sand sifting starfish, etc.

I do have some nassarius snails however they don't really do enough to keep the sand turned over...