Jump to content
Premium Aquatics Aquarium Supplies

sand sifting/ stirring fish


lkoechle

Recommended Posts

This is for an 85 gallon tank. So not a nano.

 

I've never had a sand sifter or stirrer fish before, so looking for input. There is a really low flow section in my tank and the only way to get flow there, is to redirect the return out put which only stirs up a small section. I'm looking for a fish that can keep that area (and the rest, of course) clean/stirred so I don't have to do it. I feed heavy so it gets gross. My fighting conch goes dormant for 3 weeks and then is active for 1 week and then goes dormant again so he's not a big help lol. I'm not worried about a fish eating everything in the sand bed, because I can just drop algae wafers for the conch when he's active again.

 

My main concern is I've read different kinds of sifting gobies are different with their spitting pattern. I do keep some zoas near/on the sand bed (and a hammer), so I'm looking for a goby (or what ever other sifter or stirrer suggested) that spits close to where it picks up and doesn't swim up and dump (like I hear golden head sleepers like to do). Oh, and I have a shallow bed (2" for most of it, with deeper parts up to 4" near rockwork with how the current's scaped it) so fish known to eat prepared foods is definitely ideal to make sure it doesn't starve.

 

Suggestions?

Link to comment

Also would like this kind of fish for my 4x2, i like twinspot gobies, but can't find much about keeping them long term. Seems they do poorly in captivity

Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix

I second Diamond Goby. I had one for a short while and he never dumped sand all over my corals. Whatever you do, don't get a sleeper banded goby. Those ones will smother your zoas to death with sand.

Link to comment

Also would like this kind of fish for my 4x2, i like twinspot gobies, but can't find much about keeping them long term. Seems they do poorly in captivity

I was reading the same about the twinspot. Cool looking guys, but I hear they don't prepared diets very frequently.

 

I'll probably go with the diamond. I watched some youtube videos of different sleeper gobies last night and it definitely seemed like the diamonds stuck to the bottom more then the others. One Gold head swam half way up the tank to dump the sand. I would go nuts if that was happening everyday.

 

My LFS has one with a cute personality, if he's still there (and eats frozen or pellets) I'll probably pick him up and see how he works out for us.

 

Thanks for the input! :)

Link to comment

I've just got a pair of orange diamond watchman gobies. They're so funny.

They have however chosen to rescape my sand bed around where they have set up their cave. Nothing major, but I have had to move 2 corals that were in the way of constuction lol. As well as add some extra sand and the heep that covers their cave entrance at night never really leaves the middle of the tank so the front corners were looking a little bare lol.

 

That a side, the sand bed is spotless as my conch has started growing out it's shell and has been buried alot of the time lately and not attcheved much with the tidying up side of things.

Link to comment

I've just got a pair of orange diamond watchman gobies. They're so funny.

They have however chosen to rescape my sand bed around where they have set up their cave. Nothing major, but I have had to move 2 corals that were in the way of constuction lol. As well as add some extra sand and the heep that covers their cave entrance at night never really leaves the middle of the tank so the front corners were looking a little bare lol.

 

That a side, the sand bed is spotless as my conch has started growing out it's shell and has been buried alot of the time lately and not attcheved much with the tidying up side of things.

Yeah, I've been disappointed with my conch's performance. lol He's lucky he's cool to watch or I'd batter him up and make a fritter out of him!

 

How did you pair them?

Link to comment

Are you looking for fish or cheap labor to sift sand bed for you?

Both. I want a bottom dwelling fish and cheap labor. Lol. I picked up the little guy today. He was eating mysis at the LFS and so far he seems to stick close to the bottom of the tank. We will see if he continues to do that as he gets comfortable, but I am pleased with him so far. :)

Link to comment

What did you pick?

I also have fighting conch and it also hibernat for week at the time. She is good and active again. And been like this ever since she is spot fed supplemental algea. But my hardest working siffters must be Nassarius snails. But they are kinda huge. Small ones don't have the horse power to plow thru sand bed like big brothers do.

Link to comment

I love my conch, he is supper cool to watch. That and the wife loves him even more. I got this supper cool electric blue hermit (don't see them offten where I live). He's a monster inch and a bit, but he decided that conch is on the menu. I found him cuddling our conch in a not so friendly manner. I've sumped the hermit for now, think the wife wanted me to burn it at the stake lol.

 

They came into the LFS as a pair, think the female is the smaller one.

 

Having a little trouble getting the female fat, I was advised against blue cheek gobies as they tend to waste away to nothing very quickly. I have been injecting the sand with the frozen mix I feed as everything else tends to eat it as soon as it's in the tank and this seems to be working. The gobies are both taking sinking pellets too and flake that's floating mid water (the male more so), but again food doesn't tend to hang around long enough for them to get to it so that's something to watch for.

 

I have a small army of dwarf Nassarius, got 3 in my 12g edge and they turned into hundreds. Supper cool to watch in the edge, but in the big system which due to my scape has a massive sand bed, you just don't see them. They're still in there, but they don't move the sand like they did in the little edge.

 

Almost everything in my tank is in there for the cheap labour. I'm looking to get a scribbled rabbitfish (maybe a pair if I can talk the wife into it) to use for algae control (algae isn't as much of an isssue as I thought it would be, but it's a cool fish so...). Got a cleaner wrasse to keep my sailfin and everything else happy. Got a cooper band on hold in the LFS to try and take out this bloody aiptasia. The only other things I have are a chromis (the only suvivor of fishbola) a tomato clown and a yellow tail damsel.

Link to comment

Copper Band is a beauty. But, it might pick on corals once aphasia is gone. I read somewhere that brackish water Scot might be a better alternative as it has less interest in corals. But, it isn't nearly as beautiful as Copper. On the second though, I think all that algea/parasite control propaganda works great with wife approval for new additions to your tank. Lol

Link to comment

I love my conch, he is supper cool to watch. That and the wife loves him even more. I got this supper cool electric blue hermit (don't see them offten where I live). He's a monster inch and a bit, but he decided that conch is on the menu. I found him cuddling our conch in a not so friendly manner. I've sumped the hermit for now, think the wife wanted me to burn it at the stake lol.

 

They came into the LFS as a pair, think the female is the smaller one.

 

Having a little trouble getting the female fat, I was advised against blue cheek gobies as they tend to waste away to nothing very quickly. I have been injecting the sand with the frozen mix I feed as everything else tends to eat it as soon as it's in the tank and this seems to be working. The gobies are both taking sinking pellets too and flake that's floating mid water (the male more so), but again food doesn't tend to hang around long enough for them to get to it so that's something to watch for.

 

I have a small army of dwarf Nassarius, got 3 in my 12g edge and they turned into hundreds. Supper cool to watch in the edge, but in the big system which due to my scape has a massive sand bed, you just don't see them. They're still in there, but they don't move the sand like they did in the little edge.

 

Almost everything in my tank is in there for the cheap labour. I'm looking to get a scribbled rabbitfish (maybe a pair if I can talk the wife into it) to use for algae control (algae isn't as much of an isssue as I thought it would be, but it's a cool fish so...). Got a cleaner wrasse to keep my sailfin and everything else happy. Got a cooper band on hold in the LFS to try and take out this bloody aiptasia. The only other things I have are a chromis (the only suvivor of fishbola) a tomato clown and a yellow tail damsel.

I have a scribbled rabbitfish and I love her. How big is your tank? I feel like my 85 would be way too small for a pair. I would also worry about them munching on coral. Mine has been really good so far. I have a brown algae outbreak (once again, feed heavily (3x a day and then nori for the rabbit) and I just nixxed most of my CUC in another upcoming point) and she's even delicately scraped it off the zoas. I was watching her like a hawk though. But she's surprisingly awesome. She excellent for algae and is a freaking PIG. Folks say clownfish are pigs, my pair's got nothing on the rabbitfish. She also has a weird/creepy interspecies relationship with my solar wrasse. He tries to get her to spawn. lol

 

Your story of the hermit is funny. I recently banished all of my hermits to the sump for eating my zoas. First it was one and we thought well maybe he was just cleaning it. No, I saw two, TWO with snipped off stalks eating them. Not to mention the hell they raised on my snails. That's when the algae outbreak started :P So I since have gotten in more snails from reefcleaners, and its clearing up. No more crabs in my tank!

 

What did you pick?

I also have fighting conch and it also hibernat for week at the time. She is good and active again. And been like this ever since she is spot fed supplemental algea. But my hardest working siffters must be Nassarius snails. But they are kinda huge. Small ones don't have the horse power to plow thru sand bed like big brothers do.

We went with a diamond goby. He's small, but I hear they're very industrious for their size. So we'll see. I don't have any of the large nassarius. My LFS has some big ones with a cool leopard shell, I might pick one up but we'll see how the diamond does first. My conch as it is has no respect for my corals, and judging by their smaller cousins, I'm assuming the nass would be even less respectful. lol

Link to comment

Respect is word totally alien to them.

Hope new goby does well during probation period.

There is a pistol shrimp that bulldozers thru sand as if he lost his claws and forgot where he dropped them.

Thing is, he doesn't like to be bothered and that could turn lethal to some inverts or even small fish.

Link to comment

Respect is word totally alien to them.

Hope new goby does well during probation period.

There is a pistol shrimp that bulldozers thru sand as if he lost his claws and forgot where he dropped them.

Thing is, he doesn't like to be bothered and that could turn lethal to some inverts or even small fish.

Yeah... Interesting thing, my female clown has really taken to the diamond's burrowing along the back wall. It looks like mortar shells have been dropped along the back wall and the clown decided she wants to move in. I'll be pissed if she chases the diamond out of the tank... -.-
Link to comment

Yeah... Interesting thing, my female clown has really taken to the diamond's burrowing along the back wall. It looks like mortar shells have been dropped along the back wall and the clown decided she wants to move in. I'll be pissed if she chases the diamond out of the tank... -.-

New roommates always need to fit in and get the smallest room to live in.

Link to comment

Yeah haven't heard of scribbled rabbits picking on corals I'll have to watch for it. Will also be watching the copper band like a hawk. Someone I know was wanting to rehome one at a good price, but it had developed a taste for their orange acan, I don't have any acans, but once they start they'll soon develop a taste from what I've read.

Tank is a 3X2X2 75 uk gallons (330 litres). Thinking a pair would be a push, but know they like company. Maybe a single rabbit would pair with my sailfin tang (who is also a pig), when I lost my first nem my tomato clown and the tang started sleeping in the same corner and cruzing around together.

 

Just come home from being out all day to no sand in the front corners of my tank and a pile of sand halfway up my mini rock work island at the front. Bloody gobies made themsleves a sand fortress! I'll be having words in the morning, however I feel this will be a loosing battle lol.

Link to comment

Yeah haven't heard of scribbled rabbits picking on corals I'll have to watch for it. Will also be watching the copper band like a hawk. Someone I know was wanting to rehome one at a good price, but it had developed a taste for their orange acan, I don't have any acans, but once they start they'll soon develop a taste from what I've read.

Tank is a 3X2X2 75 uk gallons (330 litres). Thinking a pair would be a push, but know they like company. Maybe a single rabbit would pair with my sailfin tang (who is also a pig), when I lost my first nem my tomato clown and the tang started sleeping in the same corner and cruzing around together.

 

Just come home from being out all day to no sand in the front corners of my tank and a pile of sand halfway up my mini rock work island at the front. Bloody gobies made themsleves a sand fortress! I'll be having words in the morning, however I feel this will be a loosing battle lol.

You got yourself a super siffter. Lol

I love all gobies but siffters have few trade offs.

Sandstorming is at the top of the list. Prawn/shrimp gobies not so much.

Link to comment

Yeah haven't heard of scribbled rabbits picking on corals I'll have to watch for it. Will also be watching the copper band like a hawk. Someone I know was wanting to rehome one at a good price, but it had developed a taste for their orange acan, I don't have any acans, but once they start they'll soon develop a taste from what I've read.

Tank is a 3X2X2 75 uk gallons (330 litres). Thinking a pair would be a push, but know they like company. Maybe a single rabbit would pair with my sailfin tang (who is also a pig), when I lost my first nem my tomato clown and the tang started sleeping in the same corner and cruzing around together.

 

Just come home from being out all day to no sand in the front corners of my tank and a pile of sand halfway up my mini rock work island at the front. Bloody gobies made themsleves a sand fortress! I'll be having words in the morning, however I feel this will be a loosing battle lol.

Lol mine is behaving himself so far. The rabbitfish is social but will bond to anybody. Mine, like I said, loves my wrasse. They follow each other around the tank. So maybe a different schooling fish of your choice. She has also been following the goby around and trying to eat sand because she is observant. She learned to eat pellets from the wrasse and now is eating sand because of the goby. I don't know if she is intelligent or incredibly stupid.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...