Kane Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Title says it all, I am looking for something small that will sift some sand for me! It will go in a 5 gallon that doesn't have that much sand so it doesn't have to do a lot! Link to comment
Tamberav Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 The one I can think of off the top of my head is available in Japan but not here The other one I can think of would probably perish as frozen food won't sustain it. They don't eat algae/debris but eat the live stuff in your sand you want to keep just fyi. Link to comment
RC1313 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Why do you need your sand sifted? Are you just looking for it in general or do you have cyano or something? Link to comment
Kane Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Honestly I don't need it yet I just thought it would be fun to watch, and I like fish that stay small! Link to comment
supernip Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 but you'd never see it cause its in your sand. nassarius are good for this. zombie snails Link to comment
hypostatic Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I had a nice diamond watchman goby in my 15G. He ate pellets and was very fun to watch... until he decided to jump lol Link to comment
drew11588 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 2 spot goby stays pretty small. but i think their main diet consists of microfauna in the sand that may diminish... I think most sand sifting gobies are that way Link to comment
ALexpsycho Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 IMO Hector's Goby (Amblygobius hectori). Link to comment
Boggers Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I would say a Hectors goby Jinx Link to comment
markalot Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Rainford Goby will sift, eat algae, eat pods, and occasionally eat flake or frozen. I doubt you could keep one alive in a 5 gallon unless it was the only fish and you didn't mind a lot of algae growing in the tank. Link to comment
rafastank727 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Really? A hectors goby?! An established sandbed and copepods are important. That goby will starved to death within weeks if you can get it to eat frozen food. Also this species needs to have filamentous algae in its diet for long term health. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Diamond goby gets too big and hector's/rainfords and two spot would probably perish in a 5g due to specific diets. I can't think of any available sand-sifting goby suitable for a 5g unfortunately. Honestly I don't need it yet I just thought it would be fun to watch, and I like fish that stay small! How about a hi-fin/yasha and a pistol shrimp? They are interesting to watch. Ot a pair of trimma's, evotias, or green banded gobies would be extra small and you may get to see them cort each other doing little mating dances. Lots of tiny inverts too, sexy shrimp, peterson's shrimp and anenome porcelain crabs are fun. A lot of tiny life can live happily in a 5g Link to comment
hypostatic Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Diamond goby gets too big and hector's/rainfords and two spot would probably perish in a 5g due to specific diets. I can't think of any available sand-sifting goby suitable for a 5g unfortunately. Oh oops, I guess I skipped over that part. 5G IS too small, so that was a bad suggestion on my part lol Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I'd probably do a pair of Neons in a 5G. There's actually plenty of other adorable and entertaining fish you can stock in a 5G rather than a sandsifter such as: Neon goby Clown Blenny (Combtooth blenny) Clown goby (yellow/green/panda/citron/warpaint/black) Catalina goby (coldwater species) Eviata goby Yasha goby Hi-Fin goby Greenbanded goby Pinkbar goby Cave goby Wheeler's Prawn goby Orange stripe prawn goby ...and the list goes on. Link to comment
hypostatic Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Also, be aware that any sand-sifting goby might make its home where you might not prefer, and they WILL spit sand over your rocks/corals, which the corals might not appreciate. Here's a video where you can see that sand has been spat over the rocks Link to comment
Kane Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Thanks for all of the input guys! I think I will probably stick with the clown and a yellow clown goby too (my wife likes them a lot and so do I). She wanted a ruby red dragonet until she learned there is no way it could live in a 5g. Tamberav - you mentioned the porcelain crabs, I had been thinking about an emerald crab until I learned they are kinda a pest. I want a hermit crab (probably a little dime sized one) and a non-hermit crab. How big do porcelains get? Are there any others I should consider? What shrimp would be able to live in this environment? I know the local LFS has some harlequin shrimp that aren't too big. Link to comment
Archaic37 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Hi fin red banded. They are super small and do sift. Randalls goby is also a good one for 10G or up Link to comment
Tamberav Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Thanks for all of the input guys! I think I will probably stick with the clown and a yellow clown goby too (my wife likes them a lot and so do I). She wanted a ruby red dragonet until she learned there is no way it could live in a 5g. Tamberav - you mentioned the porcelain crabs, I had been thinking about an emerald crab until I learned they are kinda a pest. I want a hermit crab (probably a little dime sized one) and a non-hermit crab. How big do porcelains get? Are there any others I should consider? What shrimp would be able to live in this environment? I know the local LFS has some harlequin shrimp that aren't too big. Porcelains about quarter size. Get the anenome ones (white and brown) as they sit in the open. Pom pom crabs would be suitable too. For shrimp I would do sexy shrimp or petersons shrimp. Harlequin shrimp have special diets. They only eat live starfish and feeding them would most likely pollute such a small tank. Careful with the clown, they do grow to a decent size and poop a lot compared to other fish their size. Most people would say 10-15g min. Remember after the rock and sand there isn't much water left in the tank. Link to comment
1.0reef Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Smallest sleeper gobies are rare and still get 3-4 inches and probably need at least 36 x 12 inches of footprint. Rainfords and Hectors gobies kinda sift sand, still need a lot of filamentous algae and micro organisms to feed on. IMO for a 5g only consider smaller gobies that are easier to keep. Like ORA cleaner gobies. Link to comment
patback Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 My watchman sifted. ? In surprised I didn't see that mentioned. A watchman and pistol would be great for a sandbed that small. Link to comment
1.0reef Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 My watchman sifted. ? In surprised I didn't see that mentioned. A watchman and pistol would be great for a sandbed that small. They aren't really true sifters, although some do. It's the pistols who probably move more sand. Link to comment
patback Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 They aren't really true sifters, although some do. It's the pistols who probably move more sand.maybe I was lucky? He used to scoop up sand in his mouth and "chew" it through and out of his gills. Link to comment
hypostatic Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 the sand=sifting gobies go by a bunch of different names. I think they're usually called sleeper gobies, but are often called watchman gobies as well. The species I had, Valenciennea puellaris, I think is usually called the diamond watchman goby, but I don't think it normally pairs with a pistol shrimp Link to comment
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