sand sifter

[coralfish13g]

hi I have a  13.5 gallon evo and the sand bed is growing hair algae i need some help. there are corals in the tank and no fish.  i would prefer a fish over invertebrates ( because i would like to add some life to the tank)

[Clown79]

Any sand sifting fish is either too big for the tank like diamond gobies or classified as difficult like the 2 spot goby. 

Nano tanks can't supply the amount of food they need which leads to their death.

 

A blenny would eat algae but doesn't sift sand.

 

Nassaurius snails, ceriths can help, scarlet hermits, and manually vacuuming the sand during waterchanges(which is a common practice with most hobbyists, especially nano owners)

[mcarroll]

You need a cleanup crew from the sound of it.

 

Also, you may need to manually remove by hand what algae has already grown out since snails can't eat it when it's big.  Mature algae also tends to taste bad.

[coralfish13g]

i do have 1 Nassaurius snail, 5 hermit crabs and a cleaner shrimp. 

what type of blenny should get? 

 

the sand bed is looking better (because i just vacuumed the sand) 

but there is algae on the rocks

 

 

[DISQUALIFIED-QQ]

A blenny will probably need a larger space to swim around in.

 

I think you can make use of a more well-rounded clean up crew. Based on your stocking you have animals that would primarily target detritus. Hermit crabs will pick at algae at certain degrees, but probably not to the degree of how a snail can graze on micro/macroalgae. A Nassarius snail as cool as they are generally feed on leftovers.

 

If we're looking for solid sand sifting options then I'd follow Clown79's advice and get more Nassarius and Cerith snails as both are more than capable of burrowing into the sand bed.

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, coralfish13g said:

i do have 1 Nassaurius snail, 5 hermit crabs and a cleaner shrimp. 

what type of blenny should get? 

 

A tail spot blenny or bicolor blenny. Both like algae and do just fine in smaller tanks.

[mcarroll]

In a lot of tanks it seems like they get spoiled on prepared food and don't mess with algae too much.

 

Definitely a good option as far as fish that eat some algae, I'm just not sure I would rely on them as a part of my cleanup crew – your mileage may vary.

[Gourami Swami]

Your cleanup crew doesn't have any algae eaters on it, that's most likely your problem. I'd get some astra/trochus snails, at least 5 or 6 of them if you have a good amount of algae. Instead of adding more fish which will increase nutrients and thus algae. (though a blenny would probably help out the cleanup crew and not hurt)

[Tamberav]

On 4/4/2020 at 12:53 PM, coralfish13g said:

hi I have a  13.5 gallon evo and the sand bed is growing hair algae i need some help. there are corals in the tank and no fish.  i would prefer a fish over invertebrates ( because i would like to add some life to the tank)

You should be cleaning the sand yourself with water changes.

 

However the one fish that can fit in that size tank comfortably and will both pick/sift sand and eat algae a little is a captive bred court jester goby.

 

The wild ones are difficult to feed so I would avoid a wild one for sure. Biota has captive bred ones...they are available at a few different websites online. Otherwise maybe your LFS can order from biota?

 

I added a captive one to my pico and it has been easy to care for eating anything I offer. It did eat all my after-cycle GHA too and picks at the top layer of my sand.

 

If you don't have snails or hermits...I would I would add a few snails and perhaps one hermit as well.

[Nathans_Reef]

You could also Mix up the sand yourself, that would help with problems. Good luck 👍

[coralfish13g]

thank you. 

 

i got 6 trochus snails and they are eating the hair algae on the glass. 

The tank is looking much better thank you for the help!

 i also did 15% water changes every 6 days to get the algae to go. 

 

( i have 3 freshwater tanks for years so saltwater is new to me)

 

i got a high fin goby because he stays small and i would fell bad if i kept a blenny or court jester goby so i did not. 

 

when i went to my local fish store i saw the blenny and i thought it was to big.