mboze45 Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Does anyone have advise or recomendations on keeping substrate clean in a nano. I had a white sand-sifting star in my 29Gal that did a great job at keeping all the fish cr*p off the bottom of the tank. Is there any critters that will do the same in a nano. Brittle stars, other starfish? Tell me whats worked for you. Thanks. Matt Link to comment
Crakeur Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 sifting fish, nass snails, conch, cukes, hermits, stars, human hands. Link to comment
LakerFan Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Good Question! I just redid my tank and with the new sand, I'm now gettting red algea on the bottom of the tank. I've removed most of it easily by hand, but I want some snails to take care of it. I'm going with a hermit-less tank. I'm tired of seeing hermits go after snails. I only had scarlet hermits in my old tank and they would still go after the snails. Nass. Snails seems like the way to go. Does anyone know if Jeff's exotic fish has them? I'll be around that area on wednesday. Link to comment
Masoch Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 I love my nassarius snails ... however ... one of my cleaner shrimp has developed a taste for escargot and they're just the right size for a light snack. Since they're mostly sandbed dwelling, they don't cling to surfaces very well making them very easy prey. My nerites, which are about the same size, can't be pried off from the glass by said big-meanie. My hermits also like nassarius shells. Just a thought. Then again, they're only about $2.00 here ;P Link to comment
belamy Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 for 10g, my nass snails and hermits pretty much turn the sand over. they also took care of my hair algae problem. so far no empty shells (except for the ones I put in).. Link to comment
Brianc_4 Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Having a healthy sanbed full of pods and worms will do the most good. Those hundreds of little crap eaters will turn your sand over more times than all the snails your system could support. From time to time, especially if you don't have a fuge, you will need to give your sanbed a boost, borrow some sand from an already estblished tank, or ask your lfs for some sludge out of the bottom of his curing tanks. This will add a fresh batch of critters to your bed. In addition, it is common for people to neglect the water flow towards the bottom of the water column. Put some PHs down low, not so low as to cause a sand storm, but low enough to provide some current. If you are getting red cyano, it is most likely in a dead spot in your tank. I actually have a small recurring patch of cyano in my tank, that is kind of my time to clean the PH indicator. When the powerhead clogs the cyano appears, when it is running at full speed, there is no problems. Just my two cents. Good luck;) Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 If you are good and steady with a 3/8ths hose, you should be able tocreate a good siphon when doing a W/C and that is an oppertune moment to suck the crevaces of the LR and off the sand bed to remove excess mulm. Link to comment
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