Best sand sifters/movers?

[Palting]

I looked at descriptions of CUC, and they all seem to morph into one another. I am looking specifically for those that clean, sift and move sand around. Eating poop and stale/decomposing food on and in the sand is also a desired trait. Obviously undesirable is ANY tendency to chomp on ANY coral, like emerald crabs.

Currently, I have about 8 hermits of varying sizes, and 6 nasarius. I also have margarita snails, but they are more of algae eaters. I also have a tennenti that likes to make pathways in between rocks, but I don't think he counts, either. I clean and stir the sand, but I don't think I count, either, since I don't eat poop or decomposing food :).

Thanks!!

[Reverend Reefer]

i have a florida fighting conch that does a pretty good job cleaning up the sand along with a goby. actually, my conch seems to like eating cyano so when my first cyano outbreak happened this lil guy gobbled alot of it up. i also have another random conch that i sometimes see on the sand but he mostly spends time on the rock, and two brittle starfish that came as hitchhikers. they sometimes come out at night and sift the sand a lil but not like the conch and goby who do most of the work.

[mike_cmu04]

Horseshoe crabs i think i saw them on live aquaria

[Palting]

Thanks, guys.

Fighting conch going on shopping list.

I have a mandarin and 2 firefish. Ok to get a sand sifting goby?

Just checked liveaquaria.com. Horseshoe crabs can grow up up to 2 feet long, and 12" in diameter!! Horses-hoa!!

Anything else I can add to the shopping list specific to cleaning/sifting/moving sand?

[greech]

Tigertail cuc and fighting conchs are the best sand CUC memebers I have by far!

[Palting]

Sorry for the ignorance, but what's a tigertail cuc?

[crsswift70]

Cucumber

[iwanaclown]

diamond gobies are good at sifting sand and cleaning eat very entertaining too just have to watch for jumpers i had 3 and 2 jumped over nite. engineers are good gobies to and jawfish gobies and tey do good in multples but engineers tend to change alot of rock work by knocking it down so be careful with those guys.

[Palting]

Aah, so. Thanks!

I saw a white goby sifting sand at the lfs yesterday. Maybe I'll try one out to see if it will get along with the firefish. He's on the list.

[Sk8r]

The yellow watchman goby is a moderate sandsifter that digs burrows here and there, and confines his sand-moving to about a foot radius and mostly his own doorstep. The diamond watchman tends to be a larger-scale operator and may blow sand onto lowlying specimens.

The good rule for conchs is one per 50 gallons, granted enough foraging stuff in the sand to sustain them.

[Palting]

Thanks, Sk8r. I was kinda holding off for a yellow watchman/pistol shrimp combo, but I think Ill go for the diamond watchman first with what you've said.

And 3 fighting conch it is! With my fish stock and messy eaters, I think i have enough for them.

[dmarkham]

cucumber are great for the sand bed. I have at least one in every tank.

[cloak]

I think your best bet is to just continue what you were doing. Stir the sandbed with your finger or even a small powerhead on a regular basis and get all that muck up into the water column right before a water change. Hook up a filter sock during this time and you should be good to go. You don't really want to solve a poop problem by adding something that poops IMO. It's just not good business. ;) As far as all that extra food lying around goes, well, that's all you. You'll just have to feed smaller portions, plain & simple.

GL.

[Reverend Reefer]

dont get a horseshoe crab, they get too big, same with a cucumber, which might eventually starve to death. my yellow goby has taken all the lower levels of my tank as his own and sifts quite a bit, but only with the sand near the rockwork as he doesn't stray too far. i had an engineer goby but had to give him back, he was a lil overzealous with his 'engineering' and some of my rockwork toppled over.

[greech]

I think your best bet is to just continue what you were doing. Stir the sandbed with your finger or even a small powerhead on a regular basis and get all that muck up into the water column right before a water change. Hook up a filter sock during this time and you should be good to go. You don't really want to solve a poop problem by adding something that poops IMO. It's just not good business. ;) As far as all that extra food lying around goes, well, that's all you. You'll just have to feed smaller portions, plain & simple.

GL.

I agree with this but would also say that having a good (right sized) CUC can be very beneficial. When I started I got a CUC "package" that was way overkill. As my tank matured, I took several snails and hermits out because I had way too many. Over time I observed that many of the nassarius snails didn't do very much for my sand surface so about a year ago I removed all but about a dozen nassarius snails and added 4 fighting conchs and a tigertail cuc. My sand has looked great ever since and this CUC has done great without the need for me to feed much at all. BTW, I have a 40B with a fair amount of sand exposed.

[sn4265]

I'm going to have to look these conch that I keep seeing mentioned. The wife and I picked up a conch shell on vacation in the Bahamas and the thing is huge. It probably weighs 6 or 7 lbs and is probably about a foot long. This can't be the same thing that people are talking about keeping in typical home aquariums.

[greech]

Do a search for Florida Fighting conchs. No Queen Conchs in our aquariums :)

[Indymann99]

hard worker when it comes to cleaning sand.

http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/?action=view&current=Gobyclean1.mp4

[mcosta528]

I have seen tiger gobys do great workj on the sand in my LFS. I've never had them but i do see them constantly sifting through the sand in the display tanks there. Also from LFS experience ive seen sleeper type and the diamond watchman do good jobs. I have also seen many threads though where these fish do not make it in newly established tanks as well. You should post a new thread on caring for the oby type you like and see how owners are keeping them healthy :)

[todd141]

If you really, really want a sand sifter, look no further than a brown-barred goby. I have one that's been in my tank for 2 years, still sifting sand like there's no tomorrow.

However, I still hate it that he gets sand over everything.....

[MBVette]

dont forget about a pistol/goby combo. Very entertaining to watch and a tiger pistol moves sand around like a bulldozer. Probably my favorite thing in my tank.

[Palting]

Thanks again, all.

To summarize.
In addition to what I have (hermits, nasarius), and to what I do (surface stir and agitate), get:
1. Fighting conch, Florida - 3
2.Tigertail cucumber -1
3. goby. Diamond, yellow watchman, or brown barred, add pistol shrimp - 1

Time to let my lfs know to get it next time he orders. Checked liveaquaria, and unless I buy more stuff, shipping is just waaaaaay too much.

Thanks!

[greech]

I don't know if a diamond or brown barred goby will pair up with a pistol? Just thought I would mention if you are getting a goby and a pistol, you might as well get an established pair so you get the added benefit of watching this symbiotic relationship :). Of course there is always a chance two individuals will pair on their own. I also would not get just any pistol. I would stick with the red banded (candy cane/stripe) or tiger pistols. Just my opinion/experience.

[scubasteve06]

I'd try maybe just two conchs to start with I know you have a 150 but they can easily starve if they deplete the sand bed. I'd get about 30-40 cerith snails as they burrow into the sand and come up like submarines when the food comes out. They also eat algae off the rocks and glass too so its like getting a 3 for 1 package.


Edit: Conchs also can and will eat pods so another reason to maybe go slow with them as you will be surprised the amount of sand these guys can go through, and with a mandarin they need all they can get. FWIW

[aleonn]

Cerith snails and more nassarius snails are good. Never had a conch or goby, but they're actually on my list :)

[johnike]

Black cucumber, a fighting conch, and nassarius snails here. Does a great job in the 180 DSB.

[PaulieReef]

This post helped a lot.. I think I might research into getting a cucumber, I already have the watchmen goby/pistol shrimp but they only shift around their home.

Thanks guys, :P

[aleonn]

This post helped a lot.. I think I might research into getting a cucumber, I already have the watchmen goby/pistol shrimp but they only shift around their home.

Thanks guys, :P

From what I've read, the diamond goby sifts a much larger area than the watchman goby.

[Palting]

Yeah. It's a choice between the entertainment value of a YWG/pistol shrimp partnership, or the efficiency of the diamond or brown barred goby.

[usctrack]

I have a sand sifting goby that is constantly taking a mouthful of sand and running it through his gills. It will create a sand storm for a while but my fine sand has now settled or been removed and he is doing a great job.

[paja4]

I personally favor Nassarius

[rcoughtrey]

Diamond goby for sand shifting. Mine works like a trooper.

I have emerald crap as well, never seen him attack corals. My blue legs have done more damage

[heckfire]

is it better to leave the sand untouched so it wont stir up decomposing "stuff" and cause water parameter spikes??

[Palting]

is it better to leave the sand untouched so it wont stir up decomposing "stuff" and cause water parameter spikes??

There's a controversy right there. One belief, leave it alone so that the sand bed can do it's job. Bad side to that is that anoxic zones can develop, and eventually leach toxins and a tank crash. Other belief, the one I subscribe to, aerate the bed frequently to allow it to work, and the junk that is released ia processed both by the sandbed and all your other filters, also water changes. Bad side to that is, as you said, release of "stuff" causing parameter spikes and toxin spikes. Then, there is the deep vs shallow sand bed controversy. Then there is the remote deep sand bed conttroversy. Then there are the barebottom advocates. This hobby is fun, isn't it? :D

[jeff@zina.com]

is it better to leave the sand untouched so it wont stir up decomposing "stuff" and cause water parameter spikes??

Well, since there shouldn't be anything left over to decompose... :)

Stir the surface only, especially on deep sand beds (6" or more). On a 1 inch bed, stir it all. Sand sifters and snails won't get very deep anyway.

Jeff

[wilsonreefs]

It's a good thing the Nassarius snails are good, I've got, I know, over 200 of these little snails in my DT, sump, and overflows. They have babies more often than rabbits!!!!! They're everywhere.

Carl

[aleonn]

It's a good thing the Nassarius snails are good, I've got, I know, over 200 of these little snails in my DT, sump, and overflows. They have babies more often than rabbits!!!!! They're everywhere.

Carl

Didn't know they reproduced successfully in the aquarium environment. That's good to know!

[Palting]

Ok, guys. Went to the lfs to order the finalists. I was told that cucumbers are also known as "nuke cuc", since they can extrude their innards when frightened and nuke the tank within hours. I have 4 tangs, hermits, as well as a very curious 6 line that investigates any and all newcomers.

I researched and found this to be true for the Edible Sea Cucumber or Holothuria floridana. When I specifically looked for the tigertail cucumber or Holothuria tomasi, there was no mention of this "innard extrusion" for this species. What do you all think? Forget the cuc?

[wilsonreefs]

Didn't know they reproduced successfully in the aquarium environment. That's good to know!

Just counted the ones on the front glass of my DT a little while ago..........108 just on the front glass alone! I swear I'm not lyin'. They range from the size of a pin head to about 5/16" long. I have others larger these were just this size.

Carl

[Palting]

Hah!. I forgot about this thread.

Anyway, to update, I decided not to risk "cuke nuke". Will get one fighting conch next week. Waiting on a YWG/pistol shrimp pair. I decided to go for the entertainment rather than the efficiency :).

Thanks to all, again.

[campos]

Tigertail cuc and fighting conchs are the best sand CUC memebers I have by far!

+1 tiger tail cucumber

[campos]

Ok, guys. Went to the lfs to order the finalists. I was told that cucumbers are also known as "nuke cuc", since they can extrude their innards when frightened and nuke the tank within hours. I have 4 tangs, hermits, as well as a very curious 6 line that investigates any and all newcomers.

I researched and found this to be true for the Edible Sea Cucumber or Holothuria floridana. When I specifically looked for the tigertail cucumber or Holothuria tomasi, there was no mention of this "innard extrusion" for this species. What do you all think? Forget the cuc?

thats why tigertails are good because they do not do that.

[scubasteve06]

Hah!. I forgot about this thread.

Anyway, to update, I decided not to risk "cuke nuke". Will get one fighting conch next week. Waiting on a YWG/pistol shrimp pair. I decided to go for the entertainment rather than the efficiency :).

Thanks to all, again.

Great choice Palting. I think you will find that the conch will be more than enough to keep your sand bed clean and detritus free. They really do move some waste and sand, and I'm glad you decided to start with one and then see if you need more. YWG/pistol shrimp pairs are awesome to watch! You'll have a much more 'fun' time watching these guys than a pudgy cucumber!

[Crustman]

The Goldenhead sleeper goby is always sifting sand. Trouble is it will dump that sand on any corals anemones or clams that are on the bottom. Watching the fish however may be worth the inconvenience.

[GCI]

Two thumbs up on the Florida Fighting Conch [they really don't 'fight']. Attractive and efficient. Unfortunately, I thought FFC's would be a great CUC for my 110gal FOWLR...my Picasso Triggerfish flipped one and ate him! The other one, although still alive, hides beneath the crushed coral and is discovered by the triggerfish every now and then only to be dragged all over the tank! I also had a brown barred goby...saw fit to take a mouthful of sand, rise and hover over my rocks and unload his burden all over my rocks! Made a mess and killed off some of the desirable creatures that lived there.