Sand Sifters/Stirrers for Smaller Tanks

[Darth_Tater]

I've been thinking for quite a while that I need to get something to stir up my shallow sand bed in my 40 breeder. I'm having issues deciding what to get due to my tank size though. I added a bunch of Cerith snails about 2 weeks ago hoping they would take care of it, but after watching them I'm not convinced. I guess my main concern is that I don't want my sand to turn into concrete.

I'm not sure the tank is large enough to support things like cucumbers or conchs (or is it conches??) or cowries.

I've thought about a sand sifting Goby, but they tend to bury stuff and I tend to have this thing about the sand bed being flat. I also have a Fairy Wrasse that chased my Yellow Watchman Goby out of the tank and I'm not convinced I can safely add a Goby.

I won't be adding anything for a couple weeks at least to make sure my tank stabilizes from this weird ammonia spike I had last week (in case anyone read that thread and was concerned).

Oh, current tank inhabitants: Shrimps, LPS and SPS and Zoas, Fairy Wrasse, and a Kole Tang. Both fish had some kind of issue with the poor Watchman Goby.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[thegrun]

I would add a few nassarius snails for sure. On a side note your tank is much too small for any tang.

[marleesan]

Nasarius snails

[mandarin_goby]

I have nassarius (sp?) and olive snails in my tank that have helped. I never see them though, they bury themselves during the day and come out to party at night.

[GimpyFin]

+3 for nassarius snails.

[Darth_Tater]

I would add a few nassarius snails for sure. On a side note your tank is much too small for any tang.

I purposely got a small Kole with the intention of letting it go to a bigger tank when it showed signs of being cramped. So far it seems perfectly happy and has gained quite a bit of weight since I got it. It's lost most of the yellow in its tail now though and I've been thinking that maybe it's time even if it doesn't act cramped.

For some reason I thought Ceriths were the diggers. I'll look for some Nassarius then!

As a side note, how often do most people expect snails to last in their tanks? I can't get most snails to last longer than a couple months. Turbos, Ceriths, Nerites, it doesn't seem to matter. I've tried slow drip acclimating, fast drip, temperature only.

Ok, so thegrun has got me thinking some more. If I was to rehome the Tang and the Wrasse so that I could get a goby, would this size tank be large enough to support a sand sifter? The tanks been running for a little over a year, so there's definitely some stuff for one to eat. I just don't know if it would survive long term.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

[cloak]

I'm not sure how often you have your hands in the tank, but you can always just use your finger to turn over the sand. The nassarius snails will help, but they definitely won't be as efficient at this as you can be. If your just looking to buy some pets though, then by all means get the snails. I recommend the larger Tongan variety as opposed to the smaller vibex. GL.