Quote:
Originally Posted by fishgate
You mean this? What is wrong with them at home?
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Yep thats the one.
They are sand sifters. They feed on the micro fauna growing in the sandbed.
This microfauna is good for the tank, its the stuff people buy live sand for.
A typical home aquaria does not have a large enough sandbed to support said feedign activity.
What happens is the goby will decimate the population of microfuana in the sand, then they starve to death. Heck even the one in the pick is nearly emaciated.
After they destroy the life in the sand, rthe sandbed become inactive as a filtration system, with nothing in the sand it soon starts to clump up and sometimes will become a solid brick and has even been blamed for crackign tanks.
Sure, you may know someone that has kept one alive for a period of time, but I have seen 100's of these die in a short time.
There are many better gobies to enjoy in the home aquaria.
There are many better choices for sand sifters, if you have issues with dirty sand, which in reality is a lack of maintanince, not a lack of sifter.