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Unread 11/10/2018, 11:12 AM   #1
Cliving1
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Sand sifting star and leopard wrasse?

I want to get some more movement in my sand. I have nassarius, but was curious if a sand sifting star and leopard wrasse are compatible?


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Unread 11/10/2018, 12:39 PM   #2
homer1475
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Worked fine for me, that is until the star ate all the microfauna and slowly starved to death. Still have the leopard though.



I would never put another sand sifting star in my tank again unless I had 200G or better to work with. They jut eat and eat until they devastate your microfauna population. Then they obviously starve to death and die. Just seems like a crappy way to die to me.


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Unread 11/10/2018, 04:59 PM   #3
Cliving1
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Didn't realize they needed so much room/food. Was more curious if they could live together. Thanks for the info I wont be investing in one.


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Unread 11/10/2018, 07:57 PM   #4
mcgyvr
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Ive had my sand sifter in a 40g for 1 year and 80g for 2 years now..
Seems to be doing just fine...I have a leopard wrasse too btw..


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Unread 11/11/2018, 12:34 AM   #5
Tastee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcgyvr View Post
Ive had my sand sifter in a 40g for 1 year and 80g for 2 years now..
Seems to be doing just fine...I have a leopard wrasse too btw..


You give me hope my Sand Sifter starfish will be ok long term - been in my 65g for 5 months now and doing really well. The first one I put in only lived for 2 months but I only had two fish at that time. The tank is fully stocked with fish (8) now, plus a Shrimp and Hermit crab, and this has been enough to provide it with enough food so far.


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Unread 11/11/2018, 09:21 AM   #6
Cliving1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcgyvr View Post
Ive had my sand sifter in a 40g for 1 year and 80g for 2 years now..
Seems to be doing just fine...I have a leopard wrasse too btw..
Have you noticed the star bothering the wrasse at all? I guess this question could be opened to all sand burrowing wrasse.


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Unread 11/11/2018, 09:40 AM   #7
mcgyvr
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cliving1 View Post
Have you noticed the star bothering the wrasse at all? I guess this question could be opened to all sand burrowing wrasse.
Never seen it bother the wrasse..


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Unread 11/12/2018, 01:05 PM   #8
IowaReefer
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I have had them both together for 5+ years now, no issues. However, the star begins to look pretty rough if I reduce feeding leading me to believe the starvation stories. I will not replace this one if it dies.


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Unread 11/13/2018, 12:31 PM   #9
dkevink
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I had sand sifter for a few months. It ate all micro fauna from sand and starved to death also.


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Unread 11/15/2018, 12:32 AM   #10
WVfishguy
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I had a couple of sand sifters in a 75, pretty much forgot about them. Later, I had an incredible overabundance of bristle worms. Not dozens, but hundreds. Everyone on RC said I MUST be overfeeding, or the bristle worms would not be there. But I fed very sparingly - it was only a quarantine tank with one or two small fish.

Eventually, the worm population became ridiculous - the bottom of the tank was carpeted with bristle worms. But before I could begin siphoning them out, the worms died en mass and crashed the tank.

I figured it out eventually.

I believe the forgotten sand sifters died, perhaps one at a time, and provided food for the worms. When the stars were gone, so was the food source. The worms died, polluted the water, and crashed the tank.

It's the only tank crash I've ever had in 50 years of this hobby.


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Unread 11/15/2018, 07:51 AM   #11
RioReefr
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I don't if this helps, but pretty much I had the same experience with a sand-sifting star as others -- it lasted about 6 months in a 32G.
Contrary to what the LFS says, it does not "clean" the sand. It does NOT eat detritus or left-over food, but the microfauna.
At first it is "cool" watching it glide across the SB, but then after a couple of months one of its arms will start dwindle and becomes a stubbly. Then another arm will start to dwindle. Shortly after (in my case), I saw it bury itself in the sand and then never to surface again. I suspect the clean-up crew (hermit crabs) ate the remains.

Personally, I will never get another one unless I had a huge tank with a lot of sand.

If you really want to keep the sand clean, I could recommend a Lawnmower Blenny. Mind is awesome and eats up everything in sight. Definitely not a showcase fish (quite ugly actually), but does a remarkable job of eating algae and constantly cleaning crap off the bottom.


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Unread 11/15/2018, 08:48 AM   #12
Michael Hoaster
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There are better sand cleaners out there. Sea cucumbers, serpent or brittle stars, and fighting conches are three good choices. Don't add more than one of each so they don't starve.


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Unread 11/15/2018, 04:37 PM   #13
Cliving1
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Yeah I have been on the look for a conch. I have also adjusted my wavemakers to stir up the dead spots. Appreciate everyone's advice


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Unread 11/18/2018, 01:31 AM   #14
dkevink
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Conchs are the best thing ever for a sand bed. They clean everything they can reach, and as a bonus very neat to watch.


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