Best critter for clean sand?

[rmlevasseur]

My current cuc does a great job keeping the rocks and glass clean, but my sand still browns up in spots. What critter should I get to keep the top of the sand churned up? I'd prefer to stay away from snail-killing hermits, although I have had the best luck with them on sand. I'd also prefer to stay away from anything that might die and wipe out the tank - a la sea slugs.

The tank is a 180. The only bottom-dwelling fish is a yellow watchman.

 

[Royalscott]

I love our sand sifting star.

 

[BarbMazz]

Fighting conch (strombus alatus). Very entertaining, too.

 

[lcstorc]

Nassarius snails and fighting conch. Or a sand sifting goby.

 

[JoJo]

would the goby clean the entire bed or stay in their "home" area? and whats the minimum depth for these critters?

 

[lcstorc]

The goby moves the sand around more than actually cleaning it. There are several varaties (all of which escape me at the moment). I don't think they need a very deep sand bed though.

 

[a10chavez]

I would definitely go with the fighting conch, or what i believe to be called a tiger sand conch. Not 100% sure on the other one, but check it out if you can find it. I wouldn't do a sand sifting goby, just cause they tend to move a lot of sand up to the top of you tank and leave it all over the rocks. Fighting conchs are worth there weight in gold when it comes to cleaning!

 

[prow]

IMO, you are the best critter to clean the sand :invisible


ok ok, for critters the best sand cleaners are nerite snails and tiger tail sea cucumbers (Holothuria hilla), for fish the sleeper banded goby (Amblygobius phalaena) gets my vote. it does not make huge piles like other sleepers do. JMO

 

[rmlevasseur]

Arent other gobies out with my watchman? Aren't tiger tails still a risk to the tank?

I have one small fighting conch. I'm not sure why people find them entertaining. What is yours doing that mine isnt? Mine is VERY slow and just moves around like a snail.

 

[PEMfish]

I think they are supposed to hop when threatened. Try pissing it off and you might get a good show, that is if it don't bite. lol

 

[Surfnut]

Try to shy away from sand sifting starfish. They eat all the beneficial critters in the sand, not just the detritus. Tiger Tails work well but have a nasty tendency of piling the sand up against the rock-work.

I'm in between tanks atm, tho, I had sand sifting shrimp when I had my first tank setup. I need to do a bit more research on them. While I had them tho they did a nice job of cleaning the sand without making piles. The only thing I am a little fuzzy on with them is whether they eat the beneficial critters in the sand like the Sand Sifting Starfish.

 

[naperenterprise]

I have some Engineer (Neon) Gobys in one of my tanks, they constantly change the sand bed. Making little homes under the rocks. pretty cool little guys.

The goby moves the sand around more than actually cleaning it. There are several varaties (all of which escape me at the moment). I don't think they need a very deep sand bed though.

 

[Surfnut]

I have some Engineer (Neon) Gobys in one of my tanks, they constantly change the sand bed. Making little homes under the rocks. pretty cool little guys.

Only problem with them is that if your sandbed is semi-deep or your rockwork isn't lying directly on the tank bottom or eggcrate, they can and do cause aquascaping to shift & tumble.

 

[JoJo]

so would it be best to put eggcrate down before scaping & adding sand. then you could add the goby, ect. without worrying about shifting?

 

[BoomerD]

In a 180, I'd have at least a dozen nassarius snails, maybe even 2 dozen.

 

[Rcpilot]

My diamond watchman goby is a little earth mover. He's constantly moving large quantities of sand to and fro in the tank. I have a DSB in the tank, so I don't care what he does. He eventually moves it back next week anyway. Apparently, he don't remember that he moved that same pile last week. Dumbass.

He makes burrows under rocks and then moves piles of sand to close up all entrances and escape routes. He leaves one way in and one way out. Usually in the back of the tank and under a sheltered shelf or a dark cavern. It's sorta entertaining to watch him, but I think I nailed it when I named him Cracker. He's dumber than a wheelbarrow full of mulch.

He does sift sand. It's neat to see him drive his entire head into the sand and come up with a mouthful. He tilts his head up and chomps his jaws real fast. The sand falls out the back of his gills. He'll do this for HOURS at a time. He's either hiding in the dark, sifting, or moving sand.

Oh yeah, and stealing meat from the acans. Little Turd!!

 

[Surfnut]

so would it be best to put eggcrate down before scaping & adding sand. then you could add the goby, ect. without worrying about shifting?

It helped me a lot. When I did my 2nd tank with eggcrate in then rock then sand,.. I never had a shifting issue; And the tank stood for nearly 2 years.

 

[JoJo]

thanks Surf.

 

[rmlevasseur]

In a 180, I'd have at least a dozen nassarius snails, maybe even 2 dozen.

I have lots of nassarius. They do like to bury themselves but they don't seem to keep the very top layer churned.