Deep sand bed - BSJ

[billionzz]

Is it recommended to add other sand sifters and sand stirrers to the deep sand bed or is the Jawfish enough?

Bill

[silverwolf72]

Yeah, detrovious kit or how ever you spell it, snails, bristle worms all help keep it clean and airated

[lcstorc]

If you are looking for the denitrificating properties of a DSB then you want to disturb it as little as possible. The bacteria you are trying to cultivate grows deep in the sand where it is undisturbed.
If you have a DSB for something like a bluespot jawfish or engineer goby or other digging critter, then you want to have snails etc to keep the sand turned over and clean.

[cbrownfish]

Well said Lynn.

[billionzz]

So what type of snails are being used by the members here?

[lcstorc]

My favorites are nassarius and cerith snails but the bluespots move them where they will. Pretty much I leave the sand to my blues. Anything I do to it will disturb their burrows and then they get mad at me and I don't want them mad at me.

[Snelly40]

i have a goby/pistol pair and they move sand like you wouldnt belieive!

I also, like lynn, really like that nassarius snails, i have white ones and black ones and tey eat lots and keep the top stirred too b/c the "rise from the dead" every time food is introduced into the tank

[lcstorc]

It is soo cool to watch them rise from the dead. I will never forget the day the guy at my lfs showed them to me the first time by dropping a pellet into the tank.

[Snelly40]

i know, i love it, i show people all the time...my gf still gets surpised when they do it..its so funny to see the shimmy up to the top and they sprint to that food

[billionzz]

Is it important to have these snails with the deep sand bed?

Could you just have the jawfish?

Which way is the healthiest for the fish and the tank in general?

[bluespotjawfish]

I don't consider the BSJF part of my cleanup crew.

There are many choices that make up a good cleanup crew. Several on-line stores sell the entire crew in a package (Bluezoo Aquatics is the last place I got mine from, and you can order it by the size of tank that you have). My rule of thumb is 1 snail and 1 crab per gallon. Use a variety of each so that all the bases are covered. You want to clean the top of the sand, as well as the rock, and the glass.

[framerguy]

Lorraine is right, the BSJF isn't part of the CUC. You want critters that roam the tank and BS's stay mostly in one place. I like snails mostly for the CUC. There are dozens of threads on CUC's here. Nassarius, Cerith, and Astrea are the three I recommend most. One per two gallons is my rule, but I may adopt Lorraines one per one....I like inverts!. Just make sure there is enough food for them. Start off light and add more if you need them.