are and sifting gobies good or bad???

xd

xd

Member
i have heard mixed reviews about sand sifting gobies. i've hear they are great fish but they also eat all the good things in your sand bed. i want a fish to clean my sand bead but not if it is going to harm my tank at all. so should i get a sand sifting gobie or is there another fish that could do this job instead? its a 29 gallon reef and the only fish in the tank is a lawnmower blenny.and i have a small issue with th lawnmower blenny, he is really fat so i know he has been eating but i have nver sen him at while he has been in my tank. he has been in there for about a week and a half and he is really shy. i've tryed feeding formula two, this dwarf angel fish food that is algea based and i'v put seaweed sheets in there but he just ignores it all. what should i do?
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Sand sifting fish DO eat the beneficial creatures in a sand bed. I do not recommend them. I would recommend sand stirring snails, and similar...but not the fish.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by B-Baby80
What do you mean by eat beneficial creatures?

If you have true LS then they will eat the critters in it.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by B-Baby80
What do you mean by eat beneficial creatures?

The best cleanup crew, imho, in our tanks are the tiny micro critters we get in live rock, sand, etc. Pods, worms, stars, etc. all live in the sand and help keep the surface stirred and clean.
Sand sifting fish eat them.
As Ophiura said, sand stirring snails (Nass. snails are great) will do a good job. Also, make sure you have good, brisk water flow across your sand. Dead spots are bad.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by XD
i have heard mixed reviews about sand sifting gobies. i've hear they are great fish but they also eat all the good things in your sand bed. i want a fish to clean my sand bead but not if it is going to harm my tank at all. so should i get a sand sifting gobie or is there another fish that could do this job instead? its a 29 gallon reef and the only fish in the tank is a lawnmower blenny.and i have a small issue with th lawnmower blenny, he is really fat so i know he has been eating but i have nver sen him at while he has been in my tank. he has been in there for about a week and a half and he is really shy. i've tryed feeding formula two, this dwarf angel fish food that is algea based and i'v put seaweed sheets in there but he just ignores it all. what should i do?
Defininately go for sand shifting inverts in a reef. Don't worry about the blennie. Don't keep trying to feed him. He will eat. He needs time to get used to the tank. He is very likely to pick at your rocks and sand for awhile.
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
I have a sand-sifting seastar in my 30 gallon. It has been in there for almost a year and so far no problems. While this is great and all, I know one day soon it will begin to starve. For a tank as small as yours (or mine), I would simply recommend the common clean-up crew. Some hermits and maybe some nassarius snails should get the job done with sufficiency
 
xd

xd

Member
i have pretty good flow, but my and bed still looks kinda dirty. so i will get soem nass snails next time im at the lfs. and this lanwmower blenny i have has some pretty crazy colors on him. his front is dark brown and his tail blends into a yellow and he has turquoie spots on him and he has red eyes.i have never seen another blenny with the same kind of coloration. but he is definatley a lawnmower.
 
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