Can i get any sand sifting creatures with crushed coral?

bms

bms

Member
hi i am in the middle of cycling my tank right now so i am nowhere near getting any livestock yet but i am in the process of planning out what i want to get. i am using crushed coral/crushed aragonite combo for my substrate that looks approximately this size but a little rounder shaped pieces {EDIT LINK} and was wondering if i could get any kind of sand sifting creatures such as sand sifting stars or sand gobys or anything else. i am not sure if this is too large of a substrate for them as i have always used a finer grade sand in my other tank. the damsels i have in there now (particularly the electric blue damsel) love to pick up the pieces of crushed coral/aragonite in their mouths and move them around and build little caves under the rocks and in the corners of the tanks. thanks for your help.
 
yank30265

yank30265

Member
I was wondering how my sand was getting piled up just to the side of a piece of live rock. my wife thought i had added more sand. when she said this i looked and saw what she was talking about. I thought i had some type of hitchiker because i got my rock from a friend who was breaking down his 225. Its got to b the damsel. I work 2 jobs and on my off days im replacing my roof so i dont have time to mess w or even look at the tank right now. Thanks for answering a question I never had the time to ask
 
bms

bms

Member
Originally Posted by yank30265
http:///forum/post/3093790
I was wondering how my sand was getting piled up just to the side of a piece of live rock. my wife thought i had added more sand. when she said this i looked and saw what she was talking about. I thought i had some type of hitchiker because i got my rock from a friend who was breaking down his 225. Its got to b the damsel. I work 2 jobs and on my off days im replacing my roof so i dont have time to mess w or even look at the tank right now. Thanks for answering a question I never had the time to ask
haha yah those little damsels are neat little fish. they are so territorial too! i had and notice the past tense "HAD" a domino damsel in my 40 gallon and i added a 6 line wrasse which was killed in two days. i since took him back to the store for credit as i only bought him to cycle the tank but ended up leaving him because my girlfriend liked him so much. but yah my electric blue damsel loves to pickup pieces of crushed coral and dig holes and make little mounds in the corners of the tank and all around the live rock. if any fish comes near his hole he darts out and chases them away. its so funny to watch him.
but back to the original topic, anyone know if any sand sifting inverts or fish will be ok with larger sized substrate?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by yank30265
http:///forum/post/3093790
I was wondering how my sand was getting piled up just to the side of a piece of live rock. my wife thought i had added more sand. when she said this i looked and saw what she was talking about. I thought i had some type of hitchiker because i got my rock from a friend who was breaking down his 225. Its got to b the damsel. I work 2 jobs and on my off days im replacing my roof so i dont have time to mess w or even look at the tank right now. Thanks for answering a question I never had the time to ask

I really have no knowledge on them, but don't eels like to prowl in the sand??? Maybe check into them and see if there is something you could get.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Look at it this way...they are called sand sifters....not crushed coral sifters....
My answer to your question would be NO...I can only imagine with crushed coral would do to my sand sifters gills ....ouch
 
tonysi

tonysi

Member
I have seen 4 inch diamond gobies sift crushed coral like its sand.So maybe other sifters of the larger varieties would do the same?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by TonySi
http:///forum/post/3094722
I have seen 4 inch diamond gobies sift crushed coral like its sand.So maybe other sifters of the larger varieties would do the same?

Well that's good to know then.....I have never seen that cause I have a sifter and sand..lol
Maybe more people who have CC and sand sifters will add to this then....
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
I have a combo of crusted aragonite and sand. I looked into getting a diamond goby or some sort of sleeper to sift my sand. Everyone I talked to said that those types would be fine. I later decided against getting either of them. Hope this helps.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
In general, not really.
It is a matter of siphoning it, IMO.
Over time micro brittlestars and such will colonize it, but really, the best you can do, IMO, is siphon.
(I had to remove the link...out of respect to the owner and operator of SWF, we ask that you not post links to competitors, thanks
)
 
bms

bms

Member
what if i took out like 30 lbs of the crushed coral and add about 30-40 lbs of live sand or non live sand and mixed it together? i wouldnt want to cover all the crushed coral i have now because whats the purpose of having it there, and also i would be afraid it would trap in harmful toxins under the sand layer since the sand sifting creatures wouldnt be able to go down to and through the larger pieces
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top