good fish for detritus

[hughes07]

i just purchased electric blue hermit crabs and they are pooping everything. they are making my tank dirtier than it was before. is there a good fish i could get to clean up the detritus or a good invert. i know gobies may help. i was thinking a yellow watchman goby or a clown goby. would either one of those make my tank look cleaner than before i got the hermits?

 

[clownfish0]

How do you know it's coming from the crabs. They are probably just stirring it up.

 

[lion_crazz]

What is the size of your tank? Diamond gobies are excellent small fish in stirring up the substrate. They are constant sifters.

 

[alyssia]

If I get a diamond goby and pistol shrimp, will the pistol shrimp bother my peppermint/cleaner shrimp?
sorry to hijack..

 

[clownfish0]

Originally Posted by alyssia
If I get a diamond goby and pistol shrimp, will hte pistol shrimp bother my peppermint/cleaner shrimp?
sorry to hijack..
lol. your a terrorist. :joy:
he shouldn't bother your peppermint shrimp. But make sure your peppermint isn't to small

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by clownfish0
lol. your a terrorist. :joy:

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

 

[promisetbg]

Originally Posted by hughes07
i i was thinking a yellow watchman goby or a clown goby. would either one of those make my tank look cleaner than before i got the hermits?
No..they will just add to the problem. Consider carefully siphoning the surface of the substrate as you do water changes. Are you sure it is'nt diatoms?{ a brown dusting on everything} or cyanobacteria{ reddish and slimy..clumps together..disappears at night and comes back in daylight}.

 

[clownfish0]

Originally Posted by promisetbg
No..they will just add to the problem. Consider carefully siphoning the surface of the substrate as you do water changes. Are you sure it is'nt diatoms?{ a brown dusting on everything} or cyanobacteria{ reddish and slimy..clumps together..disappears at night and comes back in daylight}.
i am thinking its diatoms

 

[hughes07]

its not diatoms. im pretty positive its not. my sand is white in many areas except where the crabs have been there are little strands of something. i have a 55 gallon.

 

[ophiura]

I agree that a goby is not your solution. There are very few fish that will eat poop. That is the end of it. In fact, a sand sifting goby would make things worse because they eat the critters in the sand that will, in time, help with consuming this. What sort of substrate do you have? How old is your tank? Sand sifting snails and a cucumber may assist depending on specifics of your tank. Micro brittlestars and various sand bed worms - which may need time to establish if this is a young tank will help too. But a goby, IMO, will not.

 

[hughes07]

well this 55 gallon was my moms tank. but she decided to give it to me. her tank was not exactly what i wanted in a tank (crushed coral, hair algae, underground filter). many things were wrong with it. i moved it into my own bedroom and took out the crushed coral and have about 60 lbs of sand/ls in there. i had a 38 gallon running for about 6 monthes and took the sand i had in there and put it in the 55 g. i then took her lr and my lr and combined it. the tank has been up now for about a week. she had 2 damsels in her tank and refused to sell them to the lfs so i just kept them. i feed them once a day after i get home from school. i was planning on getting a goby any way along with 2 clownfish and maybe an angel fish. i was going to have corals in there also. should i just sift the sand myself or not worry about it or what. its not that big of a deal right now but i just like when my tank looks clean (probably like alot of people on here)

 

[ophiura]

I think with some time to mature, it may not be as much of an issue. But you want to be careful with a tank at this point. I would probably just work on siphoning a bit out yourself.

 

[hughes07]

yes thats why i was a little skeptical. ok ill just do a quick siphon myself. what about the poop on the rocks and stuff. its not as much as on the sand. should i get all that out too?

 

[promisetbg]

Get a turkey baster from the store{they are only a few dollars} use this for your tank only.You can use this to blow off your rocks.If you continue to do this over time..there will be very little sediment left on the rocks. It's good to do this periodically anyway,as food and detritus can land there. It will keep it in suspension and your skimmer can take it out.

 

[clownfish0]

Originally Posted by promisetbg
Get a turkey baster from the store{they are only a few dollars} use this for your tank only.You can use this to blow off your rocks.If you continue to do this over time..there will be very little sediment left on the rocks. It's good to do this periodically anyway,as food and detritus can land there. It will keep it in suspension and your skimmer can take it out.
That's a pretty good idea

 

[hughes07]

wow i haven't heard that before. i really like that. thanks alot promise. im looking on getting the coralife super skimmer needle wheel protein skimmer. im just looking for an inexpensive, get-the-job-done-skimmer.

 

[jasonlwrig]

I have the Corallife Skimmer (I found a great deal on it too.) and it works great. I would definately recommend it!