Good sand sifter?

[pthoma79]

Anybody have any ideas of a good sand sifting invert? I have tried nass. and cerith snails and conchs, but I think my hermits keep eating them. I have also had 2 sand sifting gobies, and one jumped out (before I got eggcrate on top), and the other decided to explore the intake on my powerhead. I am to capacity on my 30 gal as far as fish go (ocellaris, bicolor blenny, royal gramma and flame angel).
Is a 30 gal too small for a small sand sifting starfish? I'm starting to run out of options, aside from taking some of the hermits out....

 

[tang master]

a sand star is way to small for a 30g, mine is dinnerplate size in my 200g. Try a sand sifting cucumber, they sell them on this site. they are magic

 

[nycbob]

cucumber isnt good since it can pollute a tank upon death. the sandsifting star isnt good either since it doesnt move much. most hermits shouldnt attack a conch. perhaps u r not feeding them?

 

[tang master]

people do say tht cucc's pollute the tank and give off poison when they die but i have had several die on me and as long as you get them out within 48 hours they will die.

 

[pthoma79]

I feed them formula two marine pellets every few days, since my fish won't eat them.

 

[spkdtch]

im also curious about this, there has to be more options for cleaning up the sand, my anemone hermit crabs clean it perfectly, but they eat anything and everthing, so they had to go in the refuge, kept killing my crabs and shrimp

 

[tang master]

there are certain species of hermits that do a excellent job at cleaning compares to others. The more expensive strawberry hermits and scarlets are probaly the best for scavenging.

 

[pthoma79]

I have a pretty good variety of different types in there. I just counted 8 in the tank, but there might be a few more hiding in the rocks. Seems like a reasonable number, no?

 

[tang master]

there are several other ideas for you, here is one that sounds perfect for your situation. These are two great reef safe sand sifting snails which not only consume the detritus and algae on your substrate, but can flip over when they need to, avoiding being eaten or starving.
Banded Trochus Snail
Bumble Bee Snail

 

[pthoma79]

Great, maybe I'll give those a shot.

 

[tang master]

yeah, i mean if those dont work the only other thing i would suggest is the gobies again. But they should be just about fool proof.

 

[pthoma79]

Well hopefully they work, cause I don't think I can cram 5 fish into my lil 30 gal tank.
Thanks for the help!

 

[spanko]

Nassarius, Cerith and Fighting Conch will keep the sand in good shape.

 

[ophiura]

I do not suggest gobies or sand sifter stars. BOTH eat the beneficial microfauna in a sand bed that are highly desirable.
Sand sifting cukes are quite good for certain tanks. They really are no more risky than any other large animal if it dies.
What sort of problem do you have with your sand?

 

[pthoma79]

I was just under the impression that it was good to have something that stirred your sand up a bit....was I wrong?

 

[tang master]

Originally Posted by ophiura
http:///forum/post/3019537
I do not suggest gobies or sand sifter stars. BOTH eat the beneficial microfauna in a sand bed that are highly desirable.
Sand sifting cukes are quite good for certain tanks. They really are no more risky than any other large animal if it dies.
What sort of problem do you have with your sand?
Yeah, that is the same thing i thought.