sand sifting advice

anubix00

anubix00

Member
i was wondering if anyone knew of some sand sifters, that would be good for a reef? i dont want something thats gonna eat all the good bacteria in the sand bed though. i heard that linkias die often, so if this is true, id prefer not to take that route.
thanks
chris
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
Linkias don't sift the sand anyways.
You can try a sand-sifting seastar, or a sand-sifting goby.
They don't eat the bacteria, just the little tiny inverts hiding in the sand bed.
 
ndpb6b

ndpb6b

Member
All of those tiny inverts in the sand are what makes the sand Live Sand. I had sand sifting stars in my 125g up till today as I would watch them go across the glass and eat the pods right off of the glass. I have had some advice from some old timers that have said that your basic cleaning crew like hermits and snails will keep you pretty clean. I have a fighting conch that was a hitch-hiker on some live rock and I've watched him dig down a half inch into the sand and just cruise around under the surface. One downfall to the conchs that I heard is that they can be clumbsy when they get larger and knock over rocks. Serpent Stars are also good for trash duty. The sand sifting Gobies will spit sand all over your rocks and if large enough cloud up your tank.
All of this is just in my experience and others may have the secrets around these things.
 
angelofish

angelofish

Member
How about some Nassasarius(sp) snails?They sleep below the sands surface and rise up when they smell food.This constant action sifts the sand a little.
 
misfit

misfit

Active Member
I habe t yellow head sleeper gobys. But i Have to agree with ndpb6b they do put some sand all over the rocks,but my sand is clean and they are really cool to watch. Once in a while ill take a turkey baster and blow the sand off the rock
 
P

predator#1

Guest
DO NOT get a bristle worm! They will kill your fish! My puffer is about to die! If he lives through the night i shall name him "lucky"
 
E

essop3

Guest
Fighting conchs and Nassasarius snails are doing good for the top layers. Get a good detrivore kit as well. Mico stars, pods, worms (including bristle) are all good.
 
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