Sandsifting goby isn't sifting anymore

flower

flower

Well-Known Member
I was in the process of moving, my tank was left behind for my sister to care for. I tended the tank almost everyday by traveling to the house regularly. The day before the tank move... my sand looked aweful and my goby that usually sifts the sand constantly was hiding in the rocks.
My sandsifter sleeper goby looked thin, he usually has a little belly..I feed him well. I moved my tank to it's new home yesterday...my sandsifter not only looked thin, but his belly looks sucked in.
He was very stressed after the move and hid in the rockwork. I can't find him, and he hasn't even poked his head out of the rocks today.
What could make a sandsifting goby stop sifting sand? It isn't stress because he stopped before I moved the tank.
All tests were near perfect and nothing else looked off. Corals all open, other fish were happy. All the same tank mates for nearly a year now, nothing new at all.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Didn't you say your sisters husband would not keep the air on.....maybe they got warm, and now have to recuperate....
p.s. this is just a guess....:)
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Most likely, unfortunately, the goby reached the point of no return. Once he's been starved enough, the stomach will start to consume itself and the fish will typically lose his appetite, which only significantly compounds the problem.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Just got home...No sign of my goby....I assume he is CUC food. What made him starve? the heat?
Could he of run out of stuff in the sand so stopped sifting? I need to know because I want to replace the goby, he kept my sand clean. I could get a HOB refugium to make sure there is enough copepods and such...
Or is that not necessary? He just got sick, stopped eating and died.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3072960
Didn't you say your sisters husband would not keep the air on.....maybe they got warm, and now have to recuperate....
p.s. this is just a guess....:)

My Xenia looks awful, but everything else is okay...Xenia likes cooler temps but I figure they will bounce back..they are pretty hardy. These got so dead once they looked like a snot spot, and as soon as I replaced my lights they grew into a huge crop.
In the move I lost a cleaner shrimp, a flame cardnal, my anemone and now the goby. I did however find an Anthia I thought was long gone and the sally lightfoot I haven't seen in months.
The anemone was a fish killer and really hooked in the rocks...when I went to move the tank it was in a corner all drawn up. They do that, so I just scooped him up and took him along for the ride. He got himself completely into the powerhead I was using for air flow. I thought at first he ruined the pump.
I moved in cold weather from Wisconsin to Illinios and lost nothing...Now I move in warm weather, just 15 minutes away...Go figure.
I still have one cleaner shrimp, I am not too upset about the anemone or cardnal...I have to replace my goby. They eat regular food so being out of whatever lives in the sand should not have starved him.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
LOL...You have wanted to get rid of the fish eater...err...anemone for a while....
Sorry about the other things....sometimes things just don't take well to change I guess...who knows
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Getting another goby is not really a good option, as your already aware, as it will starve also as there is obviously a lack of food in the substrate. some type of refugium would help to replenish the pod population in the sand bed
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3073272
Getting another goby is not really a good option, as your already aware, as it will starve also as there is obviously a lack of food in the substrate. some type of refugium would help to replenish the pod population in the sand bed
Thank You! That is exactly the answer I was needing. So my sand is depleted and I need a refugium...I was looking for a HOB type.
If I buy the refugium, and some copepods to seed the tank and refugium...How long must I wait for another goby? I am not looking forward to stirring my sand by hand.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
sorry not good with a time frame here. It may be good to get some nice live sand from the live fish store rock curing tanks. They may give you a cup or two from the bottom of the tanks. On the HOB refugium again it will take some time to replenish the sandbed. And this would only be with pods. Make sure the pods you purchase, if you do, are not the Tigger Pods as they are a cooler water species. DT's have a new line up with live pods that will proliferate in a refugium.
Again sorry, don't know how long any of this would take. Maybe a sandsifter that you can see eat some prepared or frozen food at the store will help get through the replenishment of the sandbed.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3073292
Thank You! That is exactly the answer I was needing. So my sand is depleted and I need a refugium...I was looking for a HOB type.
If I buy the refugium, and some copepods to seed the tank and refugium...How long must I wait for another goby? I am not looking forward to stirring my sand by hand.
Get some nassarius snails and a conch....LOL....
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3073307
If there is nothing for them to eat, won't I have the same problem?
IDK...When we start our tanks, and start adding a cuc...we add snails...how much food can there be then????
At least they stir the sand...nass snails will come up to eat when you feed, but they are sand stirrers
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Nassaruis are detrivores, they eat the meaty stuff that falls into the sandbed, food etc. Ceriths eat algae in the sandbed. Fighting conch will eat diatoms, algae from the top of the sandbed. All will help to shift, not sift, the sandbed helping to keep detritus suspended in the water column for removal by mechanical filtration.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3073312
Nassaruis are detrivores, they eat the meaty stuff that falls into the sandbed, food etc. Ceriths eat algae in the sandbed. Fighting conch will eat diatoms, algae from the top of the sandbed. All will help to shift, not sift, the sandbed helping to keep detritus suspended in the water column for removal by mechanical filtration.
LOL...that is almost what I said
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3073312
Nassaruis are detrivores, they eat the meaty stuff that falls into the sandbed, food etc. Ceriths eat algae in the sandbed. Fighting conch will eat diatoms, algae from the top of the sandbed. All will help to shift, not sift, the sandbed helping to keep detritus suspended in the water column for removal by mechanical filtration.
Okay...I want a sandsifter, how long do I wait if I reseed the tank?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
The real question to ask here IMO is not how long it will take to reseed, but how long with the sandbed be viable after reseeding and reintroducing a sandsifter.
To this I have no answer. Hopefully others with more knowledge will chime in.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3073319
The real question to ask here IMO is not how long it will take to reseed, but how long with the sandbed be viable after reseeding and reintroducing a sandsifter.
To this I have no answer. Hopefully others with more knowledge will chime in.
But you are my expert...If you don't know....
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
HeeHee.
Okay to rehash here;
Without a refugium to replenish the sand be and an abundance of live rock in the tank, another sandsifter will die in your tank.
One of the large HOB CPR Aquafuges will help to keep pods in your tank. Better still a larger tank as a refugium hooked to your tank.
A few cups of some good working live sand, not the bagged kind, will serve to repopulate your sand bed.
IMO unless you get a sandsifter that is showing to eat prepared foods at your local fish store the chances of it surviving in your tank as it exists or even with the HOB and live sand additions are at best a risk for long term. You could take the risk and keep replacing them if you feel the need for the sandsifters.
Best I can do, sorry.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3073338
HeeHee.
Okay to rehash here;
Without a refugium to replenish the sand be and an abundance of live rock in the tank, another sandsifter will die in your tank.
One of the large HOB CPR Aquafuges will help to keep pods in your tank. Better still a larger tank as a refugium hooked to your tank.
A few cups of some good working live sand, not the bagged kind, will serve to repopulate your sand bed.
IMO unless you get a sandsifter that is showing to eat prepared foods at your local fish store the chances of it surviving in your tank as it exists or even with the HOB and live sand additions are at best a risk for long term. You could take the risk and keep replacing them if you feel the need for the sandsifters.
Best I can do, sorry.
I think I am over my head here...I don't now anything about refugiums. I looked at the HOB...the only kind I can accomidate with my limited space. Then they want t sell a light seperate...then a "stand" for what
I don't understand if it Hangs on the back.
I don't want to starve another sandsifter. I have lots of rock and a 4" deep sandbed. It was live sand, is it dead now? Where do I get "live sand" not bagged??? I don't live near an ocean. My Sandsifter ate frozen shrimp as well as what was in the sand. Still it starved.
If I don't bother with a sand sifter, do I still need a refugium? And why all the extra, don't they sell the whole thing??? What's up with that???
 
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