I am looking for one of those gobies that sift the sand through there gills. Can anyone give me some names and also do they deteriorate the usefulness of your sand bed while they sift?
I think there may be more but this is the only one I found on this sight... A diamond goby. https://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11...ot_parent_id=4
From what I have read in the past, they help keep your sand bed clean but the get the sand all over everything else.
There's a variety of gobies that are sand sifters, but they are kind of hit or miss. My YWG does not do much sifting at all. On the other hand I have seen Diamond Gobies work all day on sandbeds, creating sand dunes everywhere, even in some undesirable places (on corals for example).
Gobies that sift sand regularly will deplete a sand bed of beneficial critters and bacteria over time.
Twin spot/4wheel drive gobies are my favorite sand "spitters". They do just like you said... pick up sand in their mouths and spit it out of their gills.
I have a Decorated Goby. He does what say, and loves to keep the sand bed clean. If I put something in or something gets out of place, he becomes obsessed with fixing it. Kind of funny. He also doesnt bother anybody, but he is not afraid to stick up for himself if someone tried to steal food from him. Kind of neat too, the Decorated Goby's are somewhat rare. It took me upwards of 6 months to get an ID on it cuz I couldnt find an online retailer that had a pic of one or sold the same thing. IIfinally got an ID from a knowledgeable member here (Thank you again).
I originally had an Orange Spotted prawn goby, but he died.