Good bottom feeder
- Thread starter jimymac
- Start date
Bifferwine
I am a girl
What do you mean bottom feeder? Invert or fish? You mean keeping the sand clean?
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Well, there really aren't any saltwater fish that eat off of the sand. Definitely not tangs. You are better off finding the source of the crap (bad water quality) and getting a cleaner crew of inverts to take care of it. You can get a goby that will dig in the sand and stir it up, but that's about as good as you're going to get with a fish.
AdeptMrSniffles
I have a Blue Thumb
Sea Hares destroy any algae in your tank. And they're neat lookin critters too!
ndepratt
Equipment Junkie
a seahare will starve to death in your tank. look into a goby such as the diamond goby, excellent sand sifters, and won't throw it everywhere.
KidJ57
Struggling Reef Addict
I'd like to ask the question of, "What crap?" Are we talking actual :pooh:, or are we talking about algae, or just some extra pellets/food? As far as tangs go, my yellow tang is my only fish that will actually eat pellets off the sand, the rest wait for the current to pick it back up before they peck at it. But if we're talking about algae or :pooh:, my Fuzzy Hermit keeps my sand SPOTLESS :shock:. In fact when I had my sea hare (who actually died from over eating not starvation) his :pooh: would come out in these large size "turle-pellet" looking things, and I remember the first time I saw it, there was an decent sized little pile :grumble:. I was sitting there thinking to myself, "What the hell am I supposed to do with this stuff, I don't want to have to fish it out of the tank every time this guy poops." And before I could even start to look for my net...here comes my hermit straight for the pile and no more than 5 minutes later...clean sand :shock:.
As for gobies, I have no experience with them as the one thing I know about them...my hermit crab might not be the nicest of companions for them :mrgreen:, so I've avoided them for the most part.
To add to your question, I pose this to the actually experienced people in this thread...What about a sand sifting star? I've heard they can be a pain in the :shock: because when they die they kind of just disintergrate under the sand and spike your ammonia...Is this true? Or would a star not be a bad way to go for jimmy as well?
As for gobies, I have no experience with them as the one thing I know about them...my hermit crab might not be the nicest of companions for them :mrgreen:, so I've avoided them for the most part.
To add to your question, I pose this to the actually experienced people in this thread...What about a sand sifting star? I've heard they can be a pain in the :shock: because when they die they kind of just disintergrate under the sand and spike your ammonia...Is this true? Or would a star not be a bad way to go for jimmy as well?
yote
In Memoriam
Sand sifting stars dont actually feed on waste or scavange like the brittles and serpent stars do.They feed on the live micro-fauna that live in the sand bed.Then once thats all gone,they dont have anything else to feed on.
dcantucson
Reef pro
Snails, Snails, Snails!
winyfrog
Yep!
sea cucumbers, nassarius snails, crabs, brittle stars to help control detritus, and food left overs.
bristlemouth tangs will pick at the sand, for algae and food leftovers.
Dragon gobies, diamond gobies, sand stars, will keep the sand stirred up, but do not actually eat the algae or waste, they are hunting for pods.
So..... what are you actually trying to accomplish?
bristlemouth tangs will pick at the sand, for algae and food leftovers.
Dragon gobies, diamond gobies, sand stars, will keep the sand stirred up, but do not actually eat the algae or waste, they are hunting for pods.
So..... what are you actually trying to accomplish?
Gdbyrd
life's a beach
when can you add sea cucumbers to a tank? Does it have to be a mature tank before adding them? Also, how high is the risk for them to expel toxins?
With serpent/brittle stars, will they coexist with sand dwelling gobies?
With serpent/brittle stars, will they coexist with sand dwelling gobies?
winyfrog
Yep!
Your tank should be running for at least 6 months before adding a cucumber. There of course is a risk of it releasing toxins. In a tank your size you would be best to keep a tiger tail cucumber. I would avoid medusa worms and the bigger ones such as pink and blacks. Be sure to run carbon if you are keeping any type of toxic animal that way if it does release its toxins it will be pulled out through the carbon and hopefully won't cause to much damage.
Serpent starfish are predators and will eat smaller fish and shrimps. You would want to get black or bubble tip brittle stars.
Melosu58
Reef enthusiast
IMO nothing better than the bullet goby for keeping you sand substrate clean. Mine does an excellet job.
dcantucson
Reef pro
Your tank looks beautiful. Love all those Blue mushrooms. They make a nice statement in that quantity.
Melosu58
Reef enthusiast
Thanks. I have sold hundreds back to the LFS. They will take over your tank if you let them.
