LARGE Sand Sifters

[sen5241b]

Need a large Sand Sifter --not a sand cleaner --they only touch the surface.

I have a 'not quite' DSB and yesterday I dropped 10 Nassarius snails in. (One was snatched from the sand by my Bi-color Dottyback and carried off into the rocks never to be seen again!)

But I really need something larger. The LFS guy was saying he had a conch
(2 or 3 inches) that sifts the sand and that only the 'queen conchs' attack corals. Not that the LFS guy was a BS guy but maybe he was mistaken. I've been advised not to get a star cause they are too difficult to keep. DSBs must be stirred up and I can see many small pockets of gas against the glass.

What to get?

 

[yote]

I got 2 queen conchs in my 75.They have yet to touch a coral,but munch the hell out of any algae that trys to grow in my sand bed.Not to mention there like Catapillar D9 dozers moving through the sand.

 

[Bifferwine]

I've never heard of conchs eating corals. They are reef safe. I have 2 queen conchs and 2 red footed conchs, but they don't seem to do any better with the sand bed than nassarius snails do.

Have you thought of a sand sifting goby?

 

[RAYRAY]

I was going to say the same thing...maybe a Goby. Biff always comments on how clean my sand is well that is from MR DIAMOND GOBY !!!!!!! He was a jumper the 1st couple nights but then settled in !!! Very Happy with him. Good luck with your choice.

 

[kevinsimons]

what's "DSB" ?
I've kinda got the same problem -- would a diamond goby have a problem with engineer gobies and a mandarin dragonet?

 

[Bifferwine]

DSB = deep sand bed.

I don't think the diamond goby would have a problem with the mandarin, but it probably would with the engineer goby...

 

[reeffreak]

I never heard of queen conchs as coral predators.My two has been with me for a year and a half with no problems.They do a pretty good job of keeping the sand algae free and rocks close to sand,that's is about it.I have heard of fighting conchs becoming predators when they are grown but that takes like 50 years.

How about the large tongan nassarius,they are just as large as the conchs sold.

 

[Doc]

one of the best and sifters I have tried is the dragon goby. They get about 6 inches long and move a lot of sand. They don't bother anything in the tank. Good luck

-Doc

 

[sicklids]

one of the best and sifters I have tried is the dragon goby. They get about 6 inches long and move a lot of sand. They don't bother anything in the tank. Good luck

-Doc

unless your puffers eat their fins off!!! of course if you dont have a predator tank you have no worries about that. i had 2 dragon gobys and my puffers made mince meat out of them over night so i had to move them. poor dragons!!!!

 

[MamaJones]

I have a DSB and have been wondering the same thing. so, i've been considering the dragon goby or the sleeper goby. i've also seen some kind of "garden eel" at the LFS the are like 6-8 inches long but very skinny...like a snake. The guy there said they don't get bigger. They just stick their teeny heads out of the sand every once in awhile.

 

[Doc]

I have been pleased with the dragon goby and how well they sift sand. They traditionally are not as jumpy as their smaller cousin gobys.

-Doc

 

[sicklids]

i have 3 knight gobies and they are always sifting the sand and such. busy little rascals let me tell ya!

 

[sen5241b]

I'm doubtful that gobys will sift the sand deep enough in a DSB. DSBs are generally close to 5 inches of sand. It seems even nassarius snails don't dig that deep.