Sand Sifting Fish?

[Rcpilot]

Whats the best fish for sand sifting?

I was looking at the Bullet Goby. Saw one in a LFS and he was driving his mouth into the sand and then sifting. Constantly. Thats what I'm loking for. Can't seam to find one right now though. Seams a lot of the places I've visited on the net are out of stock on them.

Any other suggestions? It can't get too big. I really want to buy a small one. As small as I can get, so that it can grow a bit.

Thanks

 

[reeffreak]

A Diamond Watchmen are pretty small and stay small.I sure there's more but thats all that comes to mine.

There are larger ones like the Gold-Headed Sleeper that can grow pretty large.Maybe 5-6''.I must warn you though,They need alot of pods/fauna in the sandbed to do well.They also like to dump sand on top of corals too.I never had much luck with them...good luck.

 

[RigoSharon]

i tried oce with a yellow jawfish ..i was told the were good sand shifters..but this one was a rug shifter..at least theres was were i found it!!

 

[Rcpilot]

i tried oce with a yellow jawfish ..i was told the were good sand shifters..but this one was a rug shifter..at least theres was were i found it!!

Carpet Surfer? :lol:

Well, I went and got 5 more astrea snails at $1.69/each. That makes 9 in the tank and 2 in the refugium. They are acclimating. I found out that snails need a loooooong acclimation period so that the blood vessels in their bodies don't burst. Also a fast acclimation leads to kidney failure in snails. Usually takes them a couple weeks to die. The article I read stated that you should acclimate snails for at least an hour. 2 or 3 hours is better.

I have them in about 1/2 liter of water from the fish store. I will transfer one shot glass of water from my tank into their bag every 20--30 minutes. When the bag is getting full of water, I'll take it to the sink and dump some out until I'm down to 1/2 liter again. I plan to acclimate these snails until just before bed tonight. About 4 hours.

I also got a Diamond Watchman Goby for $17. He looks just like this:
Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Diamond Watchman Sand Sifter Goby

He's about 3" long. Acclimating as I type. He's gonna get dumped in the tank in about an hour. I'm acclimating him the same way as the snails. One shot glass of water every 20 minutes. When his bag gets full -- I'll pluck him out and drop him in the tank. Couple hours.

I was sooooooooooooooo tempted to get a sand sifting star, but it didn't look healthy. It had chunks of flesh missing from a couple of it's arms. I could have took a chance. It was $11 Maybe if it's still alive and showing signs of survival by next week, I'll talk the store owner down to $10 and bring it home.

 

[yote]

You'll like the diamond watchman RC.Mine is always sifting and tend to just drop the sand in a pile instead of spreading it.

Let you tank mature some before you add a sand sifting star.They eat the same things as the diamond watchman,so you want to make sure theres enough to go around.

 

[MikMcgyver]

Nice lookin fish...Maybe thats why my snails are droppin like flies, i just toss em in after about 20 min or so, I will acclimate them like that from now on..

 

[Doc]

Diamond Goby is a good choice, I also like the Dragon Goby. My sand stars seem to do a good job of sifting my sand bed, though

-Dr Marco :sfish:

 

[Rcpilot]

Nice lookin fish...Maybe thats why my snails are droppin like flies, i just toss em in after about 20 min or so, I will acclimate them like that from now on..

Check this article.
The Grazing Snails, Part I - Turbo, Trochus, Astraea, and Kin by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

This is copy and pasted from it, in case ya don't want to read it all:

Acclimation Problems, Or Why Do They Die?

The complexity of internal anatomy in snails is one major reason why some of the Trochoideans seem to die easily, or otherwise not live through their full life spans in our tanks. Although most folks probably never give it a second thought, snails have a complex internal morphology. In many ways, the internal structures that the snails possess have allowed them to be very successful. It is not, however, a particularly "rugged" morphology when subjected to some specific stresses. Snail tissues often seem to be composed of thin layers of tissue that are very filmy and diaphanous. Consequently, they often suffer significant damage during water changes or during transport from a dealer's to an aquarist's tank. The circulatory system of snails may be very complex (Figure 5), and many of its vessels and channels can rupture under stresses caused by changes in salinity. The vessels in the kidney are numerous and delicate, and may rupture if the animal is not slowly acclimated when being moved from one set of water conditions to another. If the acclimation is too fast, the animal will die in a few minutes to a few weeks. If the snails are drip acclimated, the acclimation time may need to be on the order of five to ten hours for maximal survival.


:Cheers:


Acclimate 'em slow. They should live longer.

 

[reeffreak]

I'm glad I bought an ATO now.
Thanks Rc,very informative.

 

[Doc]

wow,

I had no idea

-Dr Marco :sfish:

 

[Doc]

maybe that is why I have lots snails in the past

-Dr Marco :sfish:

 

[Rcpilot]

I've just dumped the water in the bag down to about 1/2 liter of water again. It was slowly filled with tank water over the last couple hours. I'll start filling the bag with tank water again, one shot glass every 20 minutes.

I've basically gone from 1/2 liter of water in the bag to about 3/4 liter in the time span of 2.5hrs. I've got 2 more hours +/- untill bedtime. I should have the bag filled up again by that time. Hopefully, that is going to be a slow enough acclimation for them. 4.5--5hrs total time.

My damsel "Dory" is acting true to form. Being a royal b*tch to the new goby. She won't leave him alone. I fed her and turned off the daylights, but she just won't let up. He finally started to open his mouth in an aggressive stance and defned himself. I'd laugh my ass off if he took a chunk out of her tail.

Maybe time to start tying flies with a #32 hook. :grumble: She's served her intended purpose of cycling the tank. Your welcome to come over and hook her up if ya got a hankering for some Colorado fly fishin' Yote.

 

[MikMcgyver]

Thanks Rc, great info.. Anyone ever used that Acclimator plastic box sold by Wave2k? or any other type of acclimation system?

 

[reeffreak]

Nope,never use it.
For drip acclimation,I use regular airline tubing and a styro-foam cooler.

 

[newbeetwo]

The only thing I have had die was a snail had 5 but one deid after 6mos. I think my coarl had something to do with it.. I don't think I want anymore

 

[yote]

Rc
I'd be happy to come out there and hook that damsil up,If you'll set me up on some Colorado elk hunting.:bounce::mrgreen:

 

[Rcpilot]

Rc
I'd be happy to come out there and hook that damsil up,If you'll set me up on some Colorado elk hunting.:bounce::mrgreen:

It's already dear & elk season for archery. But the tags are draw only. Can't buy them over the counter.

Muzzleloading starts Sep 8 and ends Sep 16th.

Rifle season starts in a couple weeks. :^:

I shoot a .300 Winchester Magnum with 175gr nozzler partition rounds. Yeah, they stop moving. INSTANTLY!! :mrgreen:

 

[yote]

Dang,y'alls season starts early.

Our archery season dony open till the end of sept.I cant wait to be sitting in my stand watching the sun come up.Been watching a good 12 point to.

I got a Weatherby 300 win.mag. that i've not even shot in 3 years.Kinda got tired of watching white tails explode.So I just bow hunt big game now.Like to get up close and personal.
Hope to someday take my bow up to alaska and try a big brown bear with it.

 

[Rcpilot]

.300 Weatherby Mag on a whitetail -- yup, thats gonna blow a hole in it. Big hole! Hamburger, anyone?

.300 Win Mag is just about right for an elk. I tend to use heavier grain bullets and take 100-200 yrd shots. A lot of guys use 160gr bullets and will reach out 400-600yrds.

I prefer to get them in close and hit them HARD with a larger bullet. I feel it's safer and I just don't want to risk wounding an animal and then have to track it for miles or even days. I know guys who have taken loing shots and lost a wounded animal. Elk are FAST and they can cover enormous distances in a very short time. They can run for 10 minutes and it would take you 2 HARD days of hiking to even get near it again. They will bolt straight up a mountain and over the top of a ridge. And your sitting there 1/2 mile away as the crow flies, but to actually hike over there-it's 3 or 4 miles of hard work at 12,000' elevation.

I have been scouting a herd all summer. I know exactly where they will be on opening day. I hunt the same herd every year. Start hiking at about 2am or 3am. We are usually spotting them just before daybreak. We wait and scout, creep among the boulders and stalk the animals we want to shoot. When the sun comes up -- BOOM! "Let's go home boys." :mrgreen:

One of my friends shoots a Weatherby .30-378 with 250gr bullets. When he hits an elk -- it folds up -- instantly. But, I've never seen him take a shot more than 100--150yrds. Lot of lead for such a short shot, but it drops them.

I do enjoy the hunt and the meat. But, I don't get a thrill out of actually seeing them die. Killing has never been a "turn-on" for me. The sound that bullet makes (THWUMP!!) when it hits flesh and bone--enough to make me wanna throw up. I hunt because I enjoy the meat, the wilderness and the friendship with my hunting buddies. First time I shot an elk, I was shocked at how big they are. They look big, but when you walk up to a dead one and realize just HOW BIG they really are--it's a bit scary.

I'm thinking to myself,
"Great, the friggin' truck is 7 miles away. I'm in 4' of snow with snow shoes. This SOB must weigh 600-700 pounds. And I'm gonna end up packing about 1/2 that weight out of here in my backpack. Gonna take about 5 trips. I'm such an idiot. Try and shoot one a little closer to the truck next time, you dumbass!!" :grumble:


Confucius says:
When elk hunting -- the fun starts AFTER you pull the trigger. :shock:

 

[Doc]

I used to shoot a .300 remington, but chose to upgrade last year to a .300 rem ultra mag. I use 200 grain bullets - a "safari" load and it just about destroys everything it touches. I am pretty accurate up to about 600 yards. I am not as knowledgable about rifles as you all clearly are, but the knockdown at that distance with my monster is supposed to take out just about anything God has put on this earth. I like that idea. Works for me. My pride and joy is my totally decked out AR-15, the only think missing is an M-203 launcher. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to find one (legally) so I may settle for a flare launcher, just for kicks. (I figure I had to join in the coc%-slinging - boys will be boys :mrgreen:)

-Dr Marco :sfish: