Best detritus eater Goby

[CoMMaNdeR]

Which is the most detritus eater goby that keeps sand white and free of detritus?

There are many species, ghost goby, watchman goby, court jester etc. Which one is best guys for a 180g?

[mwhite]

I have a pair of Sleeper Gold Head gobies (Valencienna strigata) in my tank. They do an admirable job of sifting the sand as they feed. The only aside is that they rarely deposit the sand where they take it from. They rise to the surface and the sand scatters everywhere. Weekly I have to recontour the sand to get ride of the hills. I also have to blow the sand off of my plate coral daily to keep it from getting buried.

[chujai]

i was thinking of sleeper goby too but never thought of them dumping the sand in other places. that sorta sucks

btw is detritus aka poo?

[johnd4g]

I have a couple of Diamond Watchman Gobies in my tanks. They're hard working little guys, always sifting sand and rearranging the landscape. Every week I have to smooth out the hills and valleys and refill the holes they've dug. These guys love to dig beneath the rocks so make sure they sit firmly on the bottom glass. My Gobies have great personalities and love to perch near the glass and watch us as we move about the room.

[lpsluver]

from what I've read and seen the best is the Bullet Goby (Amblygobius phalaena). They move a lot of sand but the water flow in the tank tends to disperse the sand it sifts. IMO this is of minor consequence compared to how clean they keep the sand. And they readily accept frozen food and flake. Yellowhead Sleeper gobies are considered hard to keep and require a tank full of "pods" to keep them well fed. They tend to be difficult to get acclimated to other frozen foods.

[Travis L. Stevens]

None of them. None of them eat detritus. They do eat the microfauna that they find and bury the extra crud, but that's about it. If you are looking for something to keep the sand stirred, I would look into snails like Cerith and Nassarius. If you have a lot of buildup on the sand, then a little elbow grease in tank maintenance will go a lot further than adding a goby.

[lpsluver]

Agreed. Snails and hermits for eating detritus. I am not familiar with a sand sifter that eats detritus. I was focusing on the sifting function, not the detritus eating.

[drummereef]

I pretty much agree here with Travis. I've had diamond gobys before and they did a good job, but threw the sand everywhere. Not for DSB tanks. If you do end up getting one, make sure your tank is covered. They are jumpers.

[CoMMaNdeR]

Thanks for all your info guys. I just read that the Orange Spot - Valencienna Puellaris is one of the best gobies there is, very timid and always active, oxygenating the sand.

Is this true?

[rekn]

my court jester east cyano

[CoMMaNdeR]

Ok then, so for sifting the sand and keep it oxygenated which one or couple do you think I should buy please ?

[amazingbobby]

Diamond gobies are cool, but they will put sand everywhere and they will dig holes. I had one that was a jumper; he made it through a 1" gap and I found him turned to jerky on the carpet. A real bummer, it was a gift from some students in my class.

My sand looked way better after having that goby.

[cateyes]

here's what i have in my 120. he does a great job and doesn't hover very high when he's sifting the sand so it's not strewn around much, he keeps the sand bed very clean and doesn't do a lot of deep digging.. i love his yellow lips..

murel sleeper goby