sand sifting goby

discotu · #1 05/05/2007, 10:36 AM

few questions on sand sifting gobys for my 225 gal.

-which is the best type for reef tank?
-how high do they typically carry the sand before dropping it?
-do they really do better in pairs?

thanks!

AMF · #2 05/05/2007, 12:56 PM

I have a yellowheaded sleeper goby and my tank is 25 inches deep sometimes he will go clear to the top and drop sand.
As for what one is the best I'm not sure ...Check with your LFS and see if they have a book called Marine Fish by Scott W. Michael ..it's a paper back and it gives you the basics on alot of fish I bought my own and use it all the time as a guide and then cross ref with the internet ...Hope this helps

discotu · #3 05/05/2007, 01:16 PM

thanks!

xxseawolf · #4 05/05/2007, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AMF
I have a yellowheaded sleeper goby and my tank is 25 inches deep sometimes he will go clear to the top and drop sand.
As for what one is the best I'm not sure ...Check with your LFS and see if they have a book called Marine Fish by Scott W. Michael ..it's a paper back and it gives you the basics on alot of fish I bought my own and use it all the time as a guide and then cross ref with the internet ...Hope this helps

awesome book, i highly recommend it.

bradleyj · #5 05/06/2007, 11:01 AM

I have a diamond goby and he does a great job sifting the sand like the sleeper goby, but he doesn't take the sand to the top to drop it. The problem with the diamond goby is he loves to build caves and build houses with the sand. I'm constantly relandscaping the sand. lol

bakestarr · #6 05/06/2007, 04:22 PM

i just got this guy (this one isn't mine), Amblygobius phaleana aka Dragon Goby. He's always sifting the sand I named him Meatwad (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) because he eats dirt. I've had him 3 days and he hasn't made a mess yet...

ChrisB · #7 05/08/2007, 01:42 PM

If you are worried about a mess, you can always get a Hectors Goby, cool little fish, but they might be a little small for a 225.

I have one and he constantly scoops up a tiny bit of sand, sifts it about an inch off the sand and keeps patrolling. He apparently gets all of his food out of the sand because he totally ignores all food added to the tank.

discotu · #8 05/08/2007, 05:51 PM

Bradleyj, bakestarr, ChrisB...
-do the particular gobies you have tend to jump out of the tank?

bakestarr, ChrisB...
-what are the burrowing behaviors of the gobies you have? My rockscape is sitting on 3+ inches of sand and I am worried the heavy burrowers will cause a rockslide.

Bakestarr...
-how's Meatwad doing? Do you have any corals/clams on the sand bed?

thanks guys!!

reef_doug · #9 05/08/2007, 06:41 PM

IMO the diamond gobies are the best for keeping the sand clean and don't through the sand up on the rocks.

Eventhough they stay close to the bottom, all gobies are known jumpers. I have found my diamond goby in the overflow box a couple times.

scarab65 · #10 05/08/2007, 07:24 PM

Agree diamond gobies do a good job sifting the sand.

And agree that they are great jumpers. Mine was doing a great job until it decided to take a plunge out of the tank one night. Found it on the floor in the morning.........

scarab65 · #11 05/08/2007, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisB
If you are worried about a mess, you can always get a Hectors Goby, cool little fish, but they might be a little small for a 225.

I have one and he constantly scoops up a tiny bit of sand, sifts it about an inch off the sand and keeps patrolling. He apparently gets all of his food out of the sand because he totally ignores all food added to the tank.

Both hector and rainford gobies do some sand sifting but the amount of sand they take in is very minimal, them being very small fishes. So not much help in cleaning the sand though.

Have 4 rainfords in the tank....Cute buggers...

ChrisB · #12 05/08/2007, 08:27 PM

Yeah, the Hectors/Rainfords are tiny, but there won't be any worry of them digging up any rockwork.

As far as being a jumper.... I'm not sure, he stays about an inch off the sand at all times and has never given any indication that he cares to jump out. I fully realize that could change.

The top is open if he ever cares to. Hopefully he won't.

Asuran · #13 05/09/2007, 08:41 AM

I have a two spot goby in my 180 and it does a good job but i have found it in my sump 3 times in the first month...

yiliyang · #14 05/09/2007, 09:14 AM

I have a dragon goby also, they are some times called banded or bullet gobies. Mine does a great job at churning the sand, but only the top layers. If you have a very deep sand bed, it will not get to the bottom of it.

The only thing is that he will spit the sand all over. He lift the sand about 5" off the sand bed to spit out, so if you have a lot of frags on the sand bed, the frags will be covered.

Good luck.

purpletang26 · #15 05/09/2007, 11:29 AM

goldenheads is what i would go with they hardly ever jump out i say about 1 out of every 15 will jump. The diamond goby is a great sand shifter but they jump out all the time i've seen 8 out of every 10 will jump, just not worth it even with glass tops they always find the holes.