Need a good sand sifter!!!!!!!!!!!!

[firefighterbryan]

I have a 25 gal reef which is up and running for 2 yr.I have 2 mated clowns 6line an a small yel tang.I need a small sand sifterto help stir up the bottom of my tank so i do not get any dead spots.Something which will not eat my corals.I think maybe a fighting conch!!!!!!?????Let me know what would be good for this.Tank is doing good.No problems just want to avoid any in future.Know where i can get a fighting conch...bryan

[chriss]

Fighting conch and tiger tail cuke!

[ReefRelated]

Get a diamond goby. They are the one with the orange spots. They will sift your sand all day and they won't starve to death because they eat any food you put in the tank.

[eddiem]

Definately a Fighting Conch.

The cucumbers are hit or miss and personally...not worth the risk. I've had 3 diffrent species (altlantic, hawaiin pink & black, and a tiger tail (holuthuria hilla) and none of them cleaned the sand. The atlantic and tiger tail are still in my tank (for over a year now) but other than seeing them every few weeks...I don't realize they are there.

Sand sifting gobies will destroy your DSB. Although they do sift your sand, the reason they do this is because they are looking for food ...which happen to be the same organisms that make a healthy sandbed. The same applies to Sand Sifting Stars

[flyin2jz]

I just took a hawaiin coris wrasse out to get some peppermint shrimp to eat some aptasia i have... he was eating the shrimp faster than they could hit the bottom.... he would burrough under the sand and sleep... then come out few hours later... would actually put its lips to the front glass 2in under the sand ... would pick rocks around and sift the ssand all day.... Kevin..

[Aquamans Reef]

I have a tiger tail cucumber which cleans the sand day and night.

[Mushroom Boy]

The one thing that must be known before a recommendation can be given is, what grain size sand do you have? That will help determine the appropriate animal to help you out.

I agree that sand sifting gobies will quickly kill your "live" sand.

[fracguru]

nassarius snails are good sand critters.

fracguru

[kmk2307]

Fighting conch and tiger tail cuke!
Nassarious dig but eat meaty foods, not detirious (sp?) so you gotta keep them well fed. E-tropicals provides all these thins you have been suggested. www.ipsf.com 9 for $99 is a brilliant deal but get all the critters before you "waste" choices on algaes which your yellow tang will decimate rapidly anyway (which leads me to my next paragraph).

How long were you planning on keeping a YELLOW TANG in a TWENTY FIVE gallon aquarium? Usually the BARE MINIMUM aquarium size suggestion is 55 gallons or longer. Bad reefer! No biscuit! BAD!

^IMHO + IME
Kevin

[Mushroom Boy]

Cukes won't do well if the sand grains are of inappropriate size (i.e., too large), so again, I would say we all need to know the composition of the sandbed before making any blanket recommendations.

[kmk2307]

Good point Mushroom Boy. If the sand is fine then cukes are good ideas. If not its like people swallowing razor blades... which is always so embarassing.

Kevin

[wagnertim]

I have a golden headed sleeper gobi. there so cool!

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

I'm just along for the ride, but on the subject of sand particle size, I'll be using Southdown, so is a Cuke still the way to go?

[kmk2307]

Yes a tigertail cucumber (like Etropicals sells) is a good addition.

Gobies are preadators of sandbed fauna.

wagnertim, is your goby eating prepared foods?

[wagnertim]

I feed him half brine shrimp and half Mysis both frozen. Tim

[Mushroom Boy]

Yes RSPT, southdown would be an ideal sand for a cuke. You'll definitely avoid the razor blade eating that Kevin referenced if you go with it. :)

HTH!

[reeferaddict]

you probably don't need anymore fish IMO. I have one maroon clown, a coral beauty and a goby in my 29gl and it is full for its size :rolleyes:

Conchs are great, just keep them fed good if the algae dissappears. Mine like nori and even eats flakes that make it to the bottom;)

[Pomacanthus1]

Like Mushroom Boy says, the best thing for you depends on what type of substrate you have.

BTW, most people would not consider yellow tangs to be an appropriate fish for a 25g at all. They get to large and require much more swimming space than a 25g can provide. Consider moving it to a larger tank for the fish's own good.

[cone9]

For your size tank, I would second the nassarius snails and also suggest cerith snails