how do you keep your sand bed clean?

[nickyblase]

Sand sifting gobies/blennies/starfish, clean up crew....

what do you have, and what have your experiences been? Don't want to battle a constant sand storm, but if I can have sand that looks nice and clean without me having to move corals and vacuum it all the time, I would LOVE IT!

 

[Liam]

conch's and a hectors goby

 

[this is me]

by taking it out completely.
when I used to have a DSB, my conch does most of the work to keep the sand clean. nasarius snails also keep it clean, but they burried deep in the sand though.

 

[nickyblase]

I've got a conch, and could probably use some more nassarius snails. Is the Hector's goby difficult to keep alive, or is that the Rainsford?

 

[RichConley]

I've seen hectors gobies almost everywhere lately.

 

[delta]

high flow and low nutrients.

 

[Liam]

I've got a conch, and could probably use some more nassarius snails. Is the Hector's goby difficult to keep alive, or is that the Rainsford?

the hectors and rainfords can be tough but can do well if you have a large established sand bed and a peaceful tank

 

[NanoReefer]

I have had a tiger tail cuke for about 1.5 years, my sand is sparkling.

 

[merk1_99]

I have about 40 nasarrius snails, 2 conch, and a sleeper banded goby(AA almost always has these in stock).

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=206

With this combo my sand has been clean. Had em all together now for about 6 months. Goby is cool. My tank is a 55 gal.

 

[nickyblase]

anybody know anything about dragon gobies? this looks interesting - especially the part that they're hardier than other sand sifting gobies.

http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/gobies/dragongoby/

 

[eSoteric]

figi sand sifters! its all you need.

 

[merk1_99]

Nicky we are talking about the same goby. A sleeper goby is a dragon goby. They just call them different things. I think when I bought mine at AA the sold it to me as a dragon goby....They are actually better looking in person, and mine has blue streaks highlighting his body....He will only eat frozen mysis.

 

[nickyblase]

cool - thanks for the clarification! I think I will prob. get one and also a cuke, along with some more Nass. snails.

 

[merk1_99]

Careful of the cukes, they can go nuke...

 

[nickyblase]

huh - I thought they were pretty easy to keep, just poor to ship? I was thinking I would have an LFS hold one once it came in for a few weeks to see how it would fare, and then I'd buy it. Bad idea?

 

[etszoo]

Spagetti worms/hermit crabs (red and blue).

 

[smcnally]

Careful of the cukes, they can go nuke...

Depends on the type. I had two in my tank. Both eventually died and disappeared on me and never harmed my tank. Mine were the ones that TBS sells. I've heard many people say the ones they sell won't nuke a tank.