sandbed is dirty

[sillysidewinder]

my sandbed has a bunch of waste from my fish. i have a 25 gallon tank and only one small crab and one medium sized snail. should i get a shrimp, or more crabs, or what? I know that I just need to put the right species in there and it will be cleaned up right away. Just not sure what is best for the sandbed. i stir it up about once a day maybe more, but it doesn't seem to be sufficient.

 

[rkaragozler]

You can add sand sifting stars, snails, etc, and try not to disturb the sand bed too much, you can have spikes as you are moving beneficial bacteria.

 

[sillysidewinder]

You saw my tank the other day, do you think i have enough room for a sand sifting star? I was under the impression that there wasn't enough space in my tank.

 

[sillysidewinder]

also richie, from the last time we spoke and i had a piece of aiptasia in my tank. i did scrub it with the toothbrush and it has come back twice. i figured that was a strong possibility. would you suggest aiptasia x or something of that sort?

 

[rkaragozler]

I would take the rock out and try again, maybe others will have another ideas, i'm not a big beleiver in meds.

 

[Jzhou]

If you're already stirring, might as well just siphon. But pinch the hose so that the current is slow. But nassarius snails should def do the trick.

 

[DA fisherman]

If you're already stirring, might as well just siphon. But pinch the hose so that the current is slow. But nassarius snails should def do the trick.

+1
What I did in my 55g was get one sand shifting starfish , 5 blue leg hermit crabs, and 20 Nassarius snails and they do a pretty good job.

 

[sillysidewinder]

could i get a sand sifting star. i like the idea of having one

 

[rkaragozler]

yes, just get them small a (Astropecten polycanthus) grows only 1"
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+528+572&pcatid=572

 

[Jzhou]

Like he said, the smaller ones wuld be fine. The snails do a better job though. but mostly because they reproduce pretty quickly.

 

[Levito]

@rkaragozler, that's 1 foot, not 1 inch.

 

[rkaragozler]

Now I know for a fact that I need glasses, Sorry sidewinder.

 

[KathyC]

A sand sifting star for your size tank would be a poor idea

Unless you are over-feeding the living snot out of that tank on a daily basis, it will not find enough to eat in there and WILL resort to eating any pods and whatever else is living in your sand bed.

It will NOT clean up the 'brown dust' that you raise when you and stirring your sand - that is not detitus, it is just pure crud (assuming you get 'brown dust' when you stir the sand bed.)

Stick with the snails as they are far more suitable for your tank
The :starfish: will thank you

 

[prattreef]

A sand sifting star for your size tank would be a poor idea

Unless you are over-feeding the living snot out of that tank on a daily basis, it will not find enough to eat in there and WILL resort to eating any pods and whatever else is living in your sand bed.

It will NOT clean up the 'brown dust' that you raise when you and stirring your sand - that is not detitus, it is just pure crud (assuming you get 'brown dust' when you stir the sand bed.)

Stick with the snails as they are far more suitable for your tank
The :starfish: will thank you

+1 a few nassarius snails would be cool and some hermit crabs.

 

[sillysidewinder]

snails and hermit crabs it is. i like the idea of a small sand sifting star, but from what i've read and been told they are generally too large for a tank my size. i will also cut back on food a bit. that's gotta be part if not completely the reason it is there.

 

[Imbarrie]

Gobies keep my sand pretty clear. I have a yellow watchman goby and he is always on the prowl. Algae blennies also do their part.

They have a history of jumping though so you would want to think about a covering.

I also have a large number of nassarius snails. I think they are the most effective at reducing uneaten matter in the substrate.

Anything that eats detritus in the substrate can also eat beneficial organisms also. I have heard sand sifting stars can consume everything from a sand bed which I would not prefer.

 

[Jzhou]

You should try 6 of the super nausirus snails. They are about 3/4 an inch in size, and reproduce like crazy after a few weeks. Just watch out for the hermitcrabs though.

 

[basiab]

How many fish do you have and what are they. What is your substrate.

I have a 24 gallon with 6 fish and I never have to clean the bottom. I am sure there is stuff there since I have crushed coral but why would you want to stir it up. I only have snails and they are algae eaters and asterina stars which are also algae eaters. I have some threadlike worms and amphipods and once in a while I see a small bristle worm so maybe they take care of the detritus.
Just give your tank a chance to mature and it will work out.

 

[sillysidewinder]

Just talked to Jim from Saltwater Critters. If he gets any small sand sifting stars he's going to get back to me, but for the time being I will get a few crabs and snails. In the past I have had no luck with shrimp. Can anyone give me a few suggestions?

 

[sillysidewinder]

I have 2 fish, one black ocellarris and one orange ocellarris. The black is slightly larger than the orange one, and acts accordingly. it bullys the orange one a little bit, but they have been in there for several months with no other problems. They each eat plenty and are 100% healthy. Looking back, I think that this whole issue stemmed from over-feeding. I have always understood that this is a major problem with tanks, however, I never thought that I was doing it!