Best sand sifting fish?

some of you might know Im experiencing a diatom outbrake, so i figured I should get something to clean up the sand. whats the best fish/invert sand sifter(s). thanks for the help.

 

I think my diamond goby is the best sandsifter. Better than inverts as he is more entertaining, if the hermit crabs get in his way, he will pick them up and move them to the other side of the tank!

 

The only fish that does that, that I have experience with, is a Diamond Goby. Ours has a burrow on the far right side of the tank, when the lights come on he goes to the far left side, and sifts his way back to his burrow by the time the lights go out. He does one heck of a good job too glad I got one!

 

broken record. i vote diamond goby. mine does a fantastic job. i tried to go without one and use a ton of nassarius snails but they dont even come close. plus, the goby has tons of personality. make sure your rock work is solid because that sucker will tunnel under everything

 

i dont have a lot of rock work would it still be ok?

 

yeah, it'd be fine. the only concern is if you have rocks stacked up on each other and the goby digs under them. if the rocks arent secure, it could cause an avalanche. however, i havent had a problem with mine (check out

 

oops sorry about that. at any rate, i just said that as a general notice. i've never had a problem

 

i have 2 sleeper gobies and they do a crazy good job... but my tank constantly has "snow" in it.

 

i thought the biggest issue with these guys is they typically perish from not having enough 'stuff' to eat/filter out of the sand? Part of the reason I've not gotten one...?

 

I think you might be thinking of an algae blenny? Diamond gobies are great fish with great personality, but they LOVE to jump out of tanks. I have lost one myself. So if you do get a diamond goby, make sure you have a tight fitting lid on your tank.