sand cleaners

i was wondering what the best sand sifter is i had a goby but he decided to jump out of the tank i was thinking maybe a starfish or a sea cucumber might be better also how many snails and crabs are recommended for a 55 gal ive heard one per gal but i dont have much algae in the tank so i dont want the snails to starve

 

Sand Sifting Star... They keep the sand white...

 

Medusa Worms. if you had a top a wardi goby does an excellent job.

 

If you can keep them alive for any decent period of time. They starve to death in smaller tanks.


I would go with a whole bunch of nassarius snails.

 

+1 on this. Sand sifting stars are going to starve unless you have some way to keep the star from eating all the critters in the sand, allowing the starfish's food supply to replenish. If you have that white eggcrate on the bottom of your tank, that should be enough to keep some animals in the sand for it to eat continuously. Without it, the starfish will exhaust all of it's food in a few months.

 

dwaft ceriths are also AMAZING!>

they are tiny, cheap, and spend most of the daytime under the sand so they are not overwhelming. I have about 400 of them in my 120 gallon reef and they turn only the top layer of my dsb (like the top 3/4" max) .

Nass. are also great but they only eat meat.

Ceriths are also great, but are a lot bigger than the dwarfs.

 

Funny that you guys say this.. Sand sifters always live for me..i have had my 2 for about 2 years now.. The nassarius snails are the ones that always die for me...

 

That is wonderful, but there are always the exceptions.

I know a guy that can keep basket stars alive, and another that keeps cuttle fish alive.

For general purpose, I try to take into account the average users experience.

How big is your tank ?

TIA

 

72g.. So it's the same length as the 55g.. I'm just saying.. I also had one in a 20L for 4 years.. They are cheap and cover wayyyyy more ground than snails.. But you're right.. There are always exceptions in this hobby..