sand sifting ideas...

i would like to find out what options i have for sifting the sand. i think i am getting nitrate problems because of the deep sand bed i have now, and would like to get an animal that will take care of this without wiping out what is living in the sand bed already... i thought i had a sand sifter (bad idea) but i havent seen him in about 3 months.

 

I have a horseshoe crab that sifts at least the first inch or two veryy well.

 

its a 15 gallon... those get rather large for my tastes... thank you though!

 

For a 15gal I have no ideas.
Maybe just poke at different areas of the tank each week to stir it up.
That way our only upsetting a few inches at a time.

 

I too use to have a sand sifter.... my Diamond Goby. He use to sift through the sand quite well, but was a headache when he would move a third of the sand to one side of the aquarium and I had to go in there to fix it... only to find the next day that he did it again, I ended up just giving up... anyway... he sifted through the sand pretty well, but then started to get a little lazy, and then one day he just disappeared. I moved all my rocks trying to find him, hoping that he was in one of his "homes" underneath the rocks. But, no luck.. I looked around the floor in case he decided to just start flying, but couldn't find him anywhere. I have no other pets and so.. I concluded that the hermits and snails probably disposed of him COMPLETELY. Soooo... long story short.. I TOO am looking for something to sift through the sand. Anything that would do as good of a job as my diamond goby? or should I just pick up another one like him and just deal with the "mess" that they make?

 

Nasarius snails are my favorite for small tanks. Cheap, effective and fun to watch when you stir up the sand.

 

i have 2 and they stopped sifting a week after i got them... now they like the glass and rock... poo.

 

Hmmm...are you sure that the snails are nassarius snails? From what I have seen from them, they stay in the sand untill they smell food then come out and eat. But im not sure. Most of the time i see mine coming out of the sand at night. But i agree with Dyngoe, nassarius snails are good for sand sifting.

 

a fighting conch would be an idea for now, but they get large sooner or later. I have also found like Dyngoe, and Bruce that nassarius snails are good sand shifters if you get the right ones. Um... I would say a star, but they have been known to eat small fish, like clowns. I like the Diamond Goby, but it would die in your tank. Im gonna get one for the 100 and deal with the mess. I think it is cool, when the sand changes, lol. Good luck, let us know if you find anything,

Michael

 

I have nassarius snails that bury themselves everynight and a lazy
brittle sea star that just hides in the rocks.
Have you considered a sand sifting sea star ?
If you go on dr fosters and smiths live aquaria website have picture and
info.
Are you vacuuming the sand about once a month?Can wash sand in salt water and reuse.
Good luck,
Morejongg