Sand sifter recommendations...

[MikeP]

Thanks so far guys. I wanted to stay away from the sand sifting stars because I have heard they don't do well in an aquarium. So are gobies the only sand sifting fish? The sand in my tank is quite fine.

[DanG]

I've got a strawberry conch. They don't get too big, and mine has done an admirable job keeping the sand clean.

[mseepman]

I have had gobies in the past but now have a sand sifting starfish...and he's awesome. Incredible to watch and keeps things cleaner than ever before. He's never done anything to my other livestock either.

If you like to keep the sand from covering your tank, you might try a couple of 2-spot gobies. They are sandsifters, but they keep right at the sandbed and don't rise as they sift, therefore all the sand stays on the bottom. I will warn you that they are extremely docile and any bullies in your tank will kill them quickly. They are also tiny and therefore it would take a few to do the job.

[fishoholic]

I have a large yellow head sleeper goby and he does a great job of sifting through the sand. He does spit the sand back out but I don't notice it getting all over rock or corals.

[michika]

I third the conch recommendation. I have two lipstick or strawberry conches and they do a wonderful job. I also have bumblebee snails, but the conches by far do the best job without disturbing clams, or kicking dust up.

[PoonTang]

Do hermit crabs kill conchs for their shells like they kill snails?

[michika]

Not that I'm aware of. Conchs are usually under the substrate and pretty inacessable to hermits. In the very least, this has never happened to me.