Detritus Destroyers!!!

hey all. for a predator tank, or semi-aggressive tank, what would be a couple of good critters to keep the sand clean and sifted? it's live sand if that makes a difference...i was told never to gravel vac live sand

 

Hey Roger,

Well, in a predator tank, you are pretty much limited to cucumbers and some starfish, and gravel vacs.

But, if you are going the semi-aggressive route, you could get some hermit crabs, some nassarious snails, some cerinth snails, and some turbo/astrea snails. And a brittle/serpent starfish would be good as well.

Again, you are limited as to your fish choices. You have to decide what fish are going in there, and then we can put the clean-up crews in there!!!

HTH[smiley=thumbs_up1.gif]

 

hehe then you and i gotta figure out which fish to put in! ;-)

 

Photo courtesy of T.F.H. Publications, publishers of the Burgess Atlas.

Here is what I have in my 55 an Orangespotted Sleeper Goby also known as Pretty Prawn, Maiden, Orange Spotted Diamond, Orange-dashed, or Watchman Diamond Goby. The head and body are white with orange spots.

It should be in a 55 gallon or larger aquarium with live sand. It rarely will become aggressive towards other fish, but is territorial, and will fight with its own kind unless they are a mated pair.

The Orangespotted Sleeper Goby feeds off the bottom as it sifts through the sand. Feed it a variety of live and frozen brine shrimp, mysid shrimp, live black worms, and prepared foods for carnivores. Feed it well, keeps the sand white,,,,
Hope this Helps Roger....

 

for such a nice fish, the cleaning would be a bonus! will it knock over rock structures as it goes through the sand?

 

It will find itself a Home under one of the rocks, get one about 2 in. or depending, like Wrass says, what kind of predators you are choosing to put in your tank....

 

i just went to my LFS and looked at the orangespotted goby, and they told me that these animals frequently starve...is this true? how do you keep it fed?

 

Yeah it's true. They require special care. I used a turkey baster to get food to mine after I fed everyone else. You can try to bury food near where it hangs out, but timing is everything. Fish are smart and will catch on and dig up the food.

A lot of gobies are jumpers too. Mine jumped out after a while. If you don't have a lip around the top of your tank or a good lid, you are throwing the dice.

With proper care and precautions I still would recommend them.

 

I see them eating flake fresh of the plane, it really depends how long they've been sitting around at the various stops before the end user.

 

now that i have my fish list (see post "final fish list&quot, exactly what and how many critters should i add? i want to avoid things that will starve, eat my fish, or knock over my aquascaping. i know that is specific, but i want my tank as perfect as possible! also, one the cleaners are in, what cleaning do I have to do besides scraping the glass?