Brackish water sand cleaners?

[zeig]

i have a 20 gal tank at the moment and its kinda gross. theres alot of algea and the colors of the pebbles and the ornaments are all kinda icky.

im planning on redoing the entire tank soon so i had a couple questions.
(i have two red claw crabs and am planning on the addition of a fish. im planning on giving it a beachy usually saltwater looking style with sand and shells)

1- will i have to let the whole tank recycle if i put sand on the bottom of the tank but keep my sponge filter?

2- will sand cause any PH or ammonia issues of any kind?

3- what fish clean the sand that can be in brackish water? ( bullet goby ?) because i hear my crabs will eat any snails.

4- what brackish fish in general can i add to my tank that wont get killed by my RCCs?

THANKS!!!

 

[bigfish93]

You won't have to recycle the tank as long as you use the same filter as you were before and you keep it wet. Most of the bacteria lives in the filter and not the substrate. The sand shouldn't effect your pH or ammonia. PFS is recommended by most people here.

 

[DragonFish71]

Ok, here is what I found for you for compatible fish:

Biotope:

1. Mangrove swamp or Mud Flats. P.bidens make good companions for Mud Skippers, Knight Gobies Bumblebee Gobies, Indian Glass Fish, Halfbeaks, Mollies, Guppies, Amano and shrimp and other Brackish fish that do not prey on large invertebrates.

I don't have RCCs in our BW tank, but I wouldn't recommend the bumblebee gobys. Here's why: I find them to be very slow moving. Feeding them is not easy as you have to over-feed to make sure they get some. Using a turkey baster to feed them doesn't help either. I would suggest dragon gobys (yeah my fav) because they won't see the RCC as a food source and the chances of a RCC eating them in low. Mollies are more top/mid dwellers and when acclimated slowly add something to the BW set up. They state Amano shrimp are a good match, I would suggest, for price sakes, ghost shrimp. We have a few dozen in our BW and they are doing great. They also help keep the tank clean.

Here's the rest of the article:

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile101.html

 

[sieski]

Ok, here is what I found for you for compatible fish:

Biotope:

1. Mangrove swamp or Mud Flats. P.bidens make good companions for Mud Skippers, Knight Gobies Bumblebee Gobies, Indian Glass Fish, Halfbeaks, Mollies, Guppies, Amano and shrimp and other Brackish fish that do not prey on large invertebrates.

I don't have RCCs in our BW tank, but I wouldn't recommend the bumblebee gobys. Here's why: I find them to be very slow moving. Feeding them is not easy as you have to over-feed to make sure they get some. Using a turkey baster to feed them doesn't help either. I would suggest dragon gobys (yeah my fav) because they won't see the RCC as a food source and the chances of a RCC eating them in low. Mollies are more top/mid dwellers and when acclimated slowly add something to the BW set up. They state Amano shrimp are a good match, I would suggest, for price sakes, ghost shrimp. We have a few dozen in our BW and they are doing great. They also help keep the tank clean.

Here's the rest of the article:

Red Claw Crab, Sesarma bidens Profile, with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish

I have a RCCabd he doesn't bother with any of the fish.He will charge the yo yo loaches away in disgust lol but that is all he takes offence.If a neon goes by him he runs away this could be down to independent personalities though

 

[zeig]

thanks a ton everyone! i read earlier about teh ghost shrimp so i may get one of those or a fiddler crab. and ill read more in that article over the fish!

 

[zeig]

sorry i just remembered one last part to this.

can i use normal sandbox sand??
if i ask someone at the fish store theyre just gonna say to use theirs so i wanted a non biased opinion

 

[corrado33]

Many people use pure silica,"play" sand or pool filter sand.