Looking at goby's

[oO BRIGHTY Oo]

Hi all, we are looking into getting some sort of goby to keep our sand in check as my snails don't seem to be getting the job done.

Looking for some advice on what type would be a nice addition, pro's/cons

I quite like the look of the blue cheek goby

 

[mr_X]

if you wait until your tank goes through it's normal cycles, in a few months, your sand bed will be white. you don't need a fish to sift sand.

 

[brandensg01]

I have a watchman goby thats yellow and i never see him so you have to take that in mind before making that final decision.He never really does a lot for my sand...

 

[brandensg01]

if you wait until your tank goes through it's normal cycles, in a few months, your sand bed will be white. you don't need a fish to sift sand.

Ive had mine going for about 5 months or longer and my sand bed is still getting that brown stuff on the top since my snails have died off but fish are fine.

 

[Kio707]

How often do you feed your fish? How long are the lights on? What are your water parameters?

 

[brandensg01]

How often do you feed your fish? How long are the lights on? What are your water parameters?

I feed my fish every night with just a pinch of flakes,our lights are on approx. from 9am-9 or 10pm. The last test shows all normal..0 amonia,20 nitrate,0 nitrite, and 8.2 on ph i believe...

 

[Kio707]

Your trates are high, plus you might wanna lower your light cycle. I would suggest a 25% weekly water change to lower trates, lower the light cycle to 7 hrs, and feed every other day. You will see those diatoms disappear in no time!

 

[austinsdad]

Bullet gobies. Diamond gobies. All do a great job of sifting sand, but be careful what you ask for. They can make mounds of sand on top of corals or other places you don't want sand to pile up. Two spot gobies aren't that way as they sift only smaller amounts, but they die quick. Yellow headed sleeper gobies are similar to the diamond and bullet gobies, but they often perish as most don't eat prepared food and rely on the sand to nourish them. It won't sustain them for long.

Nothing can keep sand clean like a decent vaccum of its surface (not too deep) at water changes IMO.

Also, your nitrates all WELL within an acceptable limit. 10 or zero is better, but lots of folks would kill for 20.