Does everybody regret their sand sifting fish?

[FishiesRus]

Love my diamond goby. Clean sand bed; fun to watch, and my sand scape is different every morning!

 

[KQuillan]

I have a pair of YWG and a pistol on the left side of the tank and a YWG & pistol on the right side. They each have their own burrows and I only have little sand mounds nearby. ( I do regret getting a sand-sifting star, I'll feed him a clam and he isn't even interested. Not sure how long he will be in the tank). Anyway, I'm deciding on which one to put in the 14G pen. I would love something that would stir sand, lightly! I love High Fin Goby's but just not sure what is going in the peninsula yet.

 

[KQuillan]

Love my diamond goby. Clean sand bed; fun to watch, and my sand scape is different every morning!

Do you have corals? Do they get covered up a lot?

 

[FishiesRus]

Do you have corals? Do they get covered up a lot?

No corals on sand bed. Occasional blast of sand on corals, but that’s what my turkey baster is for

Also, I’m retired and look at my tank throughout the day.

 

[stevemillersreef]

My 150g tank is currently ~6 weeks old and has brown diatoms on the sand bed. I've always REALLY valued a clean sand bed and I'm thinking of a pair of Sleeper Banded Gobys or maybe a Bella Goby.

As I dive deep in the research rabbit hole it's hard to ignore how many people regret their sand sifting fish.

Do you like yours? Can you tell me about it and its pros and cons?

I like sand in my reef tanks so I always have a goby sifter and some of the snails too. I’ve never had issues other than you have to have a cover at lights out.

 

[cdbias]

i think they are more of a staple than clown fish.

 

[Solasis]

I think the bella goby is one of the best sand sifting fish. They sift a lot lower to the ground compared to the diamond goby, meaning you aren't cleaning your rocks from sand as often.

 

[PeterEde]

I have a chocolate goby and recently bought a longfin goby.
In a small tank the chocolate covered everything like a snow globe.
So far the longfin is too small to do much.

 

[forneyjohn19]

If you have a sand bed, sand sifting gobies are a game changer. My sand bed requires no manual maintenance. I have a diamond goby in a 25 gallon. I feed the tank multiple times a day (between fish and corals) and he gets EVERYTHING out of the sand. No detritus buildup.

Notes: corals on the sand bed is not an option. I took my acans and put them on small rocks (that I then buried in the sand). This way it looks like the coral is on the sand bed, but cannot get buried by the goby. Also, if you want control of the sand, this is not the fish for you. Accept the chaos, and it is enjoyable to have an ever-shifting sandscape.

 

[DIYreefer]

They always just starve to death.

This is inaccurate. I've got one that I've had for about 2 years. It has grown and never lost any limbs. Seems to do just fine in my 125.

 

[blecki]

This is inaccurate. I've got one that I've had for about 2 years. It has grown and never lost any limbs. Seems to do just fine in my 125.

Very old heavily stocked mature tank?

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Bert's caused more problems for me than he's fixed... ironically, none of the problems are due to feeding. He eats frozen and pellets just like everyone else. ******* got stuck in my sump for a week, and before that, he poured sand all over my foxface and I thought he had velvet, only for him to swim out of the rocks spotless a few minutes later.

He's a Valenciennea strigata.

 

[bureau13]

I liked my Diamond Goby, but he disappeared into the rock work about a month ago. I assume he's gone, although I have no idea why. He seemed good. I want to get another one.

 

[vanguard]

I ended up getting a bella goby about two weeks ago. My sand bed is great and while he does get sand on my corals, it's not a big deal. He mostly releases his sand 1-2" from the bottom.

Between him sifting the sand and my pushing it back where I want it the sand lots clean and new. I have a strong preference for a clean sand bed so it's been a win. (So far)

 

[littlefoxx]

My 150g tank is currently ~6 weeks old and has brown diatoms on the sand bed. I've always REALLY valued a clean sand bed and I'm thinking of a pair of Sleeper Banded Gobys or maybe a Bella Goby.

As I dive deep in the research rabbit hole it's hard to ignore how many people regret their sand sifting fish.

Do you like yours? Can you tell me about it and its pros and cons?

I have an engineer goby. I really like her, very fun fish. Secure rockwork is needed, she collapsed mine once tunneling under it. Also dont have any corals that like the sand bed or to be lower, she throws sand all over. Only coral shes killed was a plate coral. She doesnt overturn sand everywhere, just on her side of the tank

 

[rtparty]

My diamond goby is awesome! Not a problem with any other fish or coral.

 

[CBonito]

My diamond goby is awesome! Not a problem with any other fish or coral.

Ever have one with a flame hawk, wrasses or a Midas Blenny? I need something for my sand here pretty quick.

 

[vanguard]

Ever have one with a flame hawk, wrasses or a Midas Blenny? I need something for my sand here pretty quick.

I have a pair of midas blennies and a bella goby. I haven't have any aggression between them.

 

[CBonito]

I have a pair of midas blennies and a bella goby. I haven't have any aggression between them.

Thank You.

 

[VintageReefer]

I had a sand sifting goby years ago and I loved him but what a pain. He would take huge mouthfuls of sand and go sift it in front of my power heads and the sand would get blown around and land all over my corals every day. All day.

Now I use a fighting conch and he does a great job cleaning the sand. He does it all day every day. He burrows under the sand. Comes out. Cleans the top of the sand. Doesn’t make a mess or cause any problems