Looking for a nano fish that will stir up the sandbed

[Fishyj]

Hi all, I have a 13.5 gallon nano tank that has 2 clownfish, 1 emerald crab, and misc. corals in it. I am looking for 1 more fish that I can add to help stir up the sand. I have tried snails and red and blue legged crabs but for the life of me I cannot seem to keep them alive. It seems I fall into a cycle, get cleanup crew, gets rid of algae on sandbed, they die, algae returns some and repeat again.

 

[Karin]

A diamond goby might be good.

 

[Et817]

I have a tail spot blenny that does a wonderful job at keeping all the algae to the min. They also stay small which would work great in a nano setup.

 

[diablomaster9045]

A diamond goby might be good.

A diamond would get too big.


I would go with a yasha goby and a pistol shrimp.
Or if you go without a fish, get a few good sized Nassarius snails.

 

[mcarroll]

Try no sand instead. Either that or increase flow or how frequently you vacuum the sand.

There are no nano-sand-sifters.

 

[mcarroll]

There isn't enough surface area for most CUC to browse in a nano either, so they all starve.

There's barely enough surface in a mid-size tank. I rarely see CUC grow old except in large tanks.

Look at Cerith snails, if anything, but don't get more than 2-3. They stay small, so don't require nearly as much food as most other snails. They might lay eggs and reproduce if you actually have enough food for them. They will burrow in the sand and clean the glass and rocks. Maybe try nerites instead as a second best.

You could also try requesting super-small hermits from your LFS to see if they can get em. Sometime's we'd get a batch that were all between 1/4" and 1/2" long. Perfect for hermits – too small to hurt anything and small enough to fit every nook and grany of the tank! Otherwise, under normal circumstances I don't do hermits at all.

I would not try other snails as they will starve AND compete against the Ceriths for what food there is.

 

[Jofiel]

Rainfordi gobies sift sand. Bluezooaquatics sells captive bred ones that should eat prepared foods.

https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDetail.asp?did=1&pid=6579&cid=361

 

[Fishyj]

Thanks for the replies and help. I will be either getting a Rainfordi gobie or a tail spot blenny. I also do like the idea of a yasha goby and a pistol shrimp. Either way I will try a couple of Cerith snails first.

 

[Invader_Moose]

Rainfordi Gobies are so much fun to watch, agreed on captive bred! Wild ones can be a pain to get them on to prepared food. Just make sure all your rock is securely on the glass bottom because he/she will make a borrow under it, building a sand dune around the entrance.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Rainfordi or hectori gobies. Both sift sand and eat hair algae.