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sand sifting fish


nvandewa

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What's a good sand sifting fish for a small 20g aquarium? I"m getting brown algae in my live sand and would like to get something to take care of it. I've got turbo and bumblebee snails and they just ignore it. I've got three hermit crabs but they mostly stay on the live rock. Thanks, Nathan

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How old is the tank?

If it's new, I'd give it time before adding anything to the bioload which very well could just make things worse (more critters= more waste=more available nutrients=more algae especially in an immature system). If the brown algae are actually diatoms, then they should pass as the tank matures. Just part of the cycle.

If it's not a new tank, then I can't say enough good things for conchs! I have a great big one, but he does more good for cleaning the sand than my army of hermits, snails and my mandarin that does sift some sand as it hunts for food.

I'd watch the number of hermits in a small tank, they are fun but they are destructive. In my experience, they do little for the sand and mostly spend their days picking algae off the rocks (and knocking over your corals). I have some nassarius snails but I can't tell if they are doing much to help the sand bed. I probably need more, they're neat if nothing else.

Also keep a keen eye on your water parameters... excess phosphates and nitrates are a great way to grow algae. :)

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Be careful with them, they can make a mess.

My vote would be a twin spot goby for a small tank.

Twin spot blenny is a good tiny tank fish, twin spot gobies would probably be OK but could probably outgrow a 20G, especially a 20H. There's a bunch of smaller gobies that will do the job though, and a few blennies who fit the bill. The only thing is if you want them to eat it, small blennies tend to be herbivores and small gobies tend to be carnivores, so while either will turn the sand and reduce the problem, the blennies will be the most likely to actually eat it.

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