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Sand Sifters

DYIguy

DYIguy

NJRC Member
I have a pink spot and a yellow watchman gobies that do no sand sifting- the pink occasionally will take a mouthful of sand for food. I have a sharknose goby that's the size of a q tip and moves sand all day from it's cubby- maybe 40 grains at a time. I also have a Talbot and Fiji Devil Damsels that i guess are 'nesting' and move quite a bit of sand with their tail. Thinking about getting either a sleeper goby or a jawfish- are they any better at moving sand?
 
Salted

Salted

NJRC Member
Looking up best sand sifting gobies and the top 3 seem to be; diamond, gold head sleeper and bullet goby. When I was at reefco just a few weeks ago they had lots of bullets. Iirc they were $40. I picked up a gold head which so far has been shy and isn't impressing me with it's work ethic yet.
 
P

paintman27

I bought a gold headed goby from reefco awhile back and he makes a mess out of my tank! All of my corals that are below 5" in my tank get covered in sand. Most all of my zoas have closed up because of him. never again!
 
H

horseplay

NJRC Member
paintman27 said:
I bought a gold headed goby from reefco awhile back and he makes a mess out of my tank! All of my corals that are below 5" in my tank get covered in sand. Most all of my zoas have closed up because of him. never again!
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this guy is probably a sand broadcaster ...
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
You could get a bunch of nassarius snails, they stir the sand too if you are not set on a fish. Jawfish can become tricky, they may only stir the sand in the one spot for their burrow. They can also steal frags and other things depending on the size and temperment of the one you get. The only ones I really recommend are the pearly heads.
 
Salted

Salted

NJRC Member
I need a good bunch of nassarius and nerite snails. Going to reefco in a couple weeks hoping they have good stock.
 
DYIguy

DYIguy

NJRC Member
mnat said:
You could get a bunch of nassarius snails, they stir the sand too if you are not set on a fish. Jawfish can become tricky, they may only stir the sand in the one spot for their burrow. They can also steal frags and other things depending on the size and temperment of the one you get. The only ones I really recommend are the pearly heads.
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I've been thinking about getting a jawfish, can't seem to find one locally- any experience with the blue spot? I think it's kind of cool how they collect and line their burrow and entrance with shells etc- saw a pic recently how one took clam shells and built a 'fort'
 
DYIguy

DYIguy

NJRC Member
Nassarius don't really move any sand, just bury themselves in it when not feeding- maybe the lager variety ( vibex? ) is better. I have a small conch and it also is no sifter, cleans the top 1/8 inch of sand
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
DYIguy said:
I've been thinking about getting a jawfish, can't seem to find one locally- any experience with the blue spot? I think it's kind of cool how they collect and line their burrow and entrance with shells etc- saw a pic recently how one took clam shells and built a 'fort'
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Plenty of experience with blue spots, they are one of our favorite fish but permanently on the will not buy again list. As people above said really need cooler water then what we run and eventually run into problems. They are prolific jumpers so you need a really secure lid as well, like not cracks or crevices at all.
 
J

john90009

NJRC Member
I am setting up a waterbox130.4 so it’s a 4 foot long tank and pritty deep as well. And I’m not sure yet since the state of the market and the current price of some fish are wack.
 
Salted

Salted

NJRC Member
DYIguy said:
I've been thinking about getting a jawfish, can't seem to find one locally- any experience with the blue spot? I think it's kind of cool how they collect and line their burrow and entrance with shells etc- saw a pic recently how one took clam shells and built a 'fort'
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Surprisingly there was a blue spot at the Parsippany Petco a couple weeks ago. Didn't thing that there was a market for $220 fish at Petco. There was a purple tang too for $200. More surprising than that yesterday I stopped in again and both were gone. That's a bet I would have lost more ways than one.
 
DYIguy

DYIguy

NJRC Member
Salted said:
Surprisingly there was a blue spot at the Parsippany Petco a couple weeks ago. Didn't thing that there was a market for $220 fish at Petco. There was a purple tang too for $200. More surprising than that yesterday I stopped in again and both were gone. That's a bet I would have lost more ways than one.
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The more I read about blue spots I think I'll pass and look for a yellowhead/ pearly jawfish- seem like a very cool fish
 
N

NJTaxMan

It is interesting how sand sifting star fish seem to have fallen so far our of favor so quickly..you dont even see them for sale anymore.
 
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