2 for 1: BEST FISH & INVERT for cleaning sand and eating algae!

[nano reef]

Trochus snails, nassarius snails and a cleaner shrimp are the basic for me. Other inverts depend on the tank. For fish the same thing. In a smaller tank a goby can be pretty useful and in a larger tank I would prefer a tang for algae eating.

my nassarius just stay buried under the sand. I only see them every now and then. Then when I do I am like WOW you are still alive then I put them on a spot that has some algae. I had a trocus that didint do much either. I think it straved to death, same with astrea. Have ba dluck with them but my hermits are very active. They are like what I heard nassarius are like. When ever I feed the fish they coming running out!

 

[SmugglersReef]

Do you guys that have a Diamond Goby have a lid on your tank? I want one but I don’t have a lid. My tank is 48 x 24 x 20. About a 2 to 3 inch sand bed.

I have 2 conchs, a sand sifting star, and some snails for the sand. I would still like it cleaner. I stopped vacuuming it but I do stir it up once a week.

I don’t have any algae on the rocks, other than a few bubbles here and there that I take out as soon as I see them. I have a blenny, 2 tangs, and a fox face and they clean the rocks. I also have some astrea snails.

 

[KTTX]

Twin spot goby, lawnmower blenny, 5x fighting conchs, ~10 trochus snails, powder brown & yellow tangs and a majestic fox face.

Does the lawnmower throw sand everywhere?

 

[Clownfish_Boy]

I may add some hermit crabs in this next setup to help take care of the uneaten food..... I like them ! Or maybe a Watchman Goby....

 

[KWT]

I have diamond goby and a couple conch a couple crabs, and a couple hermits, with 5 turbo snails. May have to add a few somethings to help out. I picked up a pin cushion and a few snails in my small tank and there is a small candy cane shrim in there somewhere.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

 

[DSEKULA]

How do y'all think a blue spotted jawfish does for sifting sand?

Just a heads up, their a cold water fish generally dont live long in normal warmer reef conditions.

 

[Jojo92]

This is my first reef tank, 120g, and this seems to work out:

Sand sifting star - just one effectively keeps the whole sand bed looking clean
Nassarus snails - clean up any leftover bits after feeding
Cerith and Turbo snails - algae and diatoms on rocks and walls
Sailfin tang - picks constantly at any growth he can find, and follows the other fish around to eat their poop lol but it helps break it down and get filtered out
Engineer gobies and moray eels - blow out collected detritus from between the rocks

I also have a 2.5g quarantine tank for new frags with 2 sexy shrimp and a small peppermint shrimp

I really want a sea star! Would you recommend one for a wayyy smaller tank though? Mine is only 25g?

 

[MThorne]

I have a pair of sweeper gold head goby. They hands down are the hardest working fish in my tank.

 

[SmugglersReef]

Does the lawnmower throw sand everywhere?

I have a starry eyed blenny now and no, he doesn’t mess up the tank. Hes an awesome fish.

 

[SmugglersReef]

I really want a sea star! Would you recommend one for a wayyy smaller tank though? Mine is only 25g?

I had my first sifting star in a 20 gallon. He didn’t last long. They eat the bacteria and other things in the sand and when there is no more food for them they die. They will not take prepared food. Now I have a 100 gallon established reef with a 2 to 3 inch sand bed. How long will he last now? I don’t know. It was very sad to see the last one die from starvation. It was almost frantic moving quickly on the rocks and glass looking for food before it died. If I had a lid on my tank I would go for a diamond goby instead. For that size tank you are probably better off with a yellow prawn goby and some snails. The yellow prawn stays small like under 3 inches and eats prepared food.

 

[ramona]

Fire shrimp go in every one of my tanks. I feed heavy so the detritus clean up is much appreciated! I also love how we form a bond over time and they feel safe enough around me to eat from my fingers and ride around my arm while I’m in the tank. Feels good to be loved like that

My fire shrimp hides all the time ander the arch. What can I do to encourage him coming out ?

 

[PicassoClown04]

My fire shrimp hides all the time ander the arch. What can I do to encourage him coming out ?

Train him. Hold a very small piece of shrimp/scallops in your tweezers and put it right in front of its face. With a little patience, the fire shrimp should start eating from the tweezers every day with little hesitation. Took mine about 2 weeks to achieve this point. Then I held the food pinched between my fingers and the fire shrimp was slightly hesitant at first but after a week or so he was eating out of my hand. If you continue doing this every day he’ll start waiting for you (if you feed at a specific time) and may even give you a nice cleaning while you’re messing around in the tank. Mine now actually swims through the water towards me when I walk into the room. Consistency is key, don’t skip a day, and make sure that he’s always comfortable before you move on to the next step. I have trained all my fire shrimp using this method (I currently have 6) so it definitely works. Some just take longer than others. Have fun with your new puppy dog shrimp!

 

[jelazar]

I always have a foxface in my builds because IME they eat almost any filamentous algae.

I always use emerald crabs to keep valonia from getting a foothold. They're the only animal in my frag tanks and they keep the frags picked clean.

I always use peppermint shrimp to keep aiptasia at bay.

 

[WallyB]

Well I don't have these anymore, but I did....

They are NOT the best for reasons below, but they do good work on Sand and Algae....

Diamond Watch Goby for Sand. 100% Guarentee to have Sparkly white Sand.
But...90% Gurantee that he'll eventually sift it all clean, then start digging under rocks and if not stable they will tumble.
Then when he's done that, he may make volcanic shaped mountains of sand everywhere, covering rocks and filling any corals that are cup like.

For Algae they is nothing better than a Sea Hare. GHA Algae will vanish everywhere quickly.....till he dies, which for me was also quick. Same for other folks I know that tried a sea hare.

Of course you can get a Tiger Cowrie. They come 2nd to the Sea Hare on Algae Eaters (include GHA). They also will eat the Polyps off your SPS, shaved clean like with an electric razor. Oh, and they will rip the tentacles and gut out of every Euphylea. Yes, I had one my DT till I figured it out. He is now in my Sump and Sump is Algae Free.

 

[Evanbardiel]

For me its the starry blenny and the nassarius snail. Those 2 will be in every tank i ever put together. Starry blenny is one of the most useful fish iv ever owned. And has so much personality

 

[christwendt]

My Tiger Sand Conch, hands down, best cleaner. He will eat anything that grows, even climbing rocks sometimes to get the best morsels (wish he was a better climber, I'd never have trouble with algae again). When the rest of the CUC members turn their noses up at something, the conch will eat it. Love that guy. Best part is that I got him mostly for utility but he turned out to be a really cool creature on top of that. Definitely a guy I'd always want in my tank.

I’m thinking about getting a conch for it 20 gallon. Will be damage my corrals in the sand bed ?

 

[Rjmul]

For sand, a large army of nasarius snails has worked for me. I don't like anything that straight up sifts the sand. For algae, tuxedo urchin lawnmower blenny or Kole tang.

(My experience)

 

[shwareefer]

Cerith snails are the only snail I've had long term success with and now the only ones I keep. I have some that are surely 10yrs old. I haven't tried every snail but the usual astrea, trochus, turbo just die so I avoid them all now.

 

[ca1ore]

Leopard wrasses keep the sand bed turned over, dusky wrasse eats pests like pyramid snails and flatworms, tangs keep algae in check and large angels eat pest anemones.