cleaning the aquarium

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Sand sifting gobies should not be considered a cleaner of the sand bed. Often their life expectancy is shortened in the captive environment because over time they decimate the micro infauna. Instead, the Aquascaping should be designed around the needs of the Goby.

Gently stirring a small portion of the sand bed is an excellent way to put particulate matter into the water column. This will be consumed by the fish, corals, or skimmer. Some people do this daily and have expressed positive results. I would do this just before lights out.

As for removing detritus from the surface of the sand bed, flow is the best method. It keeps the detritus in suspension and/or forces it into the sand bed through advection. I do have three Nassarius snails in each of my deep sand beds as well as a few hermit crabs in each tank that contains fish.