Bottom dwelling fish that don’t mess up sand

[Tuffloud1]

Looking for suggestions for bottom dwelling fish like gobies that won’t rearrange, sift or mess up sand.

My tank is 72x28x30 and will be an sps dominate reef.

Any suggestions are appreciated, thank you!

 

[monti mike]

If you have a refugium or a lot of pods in the tank a mandarin or dragonet may be a decent option. They’re interesting, stay near the bottom of the tank and they definitely won’t make a mess of the sand.

 

[Tuffloud1]

If you have a refugium or a lot of pods in the tank a mandarin or dragonet may be a decent option. They’re interesting, stay near the bottom of the tank and they definitely won’t make a mess of the sand.

I should have mentioned I have had a Spotted Mandarin for 6 years transferred from my old 90 to new 262.

 

[good.reef]

Scooter Blenny. Mine eats frozen food like a pig and never bothers the sand.

 

[Tuffloud1]

Scooter Blenny. Mine eats frozen food like a pig and never bothers the sand.

LA describes the Scooter as a sand sifter. Maybe it just depends on the particular specimen.

 

[Intense37754]

Our Red Scooter Dragonet definitely doesn’t sift sand or rearrange anything. Really cool, acts like the Mandarin except more social.

 

[Tuffloud1]

Anyone have one of these? Curious if they are compatible with Mandarins.

Flame Hawkfish: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums

 

[Intense37754]

What type of shrimp do the go after? Very cool looking

 

[pcon]

Anyone have one of these? Curious if they are compatible with Mandarins.

Flame Hawkfish: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums

Flame hawks are a fun fish, they will eat anything that fits in their mouth but stay relatively small. so a problem for sexy shrimp or other small ornamental shrimp, but larger cleaner shrimp are likely fine. They end up perching on the rocks, and have a ton of personality. would be highly unlikely for them to stir up any sand.

 

[Tuffloud1]

Flame hawks are a fun fish, they will eat anything that fits in their mouth but stay relatively small. so a problem for sexy shrimp or other small ornamental shrimp, but larger cleaner shrimp are likely fine. They end up perching on the rocks, and have a ton of personality. would be highly unlikely for them to stir up any sand.

So my 6 year old Mandarin and Fire Shrimp should be safe?

Do they eat pods?

 

[Jesterrace]

Do you have SPS Corals in that tank? A Clown Goby could be the way to go.

 

[mtfish]

Hawkfish do not have a swim bladder, so they do a lot of sitting. The flame hawk is a really cool fish. They can be secretive at first but usually stay out most of the time once settled. Not really a "bottom" fish, but more like rock bouncers.

 

[pcon]

So my 6 year old Mandarin and Fire Shrimp should be safe?

Do they eat pods?

I would think they would be safe. My friend has his in with a pair of fire shrimp. and small reef fish without incident. and I have a Long nose hawk in with a pair of fire shrimp and some small gobies, without issue. I would not consider them a pod eater, tend to eat small shrimp and fish in the wild, and things like mysis in aquaria.

 

[good.reef]

You should check out the geometric pygmy hawkfish, it stays smaller and is less aggressive.

 

[pcon]

You should check out the geometric pygmy hawkfish, it stays smaller and is less aggressive.

Fun fact it is technically an anthias not a hawkfish. but more often is lumped in with hawks by online retailers.

 

[good.reef]

Fun fact it is technically an anthias not a hawkfish. but more often is lumped in with hawks by online retailers.

Awesome. Cool thing to learn, thanks. It always looked more like a basslet to me.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Hawkfish is amazing. I’ve had a flame hawk for 3 years and she’s my favorite. But I’m not sure they’ll give you what you’re looking for. Mine typically goes from the top perch on one side of the tank (my flipper scraper) to the top perch on the other side (powerhead), with some other rock hopping in between, but rarely in the sand. They’re apparently not good in groups, but a single one will act as a referee - this is something I can attest to. I had one with a coral banded shrimp for 6 months or so until the shrimp died, but I’ve been too nervous to pair her with another.

 

[Tuffloud1]

Do you have SPS Corals in that tank? A Clown Goby could be the way to go.

Yes, 262 gallon sps dominated

 

[Zan's Aquatica]

Hawkfish get my vote because they have an obviously different character than swimming fish!

 

[sfin52]

Yellow watchman. They don't make a big mess.