sand sifting star vs. hector goby vs. conch

[whatcaneyedo]

The only people that I've personally known to keep sand sifting stars alive long term had 500 and 225gal aquariums with very large sand beds. I foolishly tried one myself years ago in my 120gal when it had 90lbs of sand. At that time the sand was only 1-2 years old and the star lasted about a month.

Cerith snails might be a good choice for you. They stay small and they eat algae in and around the sand bed unlike nassarius which are detritivores. To start I'd only buy one or two for that little tank then see how they do before adding more.