Thusly "dfreas" Spake Unto All:

We all know pretty much all we need to know about freshwater snails.

Do you? http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/Theodoxus_fluviatilis.htm

Which brings us to another great invert. Shrimp. I keep ghost shrimp
and often see the females carrying eggs but alas the babies never grow
to adulthood. I suspect they get eaten by the fish and other shrimp in
the tank. Has anyone had success breeding shrmip in a community tank?

http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/breeding_yamato.htm

The invert that I'm most interested in at the moment would be the
bivalves. I have half a dozen golden clams in my tank but this is
hardly enough to satisfy me. All of my other invert populations are
constantly reproducing except these guys. Has anyone had any success at
all with getting a freshwater bivalve of any type to reproduce in
normal aquarium settings?

Do you feed them large amounts of phytoplankton?
Because if you're not, they're slowly, over a course of several
months, starving to death, and that's not conducive to reproduction.

For bivalves with parasitic larvae you also need suitable hosts in the
tank. They can't parasitize any old fish, you know.

My quest for the most natural aquarium I can achieve marches on and I
would like to hear the experiences of everyone else who has kept
invertibrates in large numbers. IMHO these guys are improving water
quality and tank interest immensly, they truly are the difference
between a tank full of fish and a tank exploding with natural life.

You'll get a kick out of this one:
http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/specime...d_Dscn8485.jpg
An aquatic slime mold. Possibly the most bizarre creature I've ever
kept. It's usually crawling around on the glass.

Anyway: yeah, invertebrates rule!
I wish freshwater tanks could have as rich and varied invertebrate
fauna as reeftanks do.

-Daniel