dfreas wrote:

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?
If so what kind of shrimp and how? At any rate these are another
wonderful substrate cleaner - any dropped food or bits of garbage will
quickly be collected and broken down by most shrimp.

They are nice additions to the community tank, but you need quite a few
of them, otherwise they hide from the fishes and you won't see them
much.

You may also think of crabs, but they definetly require separate tanks,
with fishes added only for food. No plants either, as they would get
shredded in no time. Couple of medium sized pebbles, so the crab can
build its home from them. And a good, heavy cover, so the beast does not
go on an expedition through your home (to its own disadvantage).


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?

Their larvae grow as parasites in the gills of fishes.


And of course there is always the occasional millimeter long worm
inching it's way across the aquarium glass or a tiny hydra attached to
a rock. These are interesting but nearly impossible to keep in any
large quantities since they seem to be prime food for small fish. Of
course I'm not even sure I would want to keep them in large quantities
- I like seeing them occasionaly but I don't think that I would like to
see them bloom.

Use a jam glas or the like to keep them, it's much easier to observe
them in the smaller volume.


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.

I would not mix tropical fishes with the invertebrates of my northern
home, the requirements are too different. But small tanks with
interesting creatures found can be very interesting and educational.
Have you thought of insect larvae (water beetle, dragonfly)? Sponges?
Salamandres (returning to vertebrates now, of course)?