I'll be setting up a 75g aquarium here in the next few months and have begun thinking about adding inverts to the tank. The species of fish in the tank will include various darters, and shiners, as well as a few tadpole madtoms. I'm also considering orange spot sunfish and black-stripe top minnows, among others. The tank will have a substrate consisting of layers of the following: kitty litter or clay, sand, small gravel/large river rocks (out of the Maumee). The tank will also have a fair amount of plants such as vals, anacharis, hornwort, etc. There will also be a 670 gph powerhead on one side. I am wondering if there are any inverts that I could add that would be beneficial, either as a cleanup crew or as a replenishing food source (as supplement to flake/bloodworm/pellet diet). How about snails or maybe ghost shrimp? Perhaps something that would live in the substrate? I'm new to the native fish scene and have a limited knowledge of the common native river inverts as well, so this could sound totally stupid, but could I add blackworms or any other commonly cultured inverts right into the tank? I guess I just like the idea of having more than just fish in the aquarium, even if adding inverts wouldn't make a significant difference. Thanks,
-Jake
Beneficial Inverts?
Started by
Guest_jakemyster44_*
, Feb 26 2011 02:18 PM
13 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
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Posted 26 February 2011 - 02:37 PM
I tried adding japonica cleaner shrimp a couple times. once to my sunfish tank, once to my killifish tank. It seems that native fish species universally regard them as food. (the killies had to tear it up a bit first as it was a bit too big to eat whole).
#3
Guest_MrCatfish_*
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Posted 26 February 2011 - 03:06 PM
Snails are good,plus they make great food for darters and other natives.
#4
Guest_jakemyster44_*
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Posted 26 February 2011 - 03:23 PM
what snail species would you recommend? I'm looking for something that wont eat my plants...
#5
Guest_MrCatfish_*
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Posted 26 February 2011 - 06:34 PM
I like pond snails and so do my darters. Also I have had many different small snails that I have collected from rivers and streams. None of them seemm to bother my plants. Trapdoor snails are big and are livebearers. They didn't bother my plants either.
#6
Guest_schambers_*
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Posted 26 February 2011 - 11:01 PM
Any of the common aquarium pest snails are great, in my tanks they get eaten before they can do any cleaning though.
#7
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Posted 26 February 2011 - 11:53 PM
Any of the common aquarium pest snails are great, in my tanks they get eaten before they can do any cleaning though.
I added plants to my 55 while cycling, about a month before I added fish. The plants had BB style nuisance snails who bred quickly. Until I added my shiners who made quick work of them. People say darters are the big snail eaters but my shiners ate them more than the darters when I had them.
#8
Guest_gzeiger_*
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Posted 27 February 2011 - 09:44 AM
I haven't had any trouble with snails eating plants except for the giant apple snails you sometimes see in stores or dow in Florida (my plants typically die for other reasons). Any snail you collect is likely to be a good choice, although as noted above I haven't managed very impressive survival rates. The Malaysian trumpet snails that are commercially available are more durable but do tend to overpopulate and are regarded by some as a pest (I like them).
Blackworms can certainly be added any time, but unless you have only a few very small fish they won't last long.
If your fish are small enough for them to survive, I really like periwinkles (caddisfly larvae). I wouldn't call them beneficial to the system, and they may eat small amounts of plants, but they are very interesting to watch. The major downside is metamorphosis into a flying insect which some may find objectionable.
Blackworms can certainly be added any time, but unless you have only a few very small fish they won't last long.
If your fish are small enough for them to survive, I really like periwinkles (caddisfly larvae). I wouldn't call them beneficial to the system, and they may eat small amounts of plants, but they are very interesting to watch. The major downside is metamorphosis into a flying insect which some may find objectionable.
#9
Guest_mikez_*
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Posted 27 February 2011 - 12:36 PM
I've had several invert species survive and reproduce over the years but usually in extra densely planted tanks with low fish populations.
For the most part benifits include supplemental food for the fish and breaking down solid waste to speed the nitrification cycle.
I do consider snails beneficial and encourage them to the point of harvesting surplus snails from some tanks to add to others where the fish keep the population down. I don't pay much attention to what species they are. I use a lot of locally collected plants and the 3 or 4 different species that show up on their own work for me.
In heavily planted tanks they seem to eat mostly dead or dying foilage which is why I like them. Most of my tanks have plants as the primary filtration so dead leaves, uneaten food etc needs to be quickly broken down into mulm which turns around the nutrients and gives it back to new growth.
I don't keep too many fragile or valuable plants so if they nibble a leaf here or there, I forgive them.
For the most part benifits include supplemental food for the fish and breaking down solid waste to speed the nitrification cycle.
I do consider snails beneficial and encourage them to the point of harvesting surplus snails from some tanks to add to others where the fish keep the population down. I don't pay much attention to what species they are. I use a lot of locally collected plants and the 3 or 4 different species that show up on their own work for me.
In heavily planted tanks they seem to eat mostly dead or dying foilage which is why I like them. Most of my tanks have plants as the primary filtration so dead leaves, uneaten food etc needs to be quickly broken down into mulm which turns around the nutrients and gives it back to new growth.
I don't keep too many fragile or valuable plants so if they nibble a leaf here or there, I forgive them.
#10
Guest_dafrimpster_*
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Posted 01 March 2011 - 09:12 AM
If there is enough cover Cambarellus Shufeldtii (dwarf cajun crayfish) might work. I put a few in my 180g stream tank a couple years ago. I hadn't seen them in a year or more and last night I was doing a water change and saw several including some juveniles. there are cyprinids, darters and a couple creek chubsuckers in the tank.
Edited by dafrimpster, 01 March 2011 - 09:13 AM.
#11
Guest_rickwrench_*
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Posted 02 March 2011 - 02:36 AM
I'd sure add an inch of backyard dirt under that substrate...
I like to get a colony of blackworms (lumbriculus variegatus, not tubifex) going in all my aquariums (heavily planted, capped dirt substrate).
Snails are great, they eat dead leaves, excess fish food. I have mixed populations of pond and ramshorn snails, plus one ancient nerite (7+ years old).
Grass shrimp are nice additions. They graze on algae, excess fish food (they love frozen bloodworms).
All are preyed upon by one or another of the fish you plan to keep.
Grass shrimp probably won't have a chance.
Some snails always seem to survive.
Blackworms, in my tanks anyway, also always seem to survive.
Crayfish will shred a planted tank.
Rick
I like to get a colony of blackworms (lumbriculus variegatus, not tubifex) going in all my aquariums (heavily planted, capped dirt substrate).
Snails are great, they eat dead leaves, excess fish food. I have mixed populations of pond and ramshorn snails, plus one ancient nerite (7+ years old).
Grass shrimp are nice additions. They graze on algae, excess fish food (they love frozen bloodworms).
All are preyed upon by one or another of the fish you plan to keep.
Grass shrimp probably won't have a chance.
Some snails always seem to survive.
Blackworms, in my tanks anyway, also always seem to survive.
Crayfish will shred a planted tank.
Rick
#12
Guest_schambers_*
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Posted 02 March 2011 - 07:26 PM
I'd sure add an inch of backyard dirt under that substrate...
Rick
Good idea, that will help plant growth. Just make sure it hasn't been exposed to any lawn chemicals.
#13
Guest_dafrimpster_*
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Posted 03 March 2011 - 09:43 AM
Crayfish will shred a planted tank.
Rick
Not true of Cambarellus Shufeldtii (dwarf cajun crayfish). I have been keeping them in planted tanks for a long time. They don't eat live plants.
#14
Guest_smbass_*
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Posted 03 March 2011 - 09:57 AM
Not true of Cambarellus Shufeldtii (dwarf cajun crayfish). I have been keeping them in planted tanks for a long time. They don't eat live plants.
I'll second that. These little crayfish are great occupants for the planted aquarium. They are North Americas answer to all the little exotic shrimp people frequently keep and pay a lot of money for.
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