# Invertebrate Recommendations



## AlanRR (7 Mar 2019)

I am about to order the plants for my first aquarium and would really like to add some inverts after it has had a few weeks of settling in. The tank is 60l with Tropica soil substrate and will be run  without CO2 or heating (the room rarely dips below 20C).

Ideally I’d like some snails and shrimp that will look interesting. If they can also help manage detritus and algae that would be a bonus. The Ramshorn and MTS sound interesting if I can find some. Will they be happy in this sort of setup? Any recommendations on a shrimp species to go with them(or ones to avoid)?

Thanks so much

Alan


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## alto (7 Mar 2019)

AlanRR said:


> The Ramshorn and MTS sound interesting if I can find some


Like inviting an invasion of ... (concluded that all of my allegories just might be unPC  so you’ll need to supply your own )
I’m assuming that MTS is Malaysian Trumpet Snail - once in, these will never be out 

Nerites and Clithon snails are popular as neither reproduce in freshwater (though this won’t prevent some of the larger nerite species from attempting the same ... wee white eggs which require extreme scraping to remove)

Mini yellow rabbit snails are rather cute, well, OK, not quite as cute as their much larger cousins, but easy to have a family in your 60l

Most Neocaridina and Caridina shrimp species will do fine, just look up the basic parameters of those that interest you - note shrimp rather like being surrounded by relatives so I’d begin with 10-12 of whichever species 

Most fish will (eventually) attempt to eat anything in the tank, so establish shrimp first and ensure some ground cover etc, obviously some fish are more/less dedicated to Shrimp Hunting


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## AlanRR (7 Mar 2019)

Great info, thanks @alto.  Now I need to decide if a Trumpet infestation is a good thing or a bad ... there seems to be some controversy around that


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## dw1305 (7 Mar 2019)

Hi all, 





AlanRR said:


> The Ramshorn and MTS sound interesting if I can find some. Will they be happy in this sort of setup?


They are fine in most set-ups, and are tolerant of softer water than most snails. Mine never get very large due to <"shell attrition"> of the older shell whorls.

I've not kept any of the Nerite species, but the <"Assassin Snail  (_Clea helena_) needed harder water"> than I have, and I assume the same may be true of the various Rabbit snails. 

The other snails that persist in my tanks are two small ones, the River Limpet (_Acroloxus lacustris_) and the Tadpole Snail (_Physella acuta_).

cheers Darrel


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## AlanRR (7 Mar 2019)

dw1305 said:


> They are fine in most set-ups, and are tolerant of softer water than most snails. Mine never get very large due to <"shell attrition"> of the older shell whorls.
> 
> I've not kept any of the Nerite species, but the <"Assassin Snail  (_Clea helena_) needed harder water"> than I have, and I assume the same may be true of the various Rabbit snails.
> 
> The other snails that persist in my tanks are two small ones, the River Limpet (_Acroloxus lacustris_) and the Tadpole Snail (_Physella acuta_).



Thanks Darrel, would you consider them an asset or nuisance in a tank I am hoping to be low maintenance or is it simply a matter of personal preference?


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## dw1305 (7 Mar 2019)

Hi all, 





AlanRR said:


> would you consider them an asset or nuisance in a tank


I would consider them<" massively an asset">, particularly in tanks with shrimps.

Lots of people have successful snail free tanks (@Tim Harrison ), but I look on the detritus and algae eating species as a real bonus. I have <"Snails, _Asellus, Crangonyx, Lumbriculus">_ etc. in all the tanks, they aren't to everyone's tastes but I think there are advantages to them.

I'll be quite honest with you, I'm  a pretty shoddy fish and plant keeper, fairly lazy and careful with my money, all of which means that organisms (plants, snails, live food) that help with any of my faults are really welcomed.

Some people like tinkering with their tanks, I'm the opposite. I only like to make any intervention if I have to do it. 

I'm of the opinion that water changes (and feeding the fish) are necessary evils, but after that if a tank will run without intervention it does.

cheers Darrel


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## Oldguy (7 Mar 2019)

AlanRR said:


> Ramshorn


For your setup have you thought about the smaller UK ramshorns. All like 'calcareous waters', but the smaller species would not overwhelm your 60l tank. You would have to go pond dipping to get them. They differ from young Greater Ramshorns by being very thin compared with the width or diameter of the shell. They are usually found hidden in aquatic vegetation. [Still value my _John Clegg_]


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## AlanRR (7 Mar 2019)

Oldguy said:


> For your setup have you thought about the smaller UK ramshorns. All like 'calcareous waters', but the smaller species would not overwhelm your 60l tank. You would have to go pond dipping to get them. They differ from young Greater Ramshorns by being very thin compared with the width or diameter of the shell. They are usually found hidden in aquatic vegetation. [Still value my _John Clegg_]



ooh I like the sound of that.  My water is very soft but I plan to throw some shell grit in so that might work.  There is a sad lack of ponds (or lakes) around here (North Yorks) but I'll see if I can turn anything up.


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## AlanRR (7 Mar 2019)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, I would consider them<" massively an asset">, particularly in tanks with shrimps.
> 
> Lots of people have successful snail free tanks (@Tim Harrison ), but I look on the detritus and algae eating species as a real bonus. I have <"Snails, _Asellus, Crangonyx, Lumbriculus">_ etc. in all the tanks, they aren't to everyone's tastes but I think there are advantages to them.
> 
> ...



Brilliant, they always sounded great to me and I also plan for my tank to be as low maintenance as possible


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## Oldguy (7 Mar 2019)

AlanRR said:


> North Yorks


You might to like to see threads on using heather wands/stems as 'roots' in aquascaping. You can glue plants like Anubias Nana Petite to them.


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