any invertebrate fans here?

in other words, the brown crap that always ends up on the gravel/sand after a water change, and you can never quite get rid of it all:mad: .

for my next trick with my biorb, i'm putting cardinals in, see if it works across species:D
 
I have a variety of snails, glass shrimp, amanos. Tons of other inverts, but they are SW. ;)

And, just yesterday I was able to sit in on a class on FW mussels, also known as FW clams. After listening to an expert, I have come to the conclusion that they really are not a good candidate for the aquarium. First, they are filter feeders. While this is often interpreted to mean they will help clean your tank water, what really happens is they starve because there are not enough solid organics in the water for them. Second, mussels are considered 'canaries' in streams--they are indicative of water quality simply by their presence. Mussels will not live in waters with even very low levels of toxins (nitrogen being on the list of toxins). Even with daily water changes, the presenter had problems keeping them alive for more than a few months. Third, only a few species remain above the surface, most bury themselves into the substrate with only their intake and out flow tubes showing. Hard to keep track of them and their health. Many species will not bury themselves in gravel substrate, so a deep, muddy bottom is needed--not great for most fish tanks.

Fourth, and possibly more significant, the larval stage of mussels parasitive fish. Of the 360 native species, 359 parasitize fish--one parasitizes larval salamanders. Most are specific in their host, but the hardier species can parasitize pretty much any fish that's available. Like ich, severe infestations will kill the host.
 
Blue crayfish. Great little guy. I think I have a pic in my sig if you wanna see him. Funny thing is I bought him for US$14 and now I cant find another one for less than US$25. I also saw this electric blue Aussie Lobster looks just like mine but it had a brighter deeper blue almost electric. The guy wanted US$50 which is way too much for me but they were beautiful. I am also getting some ramshorns today to eat some of the decaying plants and algae in my planted tanks. :)
 
hi,

invertebrates are popular in germany. *the* reference page is www.wirbellose.de.

right now i have lots of apple snails (violet, blue, white)

lila.jpg


and here is my favourite, the klingon warrior:

klingone2.jpg


it is a cherax sp. "tiger", very much like a ch. papuanus

and of course there are my dwarf crayfish http://www.cambarellus.de

cheers,
roland
 
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