What’s not to like about sea anemones? They’re basically big, squishy, solitary polyps with no skeleton. Very often, they are graced with beautiful bright colors. Their long polyps passively drift in the currents, so pretty and graceful that you might forget the powerful sting they can deliver. Even in a tank loaded with flashy corals, …
Invertebrates
Invertebrates are animals that lack (as you might guess) vertebrae–backbones. This is not a very meaningful distinction from a zoologist’s perspective, as it pretty much includes all animals except for one phyllum, Chordata, if not a single subphyllum, Vertebrata. Still, it is a somewhat useful distinction for aquarists, who tend to best understand the needs of fish (i.e. fellow vertebrates). Fish are very widely available and generally are relatively easy to maintain in captivity. They are active and reasonably (sometimes surprisingly) intelligent. We can even (at least to some extent) train them. Invertebrates, on the other hand, might seem a comparatively alien. Often, they don’t eat in the same manner that we do. They may require very special foods or lighting. They might be extremely fussy about certain water parameters (iodine, calcium, etc.). For sure, they might be a little intimidating for beginner aquarists. Worst of all, because they are such a diverse group (everything from sponges to octopuses to mantis shrimp!), they oftentimes require a lot of research and planning to keep successfully in captivity. All that being said, it is the sheer variety of marine inverts as a group that makes them so fun and rewarding to keep in aquaria. For sure, nothing can be more amusing for an aquarist to show their well-stocked reef tank to a non-aquarist friend/family member and get questions like, “Is that real?” or, ”Is that alive?” In this section, you will learn about the natural history of diverse invertebrate marine life and how to successfully keep each type in captivity.
The Cerith Snail: A “Must-Have” Cleaner
Most aquarists are already aware that snails eat algae. To be most correct, the majority of snail species are algivores. To be sure, some have extremely specialized diets that do not include algae; other snails are technically omnivores, eating all sorts of things including algae. Then, for marine aquarists in particular, there is the issue …
Sea Urchins in the Reef Aquarium
My first sight of a real, live sea urchin was in an aquarium (a friend’s) rather than in the sea. This was in my youth (i.e. quite a long time ago) in the upper Midwest–a time and place when/where marine aquarium livestock was quite difficult to get your hands on. Back then, and especially there, …
Keeping Tube Worms
Undoubtedly, reef aquaria wouldn’t be much without corals. But sometimes it’s those odd noncoral invertebrates that really grab attention and make a display unique. This is certainly so in the case of marine tube worms. To be clear, we’re not talking about the squirmy little wormlike critters here (nematodes, planarians, etc.). We mean the true …
Keeping Mushroom Anemones
No one starts a saltwater aquarium because they hate challenges. Indeed, it is the difficulty (or at least perceived difficulty) of maintaining these systems that is so alluring to many first-time marine aquarists. That being said, it’s always good to take the stroll towards full-blown reefkeeping in baby steps. Veteran hobbyists have seen it so …
Keeping Tube Anemones
Because most marine aquarists these days are reef aquarists–implying that they prefer tanks that feature a mainly rocky reef aquascape–not much attention is given to those animals that live in soft substrates (sand, mud, etc.). This especially is the case most lately with the renewed popularity of bare-bottom scapes. Unfortunately, while reefy aquaria are awesome …
3 Tips for Keeping Maxima Clams
For a couple of decades now, tridacnid or “giant” clams (genera Tridacna and Hippopus) have been regarded as the cherries on top of any well-constructed and well-maintained reef aquarium. Though there have been a couple of newcomers along the way, most members of the relatively small family Tridacnidae have been available in the trade all …
Eliminating Algae with Siphonaria Limpets
In case you haven’t noticed, marine aquarium hobbyists have really upped their standards lately with respect to algal fouling. These much cleaner, healthier, natural-looking tanks surely are the fruit of numerous advancements in water filtration/treatment techniques. But we’ve slipped a few other cards under our sleeves, too; we’ve added an important new component to the …
How to Acclimate Your Captive Bred Invertebrates
Aquarists like to broadly divide classes of aquarium livestock into two big groups, the fishes and the invertebrates. The second group is a huge catch-all, as it includes all non-fish livestock ranging from sponges to crabs. Though invertebrates are overall more sensitive than fish to sudden environmental change, ideal acclimation procedure varies somewhat between the …
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All About Saltwater Tank Crabs
Crabs can be fun, interesting, and helpful additions to a saltwater aquarium. There is a large variety of saltwater tank crabs that are available for hobbyists to buy. From the Emerald to the Horseshoe to hermits, they come in many different shapes and sizes and with that many different uses as well. Crabs are a …
Saltwater Tank Cleaners
Utilizing saltwater creatures is one of the best ways to keep aquariums cleaner. Not only are you adding more interesting organisms, but you are also increasing biodiversity. This allows for an overall more stable reef. There are quite a few of these saltwater tank cleaners that will prove to be a great helping hand to …
Starfish in Saltwater Aquariums
When it comes to marine aquariums, and reef tank setups in particular, the number of fish you can realistically keep in the system is limited. But, the variety and number of invertebrates you can keep are almost endless. Almost. Even tanks as small as five gallons can house a few Sexy Shrimp and micro brittle …
Breeding Peppermint Shrimp
Peppermint shrimp, or Candy Cane shrimp, are one of the most popular ornamental shrimp within the aquarium trade. In fact, they are so popular that they are intensely harvested, more so than most other invertebrate species. With them being so popular, and their ease of breeding, we really should be working together as hobbyists to …
What snails do you really need?
Remember those early saltwater keeping days, when you didn’t know much about your clean up crew other than that they can help keep your tank looking better and reduce algae scraping on your part? Typically, beginners simply go to their fish store, ask for “some cleaners, maybe some hermits and snails please” without really knowing …
Derasa Clam Care
The Derasa Clam (Tridacna derasa) is the second-largest clam of the Tridacna clams. It is also one of the easier clams to care for. This clam can grow to about 20 inches in captivity. They typically have a brown gold coloration with white stripes or spots. It may also have bright blue along the outline …
Keeping Clams in the Reef Tank
I remember getting about six months to a year into this hobby, thinking I knew everything about proper water parameters, lighting, dosing, and keeping a reef tank in general. Or, at least enough to keep most coral alive. I had zoanthid, leather, and ricordea colonies thriving and my rose Bubble Tips had never looked better, …
Tunicates in the Marine Aquarium
Aquarium hobbyists, and reef aquarists in particular, are anything but conformists. If truth be told, they love to stand out from the crowd. There are all sorts of ways to break from the pack–experimenting with novel equipment or methodologies, building a supremely aesthetic aquascape, and so on. But the one sure way to garner attention …
All About Saltwater Snails
They are found in freshwater, saltwater, and on land; they are called snails! Hobbyists have found saltwater snails to be one of the best critters for reef aquarium algae control. There is a saltwater snail for almost every kind of algae. For this reason, It is not surprising that they are one of the most …
A More In Depth Look At Captive Bred Livestock
Once upon a time, all of our saltwater fish, invertebrates, and corals were wild caught, there was no captive bred livestock anywhere. Hobbyists were still using compact fluorescent bulbs and tap water in their reef tanks, under gravel filters were still cutting edge technology, and most people had their fish for six to twenty four …
A Beginners Guide to Mysis Shrimp
Just like any other pet or animal you care for, it is important to be sure that the inhabitants of your saltwater aquarium are getting the best possible food so that they can live longer and healthier. The best way to do this is by feeding them live natural food, such as mysis or mysid …