Inbertebrate Selection Help Needed

[DarkShadow435]

I had a Mystery Snail for the past few months, and after introducing a dwarf gourami into the tank he was in, the gourami started bullying the snail, so i had to remove him and bring him to one of my tanks at work. Sadly, i really loved my snail, and i didnt want to see him go. So, i was wondering, if there are any other suggestions for cool invertebrates or such that i could put in my tank without the risk of it being bullied or killed.

Here is a link to a post with pictures of the tank it would go in.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?s=&amp...t&p=1549262

The list of inhabitants is in my signature. It's my 50 gallon home tank. I'm planning on getting some peaceful cichlids like blue rams and some others.

Can somebody help me out?

 

[Galedav]

I would add some triops, but if you do grow them in a seperate tank untill they are about 1inch big. they might get eaten but with triops you can start over a again

 

[DarkShadow435]

I just researched triops, and as cool and neat as they are, i'd rather not have something that is going to die off in less than 14 days, and decompose in my tank, polluting my water.

 

[Invader Xan]

If you have any rockwork or other sufficient hiding places, you could possibly think about a crayfish...

 

[~T~]

I would add some triops, but if you do grow them in a seperate tank untill they are about 1inch big. they might get eaten but with triops you can start over a again

Look will you stop recommending triops to everyone they are a terrible choice to keep with fish, they will either get eaten or will eat their smaller tankmates.Also they dont seem to do very well in large filtered tanks(apparently).

 

[DarkShadow435]

I would add some triops, but if you do grow them in a seperate tank untill they are about 1inch big. they might get eaten but with triops you can start over a again

Look will you stop recommending triops to everyone they are a terrible choice to keep with fish, they will either get eaten or will eat their smaller tankmates.Also they dont seem to do very well in large filtered tanks(apparently).

......... I assume he does this with everyone?

They are pretty cool looking, and if they didnt live 14 days, i'd definately do somethin with them, but i dont go for things with that short of a lifespan. I like to get attached to my pets.

 

[Invader Xan]

To play devil's advocate...
Triops cancriformis live for about 3 months if you take care of them (there are reports of them living longer), and I've heard before that they can be a very helpful part of the tank cleanup crew -- they'll eat literally any detritus that falls to the tank floor. And unless the fish is ill (or possibly asleep), I don't think a triops would have the attention span to catch one.
They're not for everyone, and they can be troublesome, I'll agree, but credit where it's due, they're not a bad suggestion...


For other suggestions... You could try a couple of ghost shrimp...? Possibly even a fairly peaceful macro (long arm shrimp). Macrobrachium Lanchesteri might be an option (about the size of a ghost shrimp and probably not dangerous to anything larger than a neon tetra). Be cautious of any other macros though -- they're actually very good at catching small fish!

 

[Galedav]

I would add some triops, but if you do grow them in a seperate tank untill they are about 1inch big. they might get eaten but with triops you can start over a again

Look will you stop recommending triops to everyone they are a terrible choice to keep with fish, they will either get eaten or will eat their smaller tankmates.Also they dont seem to do very well in large filtered tanks(apparently).

as long as the tank is big enough the filtering does well, also the bigger the tank the better it is for adult triops. Filtering is no problem for them.

I would add some triops, but if you do grow them in a seperate tank untill they are about 1inch big. they might get eaten but with triops you can start over a again

Look will you stop recommending triops to everyone they are a terrible choice to keep with fish, they will either get eaten or will eat their smaller tankmates.Also they dont seem to do very well in large filtered tanks(apparently).

......... I assume he does this with everyone?

They are pretty cool looking, and if they didnt live 14 days, i'd definately do somethin with them, but i dont go for things with that short of a lifespan. I like to get attached to my pets.

they only live fourteen days if you dont look after them properly, and they are a good choice, just provide a hiding place elevated off the bootom of the tank and your fish will be fine

 

[~T~]

I would add some triops, but if you do grow them in a seperate tank untill they are about 1inch big. they might get eaten but with triops you can start over a again

Look will you stop recommending triops to everyone they are a terrible choice to keep with fish, they will either get eaten or will eat their smaller tankmates.Also they dont seem to do very well in large filtered tanks(apparently).

as long as the tank is big enough the filtering does well, also the bigger the tank the better it is for adult triops. Filtering is no problem for them.

I would add some triops, but if you do grow them in a seperate tank untill they are about 1inch big. they might get eaten but with triops you can start over a again

Look will you stop recommending triops to everyone they are a terrible choice to keep with fish, they will either get eaten or will eat their smaller tankmates.Also they dont seem to do very well in large filtered tanks(apparently).

......... I assume he does this with everyone?

They are pretty cool looking, and if they didnt live 14 days, i'd definately do somethin with them, but i dont go for things with that short of a lifespan. I like to get attached to my pets.

they only live fourteen days if you dont look after them properly, and they are a good choice, just provide a hiding place elevated off the bootom of the tank and your fish will be fine

They are opportunistic predators and will easily eat fish as large as platies and mollies.

 

[three-fingers]

Triops arn't very good at catching fish - because hundreds of millions of years ago they evolved to live in vernal pools specifically to get away from fish.

They are however on the prowl 24/7 (so they will get sleeping fish) and are indiscriminate in what they eat. If they stumble across a fish near the ground, they will go to grab it and eat it alive. Triops have a pretty strong 'grip', so the chances of any fish smaller than them escaping isn't all that great.

They don't actually chase the fish, but if they sense something they will pounce on it.

They wont bother catching fish if there is enough other food for them.

T.cancriformis are the least predatory of the triops you can buy, but you should take 2 things into consideration:

1)These guys have a potential to reach ~4.5" in large a aquarium, so can take more than just small tetras, your mollies would be a good meal..
2)In a clean fish tank with not much in the way of detritus and waste food they will go looking for food and become more active, which means they are just as likely as T.longicaudatus to eat the food.

In your 50gal, T.longicaudatus would eat your fry, and although it's pretty unlikely the could manage a fully grown platy or black skirt tetra, they could possibly still 'attack' them at night and do a little damage.

No triops should live just 14 days, I don't know where you got that number from. IMO the shortest you should expect a triops to live is 30 days, but that depends entirely on the environmental conditions like temperature, light and the mass of food they consume .

In short, triops arent perfect for a tank with fish in it. They can work sometimes, but there's always some risk to either the fish or triops.