Invert Only

[randomguysmell]

Would it be easier or harder to keep a nano with only inverts and maybe 1-2 clowns than keeping a 45 gallon FOWLR tank?

 

[steelhealr]

That's a tough question..in general.....speaking from experience...nano tanks are harder to take care only from the perspective that you have inadequater water volume to give cushion for errors. SH

 

[randomguysmell]

I'm just wondering as shrimp and crabs don't really put much bioload, anyone else have an opinion?

 

[Fish Fingers]

IMO I think it would be easier and if things got bad the consequences would be easier to cope with. Even with a nano it would be pretty hard to have ammonia, nitrate spikes, etc due to inverts not having a big bioload but you would need to be more careful with things like salinity, iodine, etc. Also there could be restrictions with what inverts you have due to the small tank size (like you couldn't put 2 banded coral shrimp into 5 gallon tank coz they would kill one another) and it depends what inverts your wanting to keep. Another good thing about inverts is that if one dies its not so much of a biggie as a fish dieing (though you'd still want to get it out fast to avoid any spikes(if your other inverts don't eat it of course)). As for nano's being harder to look after, I don't agree with this and think that if you actually take the time to research and do everything properly than you should have no problems. It's just because people rush into them and screw things up they give people the impression that it's harder. That being said I would much prefer putting some time into a bigger tank and getting a much nicer and well earned result. If you where showing of your tank it would be much nicer to show a tank full of fish than full of snails.

Some things to think about:
Inverts:
-Very Little Bioload
-Can have a lot of them
-Easy to feed
-Pretty boring

FOWLR:
-More expensive
-Looks nicer
-Harder to maintain
-Need a varied diet
-Could only hand 5 or 6
-You could still have a bunch on inverts
-More rewarding
-Can change to a nice reef set up when you feel confident

Anyway in the end it's up to whether you want to go the extra mile, set up a FOWLR, and get much better results. But, if you want the easy option, inverts would be the way to go.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

The thing is, wierd little things seem to find a way of happening no matter how experienced you are. And a small tank doesnt allow mistakes. Inverts are pretty boring because the ones you would be looking at would be 1 shrimp, a few non-aggressive hermits or MAYBE another crab, IDK if there is another that isnt aggressive though. O and snails, but I think those are pretty much it for that size of tank. I personally think that a FOWLR would be a much better choice if you can afford it. It is so rewarding and entertaining and interesting. If you have experience with FW fish, youd be amazed at how much personality SW fish have, and the colors are amazing. Its what drew me in as a very young child.

 

[Donya]

Inverts are pretty boring

Hey now! You just have to develope an appreciation for the sutbleties of invertebrate behavior...even if you do need a time-lapse camera to appreciate some of it Shrimp and crabs can be quite entertaining, and I've seen some really nice looking invert-only marine tanks (and fresh/brackish ones too). I have to say though that I don't think inverts of any sort are neceassarily "easier"...what makes any animal easy to take care of is how much you know about it beforehand and whether its care has become a reflex from experience. The difficulty is always there, just in different areas.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Well im not the only one but right now since my main tank is empty of fish, the shrimp in there is the coolest thing to watch besides the slipper tongue at feeding time [and some unidentified red coral that ive had since i started out and it seems to be easy to keep alive]

 

[Fish Fingers]

Inverts are pretty boring

Hey now! You just have to develope an appreciation for the sutbleties of invertebrate behavior...even if you do need a time-lapse camera to appreciate some of it Shrimp and crabs can be quite entertaining, and I've seen some really nice looking invert-only marine tanks (and fresh/brackish ones too). I have to say though that I don't think inverts of any sort are neceassarily "easier"...what makes any animal easy to take care of is how much you know about it beforehand and whether its care has become a reflex from experience. The difficulty is always there, just in different areas.

Ok ok so they are not boring . The point I was trying to get across was that fish are better .

Another thing with inverts is you do't need to worry about diseases. I'm sure there are some but I've never heard of them in aquaria.

 

[steelhealr]

I have to comment that a nano tank, whether it be invert only or fully stocked, is still difficult to keep. Try and manage a 10 gallon tank with a cyano outbreak or hair algae. The simple size of the tank precludes you from adding livestock that can aid you in it's management. In addition, if you don't think that ONE dead snail can crash a nano...trust me...it can. Have one large turbo die in the rockwork and it can cause problems. Bottom line....anything under 40 gallons poses problems that may be more easily managed than a large marine tank. SH

 

[fish_keeper2]

invert only can be a bit easier but not much. you still have moniter the sg, temp, and all the water stats. plus if suplement your tank such as iodine you need to get a test kit to moniter levels of that too. i dont think inverts are boring. my fish are currently undergoing ich treatment in a quarantine tank and all thats left in the main tank is 1 hawaiian fether duster along with 5-6 small ones, 1 zooanthus frag(which as doubled in size since i got it(about a month or so ago) and its under 1.5 wpg), and my cleaning crew which is 3 hermits, 3 astraea snails, 3 nassarious snails, and last night i replaced my skunk cleaner shrimp(which died for some reason about a week ago) and picked up an arrow/spider crab. personaly i like it the way it is even with out fish. just want some more corals but i want to upgrade my lighting first which wont be for a while because i need to upgrade most of my freshwater tanks.

 

[Donya]

Try and manage a 10 gallon tank with a cyano outbreak or hair algae.

Wouldn't initial stocking towards the snail side help that, like the Nerita/Neritina species and some bigger hair eaters? I guess it would take up space/biocapacity that could be used for other interesting stuff though.

 

[steelhealr]

Yes..in that you wouldn't need to feed the tank and that would reduce nutrient load. I had a cyano outbreak early on and my astreas would eat some of it. BTW....I found an astrea snail on it's side yesterday (most know that astreas can't right themselves if they fall over). Didn't see an animal, pulled it..and it stank badly. Died. Inverts only may make nano water husbandry a tad simpler but not necessarily easier to manage. SH