Hello from an invertebrate enthusiast!

[PoetaCorvi]

Hello!

I’ve had a fascination with marine invertebrates for a while now. I have decent experience keeping terrestrial inverts (mostly arthropods), but have yet to venture into aquatics. I had a lot of people tell me I needed to master freshwater first, but I’m not very interested in freshwater and it kinda kept me from entering the hobby. Then I realized they were usually talking about marine fish, not marine invertebrates. I don’t see myself keeping marine fish in the near future, but I’m eager to learn more about creating marine invertebrate setups!

I’m particularly interested in crustaceans, which already make up most of my terrestrial inverts (isopods lol)!

My first project will hopefully be an ecosphere/pico tank comprised of plankton collected from the atlantic! I’ve badly wanted to observe marine plankton up close, since it gives access to a huge range of biodiversity in a single container. I figured instead of buying plankton to observe and then just.. letting it die, I could set up a small marine tank and see if I can sustain a miniature ecosystem.

I also have an empty 40 gallon breeder. It was originally for a large group of desert beetles, but that project ended a while ago and now it’s just been sitting there for a few months. I’ve pondered on a lot of ideas, but still not sure what I want to do yet haha.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Pvtgloss]

 

[FrugalReefer]

 

[Gman83]

Welcome!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I like the inverts as much as the fish in this hobby - the pico tank would be cool; let me know when you start that one so I can follow along and see how it goes! Also, if you end up using the 40 gallon tank for an invert only tank, you could do some really cool stuff with it.

Freshwater has some cool inverts (like tadpole shrimp and clam shrimp), but saltwater seems to have a broader range of cool inverts. Terrestrial inverts are super cool too, but in a different way (p.s. you may be able to get some good marine isopods for your tank to go with their terrestrial counterparts).

Any idea what you'd do with the 40 gallon tank if you used it?

 

[Uncle99]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Narideth]

I also keep isopods! Armadillidium maculatum specifically, nothing too fancy, but building and observing a small ecosystem within an enclosure is definitely a great way to consider this hobby and part of what I enjoy about it.

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

 

[VintageReefer]

Hands down. Get a peacock mantis shrimp. They are super intelligent, arguably the most advanced vision in the animal kingdom. Learns to recognize the owner. Underwater engineer that will break rocks and make caves and then “close the door”. Stunning colors. If you like inverts it would be great to have one that interacts with you and recognizes you. He will become your best friend

 

[Fish Styx]

Greetings and welcome to the reef!

 

[Ocean_Queenie]

Hello & Welcome

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[PoetaCorvi]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I like the inverts as much as the fish in this hobby - the pico tank would be cool; let me know when you start that one so I can follow along and see how it goes! Also, if you end up using the 40 gallon tank for an invert only tank, you could do some really cool stuff with it.

Freshwater has some cool inverts (like tadpole shrimp and clam shrimp), but saltwater seems to have a broader range of cool inverts. Terrestrial inverts are super cool too, but in a different way (p.s. you may be able to get some good marine isopods for your tank to go with their terrestrial counterparts).

Any idea what you'd do with the 40 gallon tank if you used it?

Thanks!! Will keep you updated on the pico tank progress

There’s definitely some cool freshwater guys! But like you said, marine just has wayy more diversity. I’ve definitely kept an eye on possible marine isopods, it’s tough since marine isopods don’t seem terribly common in captivity (though that’s from my perspective in the terrestrial isopod community, they might be more common in the reef community). There are some absolutely gorgeous marine/beach isopods, would love to keep them if I can figure out the husbandry.

I’ve gone through a looot of ideas for the 40 gallon. At one point I wanted to do viper geckos, but decided I want my own place before I start getting geckos. I’ve wanted vampire crabs for a while but I probably wouldn’t dedicate a whole 40 gal breeder to a few of the guys unless I started breeding em. Right now my mind’s on some sort of coastal/tidepool setup meant to support semi-aquatic marine invertebrates. I’d want to stock it with a variety of inverts that can cohab well, just haven’t done much research yet since I only recently thought about it.

 

[PoetaCorvi]

Hands down. Get a peacock mantis shrimp. They are super intelligent, arguably the most advanced vision in the animal kingdom. Learns to recognize the owner. Underwater engineer that will break rocks and make caves and then “close the door”. Stunning colors. If you like inverts it would be great to have one that interacts with you and recognizes you. He will become your best friend

It’s funny you say this because I have been absolutely OBSESSED with these things, they’re what got me interested in marine inverts in the first place!! I adore them so much, I definitely intend on eventually having a peacock mantis shrimp at some point. Just want to make sure I get the hang of marine stuff and also learn enough about peacock mantis husbandry! There seems to be a lot of debate on certain things, I hear very different answers on whether an acrylic tank is needed lol.

 

[PoetaCorvi]

I also keep isopods! Armadillidium maculatum specifically, nothing too fancy, but building and observing a small ecosystem within an enclosure is definitely a great way to consider this hobby and part of what I enjoy about it.

Maculatums are a gorgeous species!!

100% agree, getting to witness the dynamics between different species and how they balance out in a small ecosystem is incredible, I find it so so interesting.

 

[VintageReefer]

It’s funny you say this because I have been absolutely OBSESSED with these things, they’re what got me interested in marine inverts in the first place!! I adore them so much, I definitely intend on eventually having a peacock mantis shrimp at some point. Just want to make sure I get the hang of marine stuff and also learn enough about peacock mantis husbandry! There seems to be a lot of debate on certain things, I hear very different answers on whether an acrylic tank is needed lol.

I kept one full lifespan in a 28g glass nano cube. I wouldn’t put in cheap thin glass 5g tank lol but a 40b would be good. They really don’t strike the glass unless you encourage it. They are builders and want to smash rock or shells

 

[Subsea]

kudos to your first post & vision:

With respect to phytoplankton culture with your invert tank, if your inverts were filter feeders then dosing phytoplanjton would be good. If you want specific sustainable phyto to study, you require culture equipment to be sanitized. Many reputable online vendors.

Aim for the Stars, Keep your feet on the ground.

“My first project will hopefully be an ecosphere/pico tank comprised of plankton collected from the atlantic! I’ve badly wanted to observe marine plankton up close, since it gives access to a huge range of biodiversity in a single container. I figured instead of buying plankton to observe and then just.. letting it die, I could set up a small marine tank and see if I can sustain a miniature ecosystem.“

 

[Subsea]

I kept one full lifespan in a 28g glass nano cube. I wouldn’t put in cheap thin glass 5g tank lol but a 40b would be good. They really don’t strike the glass unless you encourage it. They are builders and want to smash rock or shells

That is a gorgeous peacock. Mine was not so pretty in 120G. Between peacock & octopus, I don’t know who is smarter, but I do know who wins the “food fight”

 

[Buckster]

Hello and Welcome to R2R! I really enjoy my inverts!