They have their bad points too. They eat plants, poop a lot, and use space and oxygen you might have intended for your fish or shrimp. Snails can also act as an alternate host for some fish diseases, and for this reason you should never collect them from your local pond or lake.

The family Lymnaeidae is known as the pond snails. There are multiple species known as pond snails, and figuring out precisely which one you have in your aquarium may be more trouble than it’s worth. They are all hermaphroditic, and those seen in aquariums generally stay below 1 inch in length, although some seen in the wild can be nearly three inches.

Care and Feeding of Pond Snails:

They eat fishfood, algae, and soft leaved aquarium plants. They do not eat fish poop or have a noticeable effect on java ferns or java moss. Dissolved metals are often toxic to them, and fish medications based on metals, especially copper, should be avoided. Fish medications using dyes may also be toxic, although mine have survive Victoria Green B with no obvious ill effects. They prefer water that isn’t soft and acidic as they require calcium for shell formation. Mine is surviving in soft, acidic water, but its shell is showing signs of problems.

How to Avoid Pond Snail Overpopulation:

• Don’t overfeed. If they don’t have sufficient food, their population won’t explode.
• If you don’t want these snails, try picking over and quarantining plants before introducing them to the main tank.

How to Reduce Your Pond Snail Population:

• Put lettuce in a small container with the lid off. When snails collect in the container, remove it from the tank with the snails.
• Buy fish that like to eat snails. Puffer fishes, convict cichlids, certain african cichlids, clown loaches and yoyo loaches are sometimes recommended. But before you buy, check that the species you choose will fit in well with your other fish and not grow too large or require water conditions you can’t provide.
• Remove them by hand. If you have a lot, this will take a long time and you’ll never manage to get all of them.
• Use a snail killing chemical. However, chemicals that contain copper sulfate tend to be toxic to fish as well and need to be used with great care. You may prefer to use another method.

Sources:

How to Get Rid of Small Snails

Pond Snails, Bane or Boon?

Ryan Wood. Pond Snail. Planet Inverts.

The Living World of Molluscs. Pond Snails Lymnaeidae

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Shrimp tolerate a wide variety of temperatures but temperature tolerances vary between species. Most will tolerate normal tropical aquarium temperatures, but some require higher temperatures and others are quite happy at temperatures lower than most tropical fish will stand.

Because shrimp keeping is a young part of the aquarium hobby, estimates of what temperatures a specific species like vary between sources. For example, the Amano shrimp is a common, well known shrimp in the hobby. Planet Inverts gives a temperature range for this species of 68-82F, while shrimpfanatics gives a range of 10-28C (50-82F) and most books on the aquarium hobby have no detailed information on aquarium shrimp at all! It is also noticeable that different captive-bred color varieties of the same species are sometimes given as having different temperature ranges. This is possible if the color varieties came from different areas or were kept under different captive conditions for long periods of time, but it is not very likely. It makes me suspicious of the information’s accuracy.

What can one do in such a situation? Pick what seems the most likely estimate for the shrimp you wish to keep. This is usually the parts of the range that overlap between sources. In the case of the Amano shrimp, that would be 68-82F. Watch your shrimp. Are they dying? Are they eating enthusiastically? Are they breeding? Adjust temperatures until your shrimp show the full range of healthy behaviors. Once you have this information, put your results up on the net and let other people know. In an area of the hobby this new, we all have the ability to add to what is known.

For those of you trying to pick a shrimp species, here are temperature ranges for shrimp with non-standard temperature tolerances. All information here is from Planet Inverts.

Aquarium shrimp that tolerate cool water (minimum less than 70F):

Amano Shrimp Caridina multidentata 68-82F
Bee Shrimp Caridina cantonensis “Bee” 64-78F
Caridina cantonensis “blue tiger” 69-81F
Caridina cantonensis “crystal red” 64-78F
Dark Green Shrimp Caridina sp. “Dark Green” 68-82F
Glass/Grass Shrimp Palaemonetes paludosus 64-85F
Golden Bee Shrimp Caridina cantonensis “Golden Bee” 64-78F
Neocaridina heteropoda 64-82F
Orange Bee Shrimp Caridina cantonensis “Orange Bee” 69-81F
Red Cherry Shrimp Neocaridina heteropoda “red” 64-82F
Red Tiger Shrimp Caridina cantonensis “Red Tiger” 59-81F
Snowball Shrimp Neocaridina cf. Zhanjiajiensis var. “white” 69-82F
Tiger Shrimp Caridina cantonensis 59-81F
Caridina cantonensis “white bee” 64-78F

Shrimp that require high temperatures (minimum 75F and up)

Brown Camo Shrimp Caridina sp. “Brown Camo” 78-85F
Cardinal Shrimp Caridina sp. “Cardinal” 78-85F
Harlequin Shrimp Caridina cf. spongicola “Harlequin” 78-85F
Orange Delight Shrimp Caridina sp. “Orange delight” 78-85F
Red Goldflake Shrimp Caridina sp. “Goldflake” 78-85F
Sulawesi Shrimp Sp. name not given, new intro. 80-82F

Sources:

Planet Inverts

Shrimpfanatics

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Freshwater Shrimp

Freshwater shrimp are probably the most decorative freshwater invertebrates.  There are many species, each with its own color pattern and mode of life.  As most species are small, they do not require much space. Freshwater shrimp are harassed or eaten by many fish species so tank mates must be considered carefully.  I tried keeping Cherry Shrimp with a Pygmy Gourami and regretted the decision. The Gourami harassed my shrimp and probably caused the death of two of the five.   Endler’s Livebearers, however, coexisted peacefully with the shrimp.

Different species have different temperature and pH tolerances, but some of them, like the Amano shrimp, tolerate cool water very well.  The Amano shrimp requires brackish water to breed, which makes it very difficult to breed in captivity.  Individuals in pet shops can be assumed to be wild caught.   Red Cherry shrimp prefer tropical temperatures but have a tolerance for a wide pH Range and can be easily bred in captivity.   They are easy to find and are recommended for beginners.

There are so many different species of freshwater shrimp with so many different needs that it is hard to make generalizations.  Detailed information on the different species of shrimp and their care can be found at http://shrimpfanatics.com/.

Crayfish

Crayfish live in running water in nature.   This means they need a filter or at least an air stone.  They are are best kept one to a tank as they are likely to fight with each other.   Crayfish are larger than most of the other invertebrates we are discussing here and large adults will need considerable space.  Ten gallons is enough for an adult of most of the North American species, but some of the Australian species can reach 16 inches and would need a 30-50 gallon tank.  There are a few dwarf species such as the Dwarf Cajun Crayfish, Cambarellus schufeldtii, that can be kept in a smaller tank or in a group in a 10 gallon tank if there are enough hiding places.

Crayfish will eat fish if the fish are small enough, so tank mates need to be considered very carefully.  Crayfish can be fed on shrimp pellets, but there are often specialty crayfish foods available.  Temperature requirements vary, but many species are happier in cold water than a tropical tank.  More information can be found at canadiancrayfish.com.

Triops

There are two Triops species commonly kept in captivity, T. cancriformis and T. longicaudatus.  Both have similar care requirements.  Triops prefer warm water of about 22-31° C.  They do not require much space.  One Triops can easily be kept in a gallon container.   They are typically bought as dried eggs which are sent through the mail without harm.  The eggs must dry out, otherwise they will not hatch.  They prefer a neutral to alkaline pH.   A filter is not required, but they produce enough waste that a weekly 25% water change is recommended if you aren’t using a filter.  They will eat almost anything.  More information about Triops can be found at mytriops.com

Snails

While people often try to get rid of snails in their aquarium, snails can be a fascinating addition if you get the right species.  Any animal can be a pest if it’s in the wrong place.

Snails do not eat fish poop.   They usually eat uneaten fishfood, algae, and some aquarium plants.   The last is the reason why they are often unwelcome in planted fish tanks.  Snails require a certain amount of calcium in the water to build their shells, and for this reason tend to do better in hard alkaline water than in very soft acidic water.

Apple snails grow large and eat plants.  They are sold under a variety of names, including Golden Mystery Snail, Ivory Snail, Mystery Snail, and Giant Ramshorn.   There are multiple species, one of which, Pomacea maculata, is the world’s largest freshwater snail.  It can grow up to a diameter of 6 inches.  Because of its size it is not really suitable for bowls or small tanks.  More information on apple snails can be found at applesnail.net.

Malaysian trumpet snails burrow in the gravel and eat uneaten fishfood.   They do not eat plants.  They have an unusual elongated shell that makes them easy to recognize.  More information can be found at planet inverts.

Common pond snails are the snails that turn up unintentionally when you buy aquatic plants.   They breed prolifically, and are often considered a pest.  I currently have a couple in my aquarium and they appear to be doing no harm, but that may be because the plants in my tank are things like java fern which are avoided by most plant eaters.  The pH is low enough that it may be inhibiting them as well.  These snails are easy to feed, do well at both tropical and low temperatures and are not aggressive towards other animals so in the right place they can be good tank inhabitants.

There are a number of snail species around in addition to those above.  Knowing the habits of the species you pick will go a long way to making you happy with your snails.

In the End

There are many interesting invertebrates that can be kept in freshwater tanks.  Each type of invertebrates has its own needs and habits which should think consider as you would for any fish that you decided to add to your tank.  When treated with respect, freshwater invertebrates can be great tank inhabitants.

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Goldfish, Carassius auratus: Superb in Large Unheated Aquariums

Goldfish grow.  Common goldfish can grow up to approximately 12 inches in length which is larger than some of the containers the juveniles are kept in.  They also produce a good deal of waste as they grow.   Fancy varieties usually stay smaller than common goldfish, but their fancy fins are inclined to develop finrot in dirty water.  This makes the lack of a filter problematic.  Goldfish are cold water fish so the lack of a heater is perfectly fine.

In short, they are ideal for a large unheated aquarium with filtration but are not suitable for a bowl.

White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Tanichthys albonubes: Good for Small Unheated Aquariums and Large Bowls

White cloud mountain minnows prefer lower temperatures than most tropical fish and for this reason they are often kept in unheated aquaria.   Their natural temperatures are 64-71F.  They are very small fish, staying under two inches in length.  However, they do school so is important to provide enough space for at least a couple of fish, preferably more. Fortunately their small size means that two or three can be kept comfortably in a 2 or 3 gallon aquarium. Of all the fish discussed here, these are probably the best for a large unheated bowl or small unheated aquarium.

Zebra Danio, Brachydanio rerio: Not Ideal

Most danios are small, the zebra danio being 1¾ inches in length, and they are tolerant of a wide range of temperatures.  Their natural temperature range is 64-75F.  However, they are fast swimmers and like to school which makes keeping them in a tiny aquarium questionable.

Watching a school of these fish in a large tank is a completely different experience from watching one or two in a tiny tank.  In a large tank they can get up speed and they seem to fly through the water in a group.  It is beautiful, but it is something you will never see if you put these fish in a betta cube.

Betta, Betta splendens: Ideal for Small Heated Aquariums or Bowls

Bettas stay small, usually growing to approximately 3 inches in length.   The waters from which they come are naturally rather stagnant and they have the ability to take in oxygen from the air.  This greatly increases their resistance to foul water.  They dislike fast filtration.  They are solitary in temperament and swim slowly.  This makes them seem like an ideal candidate for the small unfiltered bowl.

However, the waters from which they come are warm: the average temperature is 24-30C (75-86F), according to Fishbase.org.  While they will survive in an unheated bowl provided the room is decently warm, keeping them in an unheated aquarium seems questionable.

Some of the object in which Bettas are kept are too small for any fish.  They should have room to turn around easily and room to spread those magnificent fins of theirs.  Keeping these fish in an adequate sized and warm tank has advantages to the fishkeeper in addition to feeling good about the way you keep your fish.  Healthy fish display more, build bubble nests and check every nook and cranny of the aquarium for missed food.  They are much more interesting to watch, and a betta doing an aggressive display in a well lit aquarium is a truly stunning sight.

It doesn’t take that much effort to set up a small aquarium with a heater, and this fish will reward you well if you do.  Secondhand equipment can often be bought for less than new equipment and a 2 gallon aquarium is more than enough space for a Betta.

Least Killifish, Heterandria formosa: Ideal for Small Aquariums or Bowls

This is a very small fish native to North America which is related to the guppy.  The Males are extremely small at 3/4 inches, and they prefer normal tropical tank temperatures of 68-78F.  Their small size and tolerance of moderate temperatures makes them ideal for a small unfiltered aquarium, provided it is not subjected to cold temperatures.   The largest problem with these fish is likely to be finding them, since they are not common in aquarium stores.

Invertebrates: Better Than Fish for a Bowl

Freshwater invertebrates may work well in truly tiny tanks if you do not wish to keep fish.  Freshwater shrimp are harassed by many fish species and may do better on their own.  There are also many species of snail, and a shrimp-like creature known as Triops.  Different species have different temperature tolerances, but some of them tolerate cool water very well.  You could also try brine shrimp if you are willing to handle very salty water.

Note

All temperature information is taken from fishbase.org, and are the temperatures at which the fish have been found living in the wild.  Some species can tolerate wider ranges.

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Types of Plant Lights

The most common aquarium lighting is the normal output, or standard, fluorescent. Standard fluorescents come in many different spectra. Some are optimized for plant growth, and are sold as plant lights in pet stores and garden shops. These produce less intense light than metal halide, Very High Output (VHO), or T5 fluorescents, but the color spectrum produced is still designed to encourage healthy plant growth. People often use one, two, three, or four of these tubes together to light a tank brilliantly enough to suit the plants they wish to keep.

VHO fluorescents and T5 fluorescents are much brighter than standard fluorescents. They are most commonly used in reef tanks and planted freshwater aquaria.

Metal halide lighting can be used in planted freshwater aquaria, but its main use is lighting reef tanks. It is expensive and the extremely high light levels it produces are not necessary for the vast majority of freshwater planted aquaria.  It may well be useful in very deep tanks in which live plants grow.

LED lights intended for use as plant lights can be found on the Internet here. Given the efficiency of LEDs, this form of lighting will likely become much more common in the future. As with any new technology, the early versions sometimes have problems.

Low Light Plants and Standard White Fluorescent Lighting

There are certain plants that will do well even in the absence of special plant lights and high light levels. These include Java Fern, Microsorium pteropus, Java moss, Vesicularia dubyana, and Crystalwort, Riccia fluitans, among others. Many plants will grow under standard white fluorescent lighting so long as there is enough light, but you will get better growth under plant lights.

Sunlight

Contrary to popular wisdom, a small amount of sunlight over a short period of time may do no harm and significantly improve plant growth. The reason sunlight has a bad reputation is because too much sun will cause a tank to overheat. This can kill both fish and plants.

The best plant growth I ever had occurred when I sat my 7 gallon tank near a north-facing window where it got a small amount of sun during the early morning. For artificial lighting the tank had one compact fluorescent light bulb. My main plant problems with that tank was too much green algae, and a water lily that would not grow because I kept digging up the bulb when I cleaned the tank.

In conclusion, when picking lighting for your planted tank, you need to consider the types of plants you wish to keep and the depth of the tank.  Deep aquariums need stronger lighting than shallow ones, and light requirements vary among plant species.  At least there are many options for you to choose from.

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Many aquarium filters use all three types of filtration to clean the water, while others may use two or even one. A simple corner box filter performs all three functions and can be used as an example. The filter consists of a box containing a layer of activated carbon and a larger layer of filter wool. The filter wool is not actually wool, but is usually made of polyester batting.

 Air enters through a tube that opens at the bottom of the box. The air bubbles rise through the layer of activated carbon and then through the filter wool before leaving through the holes in the top of the box. Because the air moves through the water, the movement of the air causes the water to move upwards through the filter.

The water carries with it chemicals and particulate matter. The activated carbon adsorbs some of the chemicals (Lenntech), which removes them from the water, while the filter wool traps some of the solid particles. On the filter wool live bacteria that convert ammonia into nitrite, and other bacteria that convert nitrite into nitrate. These bacteria are aerobic, which means that they require oxygen. The movement of the water allows oxygen to reach them easily and provides a constant stream of water containing the ammonia to be converted.

The box filter described here is one of the cheapest and simplest filters available. They work very well in small tanks, but other types of filters are more common in larger tanks.

References:

Lenntech Water treatment & air purification Holding B.V. Retrieved March 3, 2009
http://www.lenntech.com/adsorption.htm

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In the wild it is threatened by habitat destruction (Ekaratne, 2000). The cherry barb lives in forest streams in Sri Lanka and much of Sri Lanka has been deforested. There are also problems with introduced fish species in Sri Lankan freshwater habitats (Ekaratne, 2000), although I am not sure if the cherry barb is affected by this directly. The IUCN lists the Cherry Barb as being lower risk but conservation dependent. This means that it would be listed as vulnerable except that there are programs in place to protect it (Pethiyagoda, 1996). It was listed as vulnerable prior to the conservation initiatives being implemented. However, its status has not been updated since 1996, which makes it difficult to determine how well the fish is doing now.

According to fishbase.org, some especially colorful varieties may be being overfished for the aquarium trade, although some of the cherry barbs exported from Sri Lanka are hatchery bred (Ekaratne, 2000). The Cherry barb is present in the Sinharaja forest reserve, which is the last large area of primary tropical rainforest on the island. The status of this reserve as the largest on the island is rather startling to me, as it is only 21×4km in extent (Sinharaja forest reserve). Still, the cherry barb is a very small schooling fish so it may be big enough to preserve the species provided that the fish are efficiently protected within the park. The protection of the specific especially colorful varieties is another question.

 Overall, I would probably avoid buying wild caught cherry barbs but there’s certainly no problem with buying the captive bred ones.  Of course, telling the origin of the fish is difficult when most pet shop workers do not necessarily know where the fish come from.  This is a standard problem with the aquarium hobby for far too many species.

References:

Ekaratne, S. 2000. A Review of the status and trends of exported ornamental fish resources and their habitats in Sri Lanka. Published by Y.S. YADAVA for the Bay of Bengal Programme. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/ad920e/ad920e00.pdf

Fishbase.org. Retrieved 27 February 2009.http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=6147

Pethiyagoda, R. 1996. Puntius titteya. In: IUCN 2008.2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Retrieved 27 February 2009.

Sinharaja forest reserve. World heritage sites. United Nations environment programme and the world conservation union monitoring center. Appears to have been written post-2003. Retrieved 27 February 2009. http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/Sinharaja.pdf

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Dirty fish tank water is very good for plants. Because it contains fish waste, it also acts as fertilizer. When I do a water change, I use the dirty water to water any plants that are dry. Using aquarium water as the main water source for my plants, I have successfully grown many types of houseplants using no other fertilizer. The houseplants are healthy enough that they keep growing outgrowing their pots, yet there are no signs of fertilizer burns. The one caveat to using dirty fish tank water is that it is possible it may contain salmonella (Senanayke et al., 2004), and so it should not be used on vegetables that the water will touch directly. Water from the fish tank can be placed in a separate container so that it can be used at times other than when you’ve just done a water change.

An aquarium cover serves two purposes: it serves to lower evaporation, and to reduce the risk of fish jumping out of the tank. Many fish species will jump occasionally, and a jump out of the tank onto the floor is usually fatal for the fish. Tanks should never be completely (airtight) covered as gas exchange occurs at the water’s surface that provides oxygen for the fish to breathe, but a hood over a fish tank certainly seems to do no harm. I’ve noticed that fish tanks with hoods have less water evaporation, presumably because the water vapor recondenses on the cover and runs back into the tank.

Most fish tanks these days seem to have filters. Since filters increase the number of fish you can keep comfortably in a tank of a given size, or if you keep the number of fish the same reduces the number of water changes you have to make, it is not surprising that filters are so popular. I doubt most people are thinking of water savings when buying a filter, but the benefit exists. Biological filters transform ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate through the actions of bacteria.

Live plants use the nitrate that is produced by the filter as a nitrogen source. This means that some of your gradually accumulating toxins will be transformed into living plants which will beautify your tank. However, this will only occur in useful amounts if your plants have sufficient light for proper growth.

No matter how many live plants you have, and how good your filtration is, you still need to do regular partial water changes. Having these things simply means that know you won’t be depending on water changes alone to keep metabolic poisons to a minimum.

Overall, a small fish tank really doesn’t use very much water compared to many of the other things people do. It is only when we get into very large fish tanks or multiple fish tanks that water use becomes an issue for those of us who don’t live in areas with severe water shortages. Still, one might as well use resources efficiently.

References:

Senanayake, S., Ferson, M., Botham, S. Belinfante, R. (2004) A child with Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi B infection aquired from a fish tank. Letters. Medical Journal of Australia.

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Decorating the tank is important because it will affect how much enjoyment you get out of looking at the tank, and it will also affect how happy your fish are. After all, while the tank is your hobby, it is their home and their world. In nature, fish use the objects around them in multiple different ways, the exact objects and the types of use being dependent on the species. The most important uses are for hiding and for breeding.

Many fish hide from predators in the wild to escape being eaten, and from more dominant members of their own species to escape being bullied. While hopefully you have not included any predators in their tank, many species of fish will feel much happier if there is somewhere they can hide. This does not mean that they will spend all their time hiding where you cannot see them. In many cases, the simple knowledge that the hiding spot is available will be all that is needed to keep them happy and interacting with other fish in full view of you the owner. Their happiness may be seen in brighter colors and more interesting behavior, as well as increased resistance to disease. I make its standard policy to include potential hiding places in all of my tanks.

Different species have different needs when it comes to hiding places. Hiding places are often very important to territorial fishes as they provide refuges for weaker fishes. Such refuges lower stress levels and can save lives. Shy species also appreciate hiding places.

Mid-water schooling fish do not make much use of hiding places because their hiding place is amongst a group of fish of the same species. They are best served by an area of open water large enough to school in, and by the presence of other members of the same species. Examples of such species include danios, many barbs and many tetras. However, sometimes there will be bullying within the group, and then the bullied fish may find the hiding places useful so I still prefer to have hiding places available.

Nocturnal fish do have a tendency to hide in dark places in the tank during the day, but depriving them of hiding places will not make them be happily active during daylight. If you want to keep nocturnal fish, you need to be prepared for them to sleep during the day and be active at night. If you use a red light at night in an otherwise dark tank, you should be able to watch them move about. Examples of such fishes include many catfishes, although not the genus corydoras. If you want fish that are active during the day, you need to buy fish that are active during the day. The vast majority of tropical fish you will find at your local pet store are active during the day so it is not hard to do.

Hiding places often include thick clumps of plants, and caves formed by rocks or wood. Such settings can be duplicated in the aquarium, or almost any dark confined space can be used by the fish. Flowerpots turned on their side and half buried in the gravel, or completely upside down with entry through the hole in what is normally considered the bottom of the pot can be used as caves by many fishes and are easy to acquire and use. Aquarium fish do not care, at least as far as we know, whether plants are real or plastic so long as they are thick enough to make a good hiding spot. I am especially fond of oddly shaped pieces of driftwood, as they form multiple caves, are natural in the habitats of the fish I keep, and look really good when paired with live plants.

If you wish to breed fish, you may find that certain objects are essential for particular fish species. For example, many fish lives like to breed in caves, and will require an overturned flowerpot or rocky cave in which to lay their eggs. Some catfishes and Cichlids fall into this category. Egg depositors need a clean flattish surface on which to deposit their eggs. Some will do this directly onto the aquarium glass, but many owners prefer to have the fish lay their eggs on an object which can be removed for separate hatching, such as a piece of slate (Mills, 1987). Of course, fishes often have their own ideas and may insist on laying their eggs on the heater or the glass no matter what more suitable objects you put in. Many fishes are egg scatterers. Some of these scatter their eggs among plants where the sticky eggs stick to the plants, or use floating plants as part of a bubble nest. Many eggs scatterers will eat their own eggs, and thick clumps of plants help protect the eggs from the hungry parents (Mills, 1987). Some breeders use nylon mops instead, and these apparently work just as well. Most people consider them less decorative than plants so they are usually used only in dedicated breeding tanks.

A few fishes have extremely specialized needs: there are certain African Cichlids that normally lay their eggs inside large snail shells, so if you want them to breed you will have to provide such shells, and there are even a few fishes that lay their eggs in other fishes nests where the young are reared by a different species. With regards to breeding and tank decorations, the tank decorations required are determined by the species of fish you wish to breed.

References:

Mills, D. 1987 Illustrated Guide to Aquarium Fishes. Galaxy Press, England

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