Saltwater Inverts Etc.
Basics Inverts
Advanced Inverts
Gerneral Information
This article is only meant as a guide for easier fish and invertebrates to keep, aimed more at beginners; this is far from an exhaustive list of marine fish or invertebrates to keep.
These suggestions are based on my many years of experience setting up literally hundreds of aquariums for clients.
I am also going to add moderate to advanced fish to this list as time permits.
I will add (or maybe even subtract) from this article as time goes on. ANY and ALL suggestions are appreciated and can be emailed to me, as I also respect others experience as well.
I also recommend fish distributed by Quality Marine USA, for their quality and most importantly care. Their fish tend to be a little higher in price, but you are also assured of a quality fish & other reef inhabitants that have received the most humane care possible.
Please see this listing to find a local retailer of their first rate fish and reef inhabitants:
Quality Marine Hobbyist Referrals
These suggestions are based on my many years of experience setting up literally hundreds of aquariums for clients.
I am also going to add moderate to advanced fish to this list as time permits.
I will add (or maybe even subtract) from this article as time goes on. ANY and ALL suggestions are appreciated and can be emailed to me, as I also respect others experience as well.
I also recommend fish distributed by Quality Marine USA, for their quality and most importantly care. Their fish tend to be a little higher in price, but you are also assured of a quality fish & other reef inhabitants that have received the most humane care possible.
Please see this listing to find a local retailer of their first rate fish and reef inhabitants:
Quality Marine Hobbyist Referrals
Arrow Crab
*Size: 15 cm. (6 in.)
*Family: Majidae
*Genus: Stenorhynchus
*Species: seticornis
*Habitat: reefs
*Tank Size: 10 gallon or larger
*Typical food: Opportunistic carnivores, they are not difficult to feed in an established aquarium, especially one that has ample live rock, so specific feeding is not generally necessary. A few suggestions are: Flakes foods high in Spirulina such as HBH Marine Flake, FD foods such as plankton or FD Brine Shrimp, or frozen prepared foods such as Ocean Nutrition Brine Shrimp Plus.
*Notes: Arrow crabs are nocturnal crustaceans, who do all of their scavenging during the nighttime. Arrow Crabs are helpful in aquariums, as they eat fire worms and other aquarium pests that may live in the sand or live rock. The Arrow Crab can be quite territorial, so I only recommend one per tank except for larger aquariums. Generally Arrow Crabs (as with most crabs) are opportunistic feeders and if insufficient food is present they may pick at mushrooms or polyps searching for food.
*Family: Majidae
*Genus: Stenorhynchus
*Species: seticornis
*Habitat: reefs
*Tank Size: 10 gallon or larger
*Typical food: Opportunistic carnivores, they are not difficult to feed in an established aquarium, especially one that has ample live rock, so specific feeding is not generally necessary. A few suggestions are: Flakes foods high in Spirulina such as HBH Marine Flake, FD foods such as plankton or FD Brine Shrimp, or frozen prepared foods such as Ocean Nutrition Brine Shrimp Plus.
*Notes: Arrow crabs are nocturnal crustaceans, who do all of their scavenging during the nighttime. Arrow Crabs are helpful in aquariums, as they eat fire worms and other aquarium pests that may live in the sand or live rock. The Arrow Crab can be quite territorial, so I only recommend one per tank except for larger aquariums. Generally Arrow Crabs (as with most crabs) are opportunistic feeders and if insufficient food is present they may pick at mushrooms or polyps searching for food.
Coral Banded Shrimp
*Size: 10 cm. (4 in.)
*Genus: Stenopus
*Species: hispidus
*Habitat: reefs
*Tank Size: 10 gallon or larger
*Typical food: Like the Arrow Crab, CBS are opportunistic carnivores, they are not difficult to feed in an established aquarium, especially one that has ample live rock, so specific feeding is not generally necessary. Also similar to Arrow Crabs they will often dine on Polychaete Worms (Bristle Worms, Fireworms). A few suggestions for added foods are: Flakes foods high in Spirulina such as HBH Marine Flake, FD foods such as plankton or FD Brine Shrimp, or frozen prepared foods such as Ocean Nutrition Brine Shrimp Plus.
*Notes: Coral Banded Shrimp look like shrimp however they are not a true shrimp. True Shrimp belong to the infra-order Caridea while Coral Banded Shrimp belong to the infra-order Stenopodidea and are more closely related to lobsters. CBS are best kept singly in an aquarium unless you have a large aquarium with a lot of rock. They are generally nocturnal, although mine have adapted to coming out when food such is added during daylight hours. CBS are generally safe for most reef environments however do to their opportunistic nature, they may prey on small snails, hermit crabs, or shrimp.
*Genus: Stenopus
*Species: hispidus
*Habitat: reefs
*Tank Size: 10 gallon or larger
*Typical food: Like the Arrow Crab, CBS are opportunistic carnivores, they are not difficult to feed in an established aquarium, especially one that has ample live rock, so specific feeding is not generally necessary. Also similar to Arrow Crabs they will often dine on Polychaete Worms (Bristle Worms, Fireworms). A few suggestions for added foods are: Flakes foods high in Spirulina such as HBH Marine Flake, FD foods such as plankton or FD Brine Shrimp, or frozen prepared foods such as Ocean Nutrition Brine Shrimp Plus.
*Notes: Coral Banded Shrimp look like shrimp however they are not a true shrimp. True Shrimp belong to the infra-order Caridea while Coral Banded Shrimp belong to the infra-order Stenopodidea and are more closely related to lobsters. CBS are best kept singly in an aquarium unless you have a large aquarium with a lot of rock. They are generally nocturnal, although mine have adapted to coming out when food such is added during daylight hours. CBS are generally safe for most reef environments however do to their opportunistic nature, they may prey on small snails, hermit crabs, or shrimp.
Turbo Snail
*Size: 5 cm. (2 in.)
*Family: Turbinidae *Genus: Turbo
*Species: fluctuosa
*Habitat: reefs
*Tank Size: 10 gallon or larger
*Typical food: Turbo Snails are herbivores that will dine on algae growing on live rock and elsewhere in the aquarium. Generally additional feeding is not required, however if food supply is inadequate, Spirulina 20 makes an excellent supplement.
*Notes: Turbo Snails are easy to care for however I recommend waiting to add these snails until your aquarium is established so that there is ample algae for them to dine on. Turbo Snails also require adequate calcium levels of 400-450 ppm, SeaChem Reef Calcium Polygluconate is an excellent source of calcium if normal water changes and buffers are not adequate. Also be aware that most Turbo Snails available come from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) where the water are not as warm as other reef inhabitants are used to, so watch your aquarium temperatures and keep them under 80 F. (27 C).
*Family: Turbinidae *Genus: Turbo
*Species: fluctuosa
*Habitat: reefs
*Tank Size: 10 gallon or larger
*Typical food: Turbo Snails are herbivores that will dine on algae growing on live rock and elsewhere in the aquarium. Generally additional feeding is not required, however if food supply is inadequate, Spirulina 20 makes an excellent supplement.
*Notes: Turbo Snails are easy to care for however I recommend waiting to add these snails until your aquarium is established so that there is ample algae for them to dine on. Turbo Snails also require adequate calcium levels of 400-450 ppm, SeaChem Reef Calcium Polygluconate is an excellent source of calcium if normal water changes and buffers are not adequate. Also be aware that most Turbo Snails available come from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) where the water are not as warm as other reef inhabitants are used to, so watch your aquarium temperatures and keep them under 80 F. (27 C).
Long Tentacle Anemone
*Size: 46 cm. (18 in.) *Family: Actiniidae
*Genus: Macrodactyla
*Species: doreensis
*Habitat: reefs
*Tank Size: 40 gallon or larger
*Mature Size; Up to 20 inches
*Typical food: The LT Anemone is photosynthetic which is performed by zooxanthellae.
As well this anemone is also a Carnivore and should include fish, brine shrimp, crustaceans and mussels, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and frozen foods such as Ocean Nutrition Prime, Squid or similar.
One of the most popular anemones along with Bubble Tip (BTA) for reef aquariums and hosting some clownfish.
Long Tentacle Anemones generally hide in the rubble or sand with just its tentacles being visible.
Long Tentacle Anemones require:
*Medium lighting is required as this is an photosynthetic animal. See this article: "Aquarium Lighting")
, *Medium and variable circulation (usually provided by power heads, propeller pumps)
*Plenty of coral rubble and live rock to move around in and high points to get closer to lights if necessary.
These can also be semi-aggressive anemones towards other tank mates such as sps corals. Generally stinging of sps or other corals is not a problem as these anemones rarely "stay put". When "parked" next to an sps coral they may sting it, but usually the time spent in one location is not enough to kill an sps coral. However I would suggest the ratio of LT Anemones to sps corals be very low; as an example only one LT Anemone in a 60 gallon reef tank that also has plenty of corals.
*Genus: Macrodactyla
*Species: doreensis
*Habitat: reefs
*Tank Size: 40 gallon or larger
*Mature Size; Up to 20 inches
*Typical food: The LT Anemone is photosynthetic which is performed by zooxanthellae.
As well this anemone is also a Carnivore and should include fish, brine shrimp, crustaceans and mussels, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and frozen foods such as Ocean Nutrition Prime, Squid or similar.
One of the most popular anemones along with Bubble Tip (BTA) for reef aquariums and hosting some clownfish.
Long Tentacle Anemones generally hide in the rubble or sand with just its tentacles being visible.
Long Tentacle Anemones require:
*Medium lighting is required as this is an photosynthetic animal. See this article: "Aquarium Lighting")
, *Medium and variable circulation (usually provided by power heads, propeller pumps)
*Plenty of coral rubble and live rock to move around in and high points to get closer to lights if necessary.
These can also be semi-aggressive anemones towards other tank mates such as sps corals. Generally stinging of sps or other corals is not a problem as these anemones rarely "stay put". When "parked" next to an sps coral they may sting it, but usually the time spent in one location is not enough to kill an sps coral. However I would suggest the ratio of LT Anemones to sps corals be very low; as an example only one LT Anemone in a 60 gallon reef tank that also has plenty of corals.
Sea Apple
*Size: 10 cm. (4 in.)
*Genus: Pseudocolochirus
*Species: axiologus (Indonesia) & iolaceus (Australia)
*Habitat: Reef; NO aggressive fish that would add stress possibly causing the rare release of toxins into the water (or invertebrates such as a carpet anemone)
*Typical food: Filter Feeder.
I have had reasonable success (with Sea Apples living well over a year by making pea green mixture of Spirulina 20 Fish Food Flake and water not too soupy), then feeding with a syringe near the Sea Apple (which should be in a high flow area of the aquarium)
Sea Apples (which are a type of Sea Cucumber) are often sold as a beginner invertebrate, while in reality they require more work just to keep fed (which can be difficult to know for sure too).
While strong lighting is not a factor from my experience, very good water conditions ARE a factor.
These are also animals that are best in an aquarium where other inhabitants leave them alone. Sea Apples have a variety of defenses that are generally utilized prior to a general release of their toxic chemicals which can harm fish and other inhabitants in a closed aquarium. While I have not had a known "die-off" from a toxic chemical release, I have heard form those that have had this happen.
Should this happen, generally water changes and a good amount of carbon and products such as Purigen should take care of the problem.
For much more in depth information about Sea Apples, please read this article: Aquarium Invertebrates: Sea Apples
For my FULL Marine Basics article, please visit this site: “AQUARIUM SALTWATER BASICS; information, resources, and more.
*Genus: Pseudocolochirus
*Species: axiologus (Indonesia) & iolaceus (Australia)
*Habitat: Reef; NO aggressive fish that would add stress possibly causing the rare release of toxins into the water (or invertebrates such as a carpet anemone)
*Typical food: Filter Feeder.
I have had reasonable success (with Sea Apples living well over a year by making pea green mixture of Spirulina 20 Fish Food Flake and water not too soupy), then feeding with a syringe near the Sea Apple (which should be in a high flow area of the aquarium)
Sea Apples (which are a type of Sea Cucumber) are often sold as a beginner invertebrate, while in reality they require more work just to keep fed (which can be difficult to know for sure too).
While strong lighting is not a factor from my experience, very good water conditions ARE a factor.
These are also animals that are best in an aquarium where other inhabitants leave them alone. Sea Apples have a variety of defenses that are generally utilized prior to a general release of their toxic chemicals which can harm fish and other inhabitants in a closed aquarium. While I have not had a known "die-off" from a toxic chemical release, I have heard form those that have had this happen.
Should this happen, generally water changes and a good amount of carbon and products such as Purigen should take care of the problem.
For much more in depth information about Sea Apples, please read this article: Aquarium Invertebrates: Sea Apples
For my FULL Marine Basics article, please visit this site: “AQUARIUM SALTWATER BASICS; information, resources, and more.