I’m reading ‘An alternative Aquarium: A Robust Habitat‘ by Matt Owens as it is free with my Kindle subscription. The author recommends adding pond snails, tubifex and scuds as the top three invertebrates to add as a natural part of the tank ecosystem.
When I first got into the hobby I remember being told to avoid Tubifex as they grow in disgusting conditions and carry parasites and scuds should only go in tanks with bigger fish where they act as fish food and detritivores as they can be predatory and kill tiny baby shrimp and fry.
The book also includes hydra in the list of other invertebrates to possibly add and I thought they were a nuisance and, like tubifex and scuds, hard to eradicate when a colony is established in the tank.
I’ve have had a tank for the last 10 years but not kept up with the latest info on forums and in magazines. Info on the web differs a lot from one source to the next.
Are these considered safe to add as clean up crew and fish food?
The largest fish I have Congo Tetras and they’d welcome the live food.
The smallest are ember tetras and pygmy corys. I also have cherry shrimp and snails. Any fry and baby shrimp would be tiny. Would they be at risk?
thanks
When I first got into the hobby I remember being told to avoid Tubifex as they grow in disgusting conditions and carry parasites and scuds should only go in tanks with bigger fish where they act as fish food and detritivores as they can be predatory and kill tiny baby shrimp and fry.
The book also includes hydra in the list of other invertebrates to possibly add and I thought they were a nuisance and, like tubifex and scuds, hard to eradicate when a colony is established in the tank.
I’ve have had a tank for the last 10 years but not kept up with the latest info on forums and in magazines. Info on the web differs a lot from one source to the next.
Are these considered safe to add as clean up crew and fish food?
The largest fish I have Congo Tetras and they’d welcome the live food.
The smallest are ember tetras and pygmy corys. I also have cherry shrimp and snails. Any fry and baby shrimp would be tiny. Would they be at risk?
thanks