wich prehistoric water inverts are still alive today

[Bunyan van Asten]

I was wondering if there are any other water-inverts other than horseshoe crabs and triops alive today that existed millions of years ago aswell (i don't mean things like crayfish, crabs or lobsters) I'm thinking of making a prehistoric themed tank in the far future, maybe even jawless fish? (i don't even know if those are around anymore whatsoever)
I'd like some suggestions because if i can pull it all off correctly, it'd be something beautiful.

Thanks in advance!

 

[chanda]

I was wondering if there are any other water-inverts other than horseshoe crabs and triops alive today that existed millions of years ago aswell (i don't mean things like crayfish, crabs or lobsters) I'm thinking of making a prehistoric themed tank in the far future, maybe even jawless fish? (i don't even know if those are around anymore whatsoever)
I'd like some suggestions because if i can pull it all off correctly, it'd be something beautiful.

Thanks in advance!

Yes, there are still living jawless fish - the lampreys and hagfish.

There are also a number of inverts that have been around since prehistoric times, including the chitons (Devonian) and various corals and echinoderms (such as urchins and starfish) and have changed relatively little in that time.

 

[dord]

I dunno if they can be kept in captivity but giant isopods?

 

[Myrmeleon]

They have been kept in aquariums before. Anyway some more suggestions if you want to go marine. Sponges, sea jellies, corals, nautili, etc. Many more choices though for vertebrates, snapping turtles, coelocanths, lungfish, bichirs, gars, arapaima, stingrays, smaller sharks, sturgeon, giant salamanders like hellbenders, crocodilians, platypi, etc.

 

[Myrmeleon]

Keep in mind though that many species considered living fossils are protected (hellbenders) and may be hard to keep (sharks). Also, not sure if there are too many left, otherwise we wouldn't consider them living fossils. Take marine worms for an example, been around for a long time. But nobody considers them living fossils as opposed to say snapping turtles.

 

[Ajohnson5263]

YOU NEED A MANTIS SHRIMP. i had one of these guys for a while(sadly lost it in a bad molt). they're actually relatively unchanged over the millennia and have some of the simplest care out of any saltwater organism (still need to monitor parameters though). they are also not difficult to obtain and provide a great center piece. would definitely recommend!

 

[Aquarimax]

I was wondering if there are any other water-inverts other than horseshoe crabs and triops alive today that existed millions of years ago aswell (i don't mean things like crayfish, crabs or lobsters) I'm thinking of making a prehistoric themed tank in the far future, maybe even jawless fish? (i don't even know if those are around anymore whatsoever)
I'd like some suggestions because if i can pull it all off correctly, it'd be something beautiful.

Thanks in advance!

You could set up a vernal pool biotope aquarium with Triops, fairy shrimp, clam shrimp, seed shrimp, and daphnia. All of them are pretty ancient, and they look the part. I have kept all of these species, though the Triops were not in the same aquarium as the others. It could be done, but you would have to make sure to feed the Triops enough, or they’d snack on everything else.

 

[Ajohnson5263]

Being realistic, it is very hard to obtain any sort of hagfish, lamprey, or giant isopod. Not that they're difficult to care for, but they are difficult/nearly impossible to find. I too think triops are very interesting, a well scaped tank is not something you see often with them, and it isn't impossible to have a breeding colony either.

 

[myrmecophile]

You would have to consider Odonata.

 

[schmiggle]

Odonata are a good idea, and you might also consider plecoptera and megaloptera for a freshwater tank.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

Nautilus, squid, paper shelled octopus, chitons, brittle stars, sponges, Isopods, remipedes, dragonflies, megaloptera, flatworms, nudibranchs, bobbit worms, mantis shrimp, etc, ect.

Plecos (many like munching on wood so be prepared), bichirs, garfish and anything knife fish (these all get pretty big btw so do research) would be good for a prehistoric tank

 

[Bunyan van Asten]

So, from all the replies till now, i would like to try to keep Triops, chitons and daphnia together with some old corals, but i'm mainly looking for something that's not too big so that it's still managable.

 

[schmiggle]

So, from all the replies till now, i would like to try to keep Triops, chitons and daphnia together with some old corals, but i'm mainly looking for something that's not too big so that it's still managable.

You can keep daphnia with triops and chitons with corals, but chitons and corals are saltwater and triops and daphnia are freshwater. Keeping a freshwater species in saltwater or vice versa will quickly kill it. This isn't to say you shouldn't keep all of them; just be aware you can't keep them in the same tank.

 

[Myrmeleon]

You could keep epiophlebia sp. which are like an ancestor of dragonflies and damselflies. Maybe remipedes but they're marine.

 

[centipeedle]

I dunno if they can be kept in captivity but giant isopods?

Where the heck would you get giant isopods??

 

[Ajohnson5263]

Where the heck would you get giant isopods??

sometimes, they're sold at southern florida fish markets as by catch for lobsters. i've heard of a few people buying them for for food

 

[schmiggle]

sometimes, they're sold at southern florida fish markets as by catch for lobsters. i've heard of a few people buying them for for food

I didn't know they fished that deep for lobsters...

 

[LawnShrimp]

I second the Triops! If you look online, there are several species and morphs that are quite different from the T. longicaudatus that are more commonly kept. Lepidurus love cold water and get very large with an odd looking flat tail, and T. australiasae and the African Triops sp. also get to a good size and are nicely colored. There are also albino and dark morphs of other species.

sometimes, they're sold at southern florida fish markets as by catch for lobsters. i've heard of a few people buying them for for food

I saw one in an Asian market in with a bunch of pale crabs. I almost considered buying it just as a joke, I doubt there is enough meat to make a meal. It is sad though, the poor things lived out their long lives only to be fished up as bycatch.

 

[Bunyan van Asten]

I second the Triops! If you look online, there are several species and morphs that are quite different from the T. longicaudatus that are more commonly kept. Lepidurus love cold water and get very large with an odd looking flat tail, and T. australiasae and the African Triops sp. also get to a good size and are nicely colored. There are also albino and dark morphs of other species.


I saw one in an Asian market in with a bunch of pale crabs. I almost considered buying it just as a joke, I doubt there is enough meat to make a meal. It is sad though, the poor things lived out their long lives only to be fished up as bycatch.

That's what i was thinking too! woudl it be possible to keep multiple triops species together?

 

[LawnShrimp]

That's what i was thinking too! woudl it be possible to keep multiple triops species together?

Certainly! There is little risk of hybridization as most Triops cultures are all-female or self-fertilizing hermaphrodites, and I doubt hybrid eggs would develop. There is a slight risk of cannibalism but with plenty of food and space to move that should be no more risky than keeping a group of all one species.