New aquarium - suggestions wanted!

[RVS]

So, this time of year at my school everyone is moving out of their dorms/apartments and that equals some great dumpster diving opportunities.
Today I acquired a complete acrylic aquarium . I've decided that since I'm not big into fish I'd try something a little different like an all invertebrate tank.
I'll be honest, I don't know a ton about aquariums or aquarium animals, but I've been looking around and I found a few things I'm interested in.
I'm thinking of gettting a couple Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis), and a small colony of either: Red cherry shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata sinensis), or Snowball shrimp (Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis), but I'd like suggestions as to what else to consider.
I'm looking for:
-Other shrimp species
-Mollusks
-Plants
-Anything else

Also, has anyone had success breeding freshwater shrimp in the aquarium?

 

[Goliath]

If you would be willing to do a small saltwater tank you could easily put in a small mantis shrimp. I have a JBJ 12 gallon nanocube with corals, a brittle star, tube anemones and Pseudosquilla ciliata ( smaller spearing mantis shrimp). Could not get a good picture of him but one can be found through this link.
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pics/yellow_pseudosquilla_collage.htm
Mike

 

[Ant Worker]

Odd occurance, that link you just gave was written by the same guy that I know and have talked to in regards to ants, he was looking for leaf cutter ranges in the united states and going on fun vacations.
Small world

 

[Thoth]

Depending on the size of the tank, you could do a crayfish tank, and get a blue lobster (actually a species of crayfish) or just fill the tank half way and do a fiddler crab or red claw crab tank, fiddlers have tons of personality.

With the shrimp species you mentioned you could also add african dwarf frog.

I know you can get freshwater clams and sponges but I have no experience with them.

I haven't had much luck with bamboo shrimp in my community tank, they do well for a while even molt a couple of times then one day I find them dead. For shrimp you could also get a colony of fairy shrimp as well.

For plants do not get the ones you see sold in plastic tubes plant in the water crystal gels. they never thrive and die with in a month or so and even the sales people in the local pet store have said the same thing. I got the bulb you plant in you tank, it takes a while but they are great plants that are thriving. I also have a banana plant.

Just be careful of introducing snail because they will multiple and will be very difficult to get rid of in all invert tank.

Or you could just do a nano-reef tank.

 

[jarvisnake]

Java moss, Neocardinashrimp, air driven sponge filter. You can have a super easy colony of odd little shrimp that will perpetuate themselves with just a little effort.

 

[Scorp guy]

use vinegaroons, i have had my two in a 10 gallon for 2 months, 1's pregnant

 

[Scythemantis]

use vinegaroons, i have had my two in a 10 gallon for 2 months, 1's pregnant

They were asking for aquatic animal suggestions

 

[Scolopendra55]

Fresh water clams are interesting (as far as bivalves go )

 

[RVS]

Thanks for all the replies!
I think I'm going to going with the shrimp species I mentioned (minus the bamboo) as well as a dwarf crayfish (Cambarellus shufeldtii) (thanks Thoth).
What species of freshewater clam/sponge will do well in a heated aquarium?

 

[RVS]

Also will java moss do well in soft water (I remember thinking they like it brackish)?
Any other plant suggestions?

 

[Thoth]

The only frehwater sponge I know you can get is Spongilla sp.. I know some of the high fishstores sell it or you can get it here online.

 

[Dom]

Hey RVS, the java moss does well in fresh water. You might also want to look at java fern, it comes in a few varieties. For your tank you would want a smaller leaf type. If you put some driftwood in the tank you could tie the fern and moss onto it. Anubias nana especially the "petite" variety also looks good tied to driftwood and will also send out runners . The plants mentioned are easy to care for low light plants.
The cherry shrimps breed well when the temperatures are above 80F. They like clean water though so I used to keep mine in a bare bottom tanks and vacuum weekly. There is a web-site based in the U.S. that has some fantastically colored freshwater shrimp. I've kept a few species but only the cherries bred for me.

 

[RVS]

Hey RVS, the java moss does well in fresh water. You might also want to look at java fern, it comes in a few varieties. For your tank you would want a smaller leaf type. If you put some driftwood in the tank you could tie the fern and moss onto it. Anubias nana especially the "petite" variety also looks good tied to driftwood and will also send out runners . The plants mentioned are easy to care for low light plants.
The cherry shrimps breed well when the temperatures are above 80F. They like clean water though so I used to keep mine in a bare bottom tanks and vacuum weekly. There is a web-site based in the U.S. that has some fantastically colored freshwater shrimp. I've kept a few species but only the cherries bred for me.

Thanks for the help!

So far I've come up withtwo sources for freshwater shrimp:
http://www.petshrimp.com/store.html

and

http://www.aquatic-store.com/en-us/dept_307.html


The first site is extremly informative and all the shrimp are captive bred (which is a big plus for me). Also alll of the shrimp sold are juveniles, so I don't have to worry about them croaking in a month.
The second site just has a killer selection.

I've decided that I definitely want one Neocaridia species (since you can only keep one species because of potential cross breeding), and one other genus. I'm thinking possibly Redfronted Shrimp (Palaemon scarletti), but I can find little information on them.