Invertebrates
Many different invertebrates are housed in aquariums and the reasons for keeping invertebrates vary. Some are kept solely for their own beauty or entertaining behaviour, while others are used for various tasks. It is also common for aquarists to raise invertebrates to serve as food for other aquatic animals. Daphnia (“water fleas”) and the common Brine shrimp (Artemia) are for instance excellent sources of food for fry and small adult fish and very easy to cultivate at home. In order to keep the water quality up, many aquarists enlists the help of invertebrate work crews that continuously scavenge through the aquarium in search of left over food, dead fish, decaying plant matter, and other stuff that might wreck havoc with the water values if left to rotten. Ghost shrimps and Amano shrimps are just two examples of invertebrates known for their cleaning capabilities. As mentioned above, invertebrates are also kept for their splendour and interesting behaviour and many aquarists have aquariums solely devoted to invertebrates. The Red Claw Crayfish (formerly known as Red Claw Lobster) is one example of a commonly kept invertebrate that brings both a stunning appearance and entertaining habits to the aquarium. It can be housed with fish as long as you avoid small and slow moving species (they will be eaten).
