Guides

Invertebrates

37 articles · All guides

Carpet Anemone (Stichodactyla haddoni)

Stichodactyla haddoni is a large, sticky saddle carpet anemone up to 80 cm across that hosts clownfish but eats fish too, so it needs a big, mature…

Invertebrates

Rock Flower Anemone (Epicystis crucifer)

Epicystis crucifer is a colourful, hardy Caribbean anemone that stays put in a rock or sand hole, rarely wanders and suits nano reefs, though it ca…

Invertebrates

Blue Crayfish (Procambarus alleni)

Procambarus alleni is a 10–12 cm electric blue Florida crayfish that is easy to keep but escapes, digs and eats plants and slow fish, so it suits…

Feather duster worm (Sabellastarte spectabilis) with white and pink banded feathery crown

Invertebrates

Feather Duster Worm (Sabellastarte spp.)

Sabellastarte feather duster worms are 5–10 cm tube worms with a crown of banded feathery radioles that filter food from the water and vanish int…

Invertebrates

Tuxedo Urchin (Mespilia globulus)

Mespilia globulus is a 5–7 cm blue-banded sea urchin that grazes algae, carries shells and bits of debris on its spines, and is one of the most r…

Invertebrates

Arrow Crab (Stenorhynchus seticornis)

Stenorhynchus seticornis is a spindly Caribbean crab with a pointed head and 10 cm legs that eats bristleworms but may also hunt small fish and shr…

Invertebrates

Pom Pom Crab (Lybia tessellata)

Lybia tessellata is a tiny 2 cm boxer crab that carries a sea anemone in each claw like pom poms, ideal for a calm nano reef.

Invertebrates

Tiger Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus bellulus)

Alpheus bellulus is a 5 cm digging shrimp that snaps its claw like a gunshot and forms a lifelong partnership with a watchman goby.

Invertebrates

Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera picta)

Hymenocera picta is a 5 cm spotted shrimp with paddle-shaped claws that eats only starfish, so it suits a dedicated keeper with a reliable starfish…

Invertebrates

Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius)

Lysmata debelius is a 5 cm blood-red cleaner shrimp with white spots that hides by day, cleans fish when settled and is reef safe in a mature tank.

Invertebrates

Horned Nerite Snail (Clithon corona)

Clithon corona is a 1–2 cm spiky nerite snail and one of the best algae cleaners for nano and shrimp tanks: it cannot overrun the tank, but it do…

Invertebrates

Red Claw Crab (Parasesarma bidens)

Parasesarma bidens is a mangrove crab with bright red claws, sold as a freshwater pet but built for a brackish paludarium with real land, a sealed…

Bright orange dwarf crayfish (Cambarellus patzcuarensis) among aquarium plants

Invertebrates

Dwarf Orange Crayfish (Cambarellus patzcuarensis)

Cambarellus patzcuarensis 'Orange', the CPO, is a 3–4 cm Mexican dwarf crayfish: bright, busy, safe with most fish and plants, and easy to breed…

Invertebrates

Vampire Shrimp (Atya gabonensis)

Atya gabonensis is a 10–15 cm filter-feeding shrimp from West African and South American rivers: gentle, shy, and completely dependent on current…

Feeding and Nutrition

Shrimp Feeding Guide: Biofilm vs Pellets

Neocaridina and Caridina graze constantly on biofilm. Pellets are supplements — here’s how to balance natural grazing with prepared foods.

Invertebrates

Toadstool Leather Coral (Sarcophyton spp.)

Classic mushroom-shaped soft corals that pulse with polyps — hardy reef staples that periodically shed a waxy skin.

Invertebrates

Ricordea (Ricordea florida)

Bump-textured mushroom corals in electric colour morphs — lower-flow LPS softies that carpet rock shelves when happy.

Invertebrates

Open Brain Coral (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi)

A fleshy free-living LPS coral often placed on sand — dramatic folds of colour that inflate under stable reef chemistry.

Invertebrates

Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa)

Branching Euphyllia with grape-like tips that dance in flow — a showpiece LPS coral that needs space from neighbours.

Invertebrates

Malaysian Trumpet Snail (Melanoides tuberculata)

Cone-shelled substrate diggers that aerate sand beds and appear at night — useful recyclers that boom when tanks are overfed.

Invertebrates

Ramshorn Snail (Planorbella / Planorbarius spp.)

Disk-shaped snails in wild and brightly coloured forms — helpful scavengers that multiply when overfeeding leaves excess food.

Invertebrates

Vampire Crab (Geosesarma spp.)

Colourful semi-terrestrial crabs that need land shelves and shallow water — personality-packed invertebrates for secure paludariums.

Invertebrates

Crystal Red Shrimp (Caridina cantonensis)

Striking red-and-white Caridina shrimp for soft-water nano tanks — more parameter-sensitive than Neocaridina, breathtaking in mossy aquascapes.

Invertebrates

Blue Leg Hermit Crab (Clibanarius tricolor)

A small, industrious reef hermit that grazes film algae and scraps — best kept with spare shells and not overcrowded on delicate sandbeds.