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I would like to create a reef tank. Due to cost, time , size, and vacation issues, any sw tank is out of the question. However, i would like to try to create a ecosystem type fw tank. Is that possible? I would like to have as many different types of animals as possible( fish, plants, snails, shrimp, and possibly crabs or other inverts) I have a 4 foot 40 gAL, a 3 foot 30 gal, and a 55 ( all of which could be ready for fish in a matter of hours) Is this possible or am i being unrealistic? Thank you for your time.
-dane-

However, i would like to try to create a ecosystem type fw tank. Is that possible?

You mean like a planted tank?

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Are you maybe talking about a biotope type aquarium? designed as if you went and magically took a tank-sized chunk out of the rocky part of a riverbank? Easy done

I cannot recall the word that my dad uses for a FW reef, but in my mind its just a tangle of brances and rocks and the like where fish take refuge. If that is what you are aiming for, that is totally doable
Although i'd add a sandshoe or some other man-made object that could have gotten caught in the debris for a bit of authenticity

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Sure you can create a freshwater ecosystem. Do you want it to be of a certain area of the world or a mix of whatever you like? A biotope is a recreation of a section of real stream, lake, or whatever. [link=http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htm]http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htm" style="COLOR: #C000C0[/link]

I'd rather not be restricted and just stick in whatever I think looks good and won't cause problems. We'd need more details what exactly you want and how much maintenance you want to put into it to be of much more help than that. For inverts though you might want to just stick to snails and shrimp. Most commonly available crayfish species will eat fish and I'm not sure there are any crabs that would be content in a tank like that. You also have to closely watch what fish you put with inverts or they will turn into snacks. You can create a section of a body of water not the whole thing so not all creatures found there will work in the same tank without eating each other or having other problems.

i dont care much about making it an authentic biope. My main goal is to make it busling with different types of fish and animals.

as far as inverts go, would prawns and ghost shrimp work? I have heard that ghost shrimp, if they survive the fish, sometimes die because of lack of salt.

Also if i used a 55 could i leave the water level a little low, pile up some rocks and add fiddler crabs. I have heard that they also prefer brackish water too. It almost seems like there is a better selection of non-fish animals in brackish water. Would that type of tank be my best bet?

once again, thank you very much for your replys

Well, if your main goal is diversity of species, then brackish might well be a good option for you.

Are you interested in perhaps doing half land half water? (or probably 1/4 land 1/4 water as its usually not done the entire way up a tank, only half-full) Maybe add a waterfall type filter return?

I have seen a nice setup with mudskippers, fiddlers and some small SW fish and shrimp, but it was at a public aquarium, so i don't know how feasable it is.

Ghost shrimp are fine without salt. It will of course depend on the species, but as far as i'm aware most FW shrimp that fall under the ghost shrimp name do not require salt.


I'd probably go with a planted setup, rock wall background, a few large shrimp (bamboo shrimp maybe?) and a few different types of fish and snails. Not too many, you want to be able to see normal behaviour. maybe some burrowing snails or some apple snails, some loaches, and i'd gues some sort of surface plant, large duckweed maybe?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett