Great question - I've actually been discussing inverts with others here, and even posted about it on r2r yesterday. I’m still in the early stages of building out my system, but my fully remote refugium is set up for both functionality
and viewing. It’s reverse-lit and designed to be its own little world of movement and biodiversity, especially at night.
View attachment 99930
(None of this rockwork is permanent)
In addition to every kind of copepod and amphipod I can get - and even non-parasitic isopods, if I can vet them as such - I’m planning for:
- Stomatella snails - reproduce readily, great grazers, and stay out of the way. They'll go in the display, too.
- Mini brittle stars - excellent detritus processors. Start in the fuge, export to the display when I have a good population.
- Feather dusters - fun to watch filter feeders that do great in lower-flow corners. I've always wanted some.
- Mini porcelain crabs - more for interest than utility, but they’re filter feeders too.
- Sexy shrimp - because why wouldn't you, with a setup like this?
- Pom Pom crab - since the fuge is built for viewing, this is exactly the kind of weird, display-worthy invert that fits perfectly in there.
- Decorator crab - planning to observe it in the fuge first before deciding on a possible move to the display.
I’m also hoping to let cryptic life like sponges, micro serpent stars, and filter-feeding worms establish naturally over time, especially in the rubble zone.