Swan Mussel in axie tank?

[LadyJ]

Would it be safe to put a swan mussel in Ice's (my axie's) new tank? He getting upgraded to a bigger tank and i'd like to create as much of a mini eco-system (for lack of a better term) as possible.I was just looking into snails and shrimps until my dad showed me these (he found them while trying to track me down a cheap filter on ebay). They look nice and if safe for the mussel and Ice would like to put one in his tank.

Other than that I am also looking at rams-horn snails and cherry shrimp, would these be ok? Many thanks an advance for any help.

 

[oceanblue]

Freshwater mussels sometimes trap toes and other bits of animals. Small snails will often be eaten safely but larger ones can be swallowed and are then an intestinal obstruction problem. It is often better to accept that your tank is an artificial environment rather than to try to recreate an ecosystem.

The water in the tank will not often have the correct planktonic flora to support a mussel which will die and pollute the water.

 

[LadyJ]

Thank you for your reply. That is what I was worried about with a mussel. Oh well never mind, nothing ventured, nothing gained and so on. Thanks again.

 

[BBJ]

One thing that you can use that you mentioned are the Cherry Shrimps, although these will not breed in colder Axy water, they will go by their daily business of eating leftovers and waste in your tank.
Best of all, they provide an excellent hunting target and snack for your Axolotl.

I have a seperate tank in which i breed Cherry Shrimp for this purpose.

 

[morphyrichards]

Actually they do seem to breed in the much colder water (currently hovering around 16 degrees C) , albeit at a mich slower rate but I have spied quite a few tiny baby shrimps sitting on the elodea and gathering around my sponge filter.

 

[BBJ]

Really? Interesting, i was always of the impression that they needed warmer water to breed.
But then again, 17-18 degrees is not that cold, i guess mine just get eaten before they have a chance to breed.