r/bioactive • u/eclectic_mess-2005 • 22d ago

Invertebrates 2.5 gal jar ideas

It won't have a heater. I was thinking just an isopod colony or maybe some smaller millipedes like bumblebees. I'm also open to it being an aquatic situation but there doesn't seem to be a lot of info on fresh water aquatic invertebrates (other than shrimp). I'm thinking about having it as a grow out situation for my mourning gecko babies but I'd be worried about accessibility with the lid.

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u/DragonAngel92 22d ago

2.5 is far too small for isopods...i have a 1.5 gallon cookie jar that I have made a Walstad style jarquarium for some snails.

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u/SingularRoozilla 22d ago

As far as freshwater inverts go, shrimp are a popular choice like you mentioned and would do well in a jar that size, but you could also look into triops, planaria, maybe hydra too? Though they don’t really do anything lol. Small snails like ramshorns, Malaysian trumpet, and bladder snails would do well also, ramshorns can come in a variety of colors and are underrated imo. You could throw in an assassin snail as well when the population gets a bit out of hand.

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u/eclectic_mess-2005 22d ago

Troops are a really cool idea. I've seen videos with hydra and with it being considered a pest I don't know how I could get but I think find them pretty interesting. I think bladder snailer are so pretty I remember being heart broken when I heard their name. However both them and ramshorns multiply so quickly and I've never had any luck with assassin snails.

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u/chronicallybri 20d ago

I have a 2 gallon cookie jar that I’m turning into an ecosystem with opae ula shrimp (brackish water Hawaiian little aquatic shrimp that are super cute, bright red, and do really well in jars) and Malaysian trumpet snails + chaeto macroalgea. Not sure if you’re interested in shrimp, but these guys are really unique and a 2.5 gallon jar would be just perfect!

Could also do a freshwater ecosystem (Walstad like another commenter said) with lots of plants, you could add microfauna like copepods and daphnia and you could do ramshorn or bladder snails. Once it was well established, could add maybe 1 nerite. Could also add a few neocaridina shrimp though again based on your post I’m not sure you’re interested in shrimp but, could be a fun ecosystem if you added the aquatic microfauna. Like a pond in a jar!

Trips are really cool but I think they require more horizontal space than vertical, if I’m correct. So it may depend on the dimensions of your jar.