Some invertebrates make a great addition to your tank, others not so much.  Shrimp, crabs and snails add diversity and life to your tank and work diligently as cleaning crews, feeding on detritus and sandbed fauna.  They also can add some comedic relief to a tank with their "personalities" (ie. cleaner shrimp). Some invertebrates are incompatible with fish such as wrasses, angels, puffers and triggers while other invertebrates can be predatory to smaller fish and snails so be sure to research your purchases before making them.

Please remember when ordering "clean-up" crew invertebrates that you are providing a long term home for them. Often, it is recommended that snails be added to the tank to help control algae before it gets a foothold or a large number of snails to control an algal bloom.  However, snails require a lot of food to survive and a constant supply of it.  If proper algae levels are not present in the tank, the snails will starve and die. Snails also require good stable water conditions with constant temperature, salinity and pH. Any fluctuation can be very stressful and the new tank is not an ideal environment for the, often causing massive dieoffs of those snails added to the tank which not only is a waste, but adds to the nitrogen cycle which throws the water chemistry off even more.  Please ask us if you need any assistance in choosing a clean-up crew.