culturing scuds

[High-PH]

I was thinking about trying to keep some of these going, if I got a chance at a culture of them in the near future, and was wondering what ranges of temperatures they can tolerate.

[Spot86t]

Re: culturing scuds

Mine have been outside all winter.  Definately no shortage of them.  Don't know how they'll do in the heat of summer tho.  I'll probably put some in a shady spot.

[Tiapan]

Re: culturing scuds

do you think they would do well with cherry shrimp?

[Spot86t]

Re: culturing scuds

I found this:
[url]http://www.petshrimp.com/discussions/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2776[\url]

Also found this:

"Scuds (Amphipoda) are not true shrimp. These crustaceans grow to half an inch and look a little like fleas. They swim on their sides and eat plant and animal debris. Gammarus and Hyalella are two kinds. Scuds avoid light, and fish like to eat them. A bad side is that they are often intermediate hosts for tapeworms and other parasites of larger animals like fish and frogs. They like lightly brackish water. I added some to my big pond but since the pond is so large, I have never seen them since the release."

They multiply like mad in the little plant tub I have outside, but it's black and thick with plants.  I pull some out occasionally to feed the fish with - the Golden Wonders love them.

I stuck some in my little cray tank at work (2.5 gal) and occasionally see a few swimming around, but I can see several through the clear little box filter I have in there - they are in the coarse sponge that makes the top layer of it.  They're too quick for the cray to catch most of the time, but he may have gotten a few.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: culturing scuds

I've got a good size bucket of mosquito larvae going on at the side of the house.....now I need to find something to feed them to.

[islander]

Re: culturing scuds

Good morning,

Our experience with scuds is they have a tempature range and to very warm water to freezing water.  They seem to adapt.  Live off the decomposing mater in the tank.  Many times when we turn on the tank lights in the morning they take cover along with the glass shrimp.  We probably have them in all of our tanks and love them.  Along with the filter pads they also like to hang out in the drift wood, hornwort or anarachis.  later, ken/mark

[Mzungu]

Re: culturing scuds

I have to agree - they're so incredibly easy to keep. (I actually have some along with some RCS and CRS at the moment, and everyone is fine.) Just throw your plant cuttings/trimmings/extras in whenever you can, and that's about it. They devour hair algae, so if I ever find some of that, into the "scud tank" it goes! The also seem to like to pick at moss...the moss I throw in there has usually turned to thin threads in a couple of days.

EDIT - I forgot to say, I have them in both filtered and unfiltered tanks. Plants (and water) seem to be their only necessities in life.  :)

[Tiapan]

Re: culturing scuds

maybe Ek could tell me but if i remmember they look amazingly similar to copapods from saltwater tanks, someone tell me im crazy or are they the same thing?

[Mzungu]

Re: culturing scuds

Here are some pictures I took of the scuds in my house:

[fishlady]

Re: culturing scuds

MB do you find that they are pushy living in your house like they do?...do they hog the icebox at times?...

[Mzungu]

Re: culturing scuds

No, thankfully, they tend to eat whatever's lying around. But they're not very inconcspicuous when it comes to "making scuds!"  

[Tiapan]

Re: culturing scuds

yeah they look just like copapods from my old saltwater tank, you need them if you want to keep mandarin gobies (thats their main food source or so im told)

[eklikewhoa]

Re: culturing scuds

Anything in the reef tank will eat copepods... in a way it's how you judge if your tank is matured or not with their presence....also great to have them in your system so you don't have to worry about feeding much.

[Tiapan]

Re: culturing scuds

but scuds are a type of copepod right?

[High-PH]

Re: culturing scuds

I was thinking of setting up a plastic ex-horse-watering tub for them on the patio, with some plants. Figured they'd do okay, but have to admit I wondered how I'd catch them out for anyone to eat. If they can hide out and breed in the tanks too, that sounds good.  One articles I found talked about them prefering the alkaline lakes up north, so I did wonder about them making it in old planted places. Sounds like anything goes. Great. Now all I need is to get a start.  I hope people who have them and plan to attend the  HAS auction will bring us poor, scudless others some to try. :)

Polly