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Wild scuds = good?

7K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  abc 
#1 ·
I just brought a couple of water plants back from the river, and they're sitting in a bucket so I can get the bugs off. Among those bugs are about six scuds, and I was wondering if they're good things to have in an aquarium. Said scuds are sitting in a cup of tank water, scudding around. I was thinking of possibly culturing them, then putting a bunch in the tank now and then. Any imput on this idea? I'm pretty sure scuds are harmless scavengers, and I remember having a few in a tadpole tank once. They never harmed the tads, that I could tell.
 
#4 ·
I have hundreds in each of my tanks and I've never had a problem.
They help clean the bottom of my tanks by eating left over food and dead plants on top of that they are a great natural food source for the fishes.
They're also a sign that you have good water quality.
 
#12 ·
If you keep 3, they will become a hundred in a few weeks, and a thousands in a few months. I've kept them in earnest as curiosity in breeding all things small got the best of me but in the weeks that followed, I noticed I was giving away 10 packs, then 30 packs, then 50 packs of them away to local hobbyists with no dent on their population. When I cut back the feedings, they turned on my mosses and decimated dozens of golfballs of my prized rare species. I now keep daphnia and pretty mosses :)
 
#15 ·
my nerite snails get eaten alive by the scuds or other bugs in my tank. Scuds are good scavengers and eat any leftover food and they don't harm my fish or shrimp at all, but they tortured my poor nerite snails until 2 of them RIP. :eek:

I personally don't like them in my tank. I wish I could get rid of them but they multiply very fast. :icon_cry:
 
#16 ·
and by the way, I did a little experiment with the scuds.

I had both a new nerite and a large pond snail in the same tank.

the scuds left the pond snail alone and it thrived

my nerite snail was active at first, then retreated into its shell. I thought it was resting and left it alone for 1 week. when I checked to see it, no snail. only a massive colony of scuds fleeing out of its shell like the mechanical octopi that invaded Zion in the Matrix movie. The shell was empty/hallow inside with the nerite snail eaten to the last piece of flesh... :confused:

and of the course, the pond snail was zipping all over my tank without a care in the world... :hihi:
 
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