Gammarus

[zapisto]

pulex are a speciies of daphnia.

not only

* Gammarus acherondytes
* Gammarus bousfieldi
* Gammarus desperatus
* Gammarus hyalelloides
* Gammarus lacustris
* Gammarus pecos
* Gammarus pulex
* Gammarus roeselii
* Gammarus setosus
z.

[badflash]

Ah! Thanks. I've only seen them referred to as Gammarus with no species name, while with daphnia it is quite common to refer to pulex, magna, etc.

[JamesBryan]

Which is the largest of the group? Any known sources of specimens?

pulex are a speciies of daphnia.

not only

* Gammarus acherondytes
* Gammarus bousfieldi
* Gammarus desperatus
* Gammarus hyalelloides
* Gammarus lacustris
* Gammarus pecos
* Gammarus pulex
* Gammarus roeselii
* Gammarus setosus
z.

[badflash]

I don't know what species I have, but they get to be about 1/2". Got them in my local creek last fall along with some water louse.

[zapisto]

i have my pop for about 7 or 8 years now.
i would quarantine them from the wild if i was you , since they can carry cyst like the palmata.
most of the parasite will die if they dont find terget host.

thanks

[JamesBryan]

I found a source of info on raising them. "On the Rearing and Breeding of Gammarus in Laboratory Conditions" by E.W. Sexton Interesting point was that G. pulex a freshwater species, and G. chevreuxi a brackish species, and G. Locusta a marine species were all conditioned to live and breed in a "supersaturated saline solution" and in "normal freshwater". G. Locusta was very prolific and would be a good project for seahorse enthusiasts if one could find the specific species. Another interesting point brought out was how much these critter ate. Big appetites.

I am still working on G. Pulex and some form of marine species. I'm struggling still, but making progress. The colony lives longer each time at least.

James

[Mustafa]

I have Hylella azteca in one of my tanks once again as I managed to introduce two or three tiny ones with some daphnia from a contaminated population. Of course, a few months later I now have hundreds of them crawling around and I don't even specifically feed them. I find them extremely interesting, but once they are in the hundreds in your tank, they will crawl all over your shrimp and bother them to no end. And forget about having any plants in such a tank as they will all be eaten in due time.

So, your problem really seems to be creating a healthy, cycled tank with the right water for these guys. They are really, really easy to keep (at least H. azteca) and only require clean water and some food. If you can keep a shrimp in that same tank and have them breed, you should be able to keep these guys, too. Actually, these guys breed even if the conditions aren't quite right for shrimp to start breeding.

I'll have to take a look at that paper. The salinity tolerance of these various species is very interesting.

[JamesBryan]

It's an older publication. Early 20th century. Lots of details though. Would you be willing to sacrifice some of your pest azteca by sending them my way? I'll pay shipping of course and will compensate you for them.

I have been soaking leaves outside in tubs and these are added one at a time. The are striped down to the veins so somebody is eating them. I added monia to the scud cultures also so they could clean up on aging monia. We have a bog plant at work that sits in a 2L container of water. That water is old. The owner just tops it off with tap water. I provided distilled water for top off and we added a half dozen G. pulex about a week ago. They are still going. Running around the large gravel the roots are grown into.

Should you wish to dispose of those pesky H.azteca I will pay shipping and purchase some of your gravel as well to seed a tank and give them a try.

James
padawan scud farmer

[JamesBryan]

Finally got the bugs worked out of my bugs. ha ha ha, no? ok, I will keep my day job.

The WalMart water works fine, three label colors all work. I also use water from older daphnia cultures that I am feeding off. I am using the leeched leaves, java moss for hiding, limestone gravel for "rocky bottom" and higher ph. I feed flakes, the leaves, and my own no chemical greens like dandelion and clover. I am getting babies now and have some bigger adults that probably don't produce but are impressive to look at. Older ones are brownish color.

My salt tanks without fish do have a population exposion. Everything must be perfect for them there. Much more water current that is for sure.

Anyways, thanks for all the help. I have finally kept them alive and seen them breed and grow. Now I'll see just how long I can keep them going or the spouse gets tired of all the bowls, buckets, tanks, lol

[zoologist]

Hi. I have been breeding Gammarus pulex for many years. Mine originally came from my local lake in Windsor Great Park. I added a few to my goldfish tank, which has a substrate of glass marbles with a few plants and lots of Java moss. They seem to survive on the mulm produced by my very dirty goldfish and the dozen White Clouds he shares his tank with. They have been breeding in there for over 30 years.
I also have an old sink in the garden that is topped up with rainwater (in Britain, we get a lot of that). There is about 3 inches of leaves rotting away in the base, and is covered with common duckweed which I feed to my fish. I have done nothing to this tank in 25 years, but if you pull out a handful of the rotting leaves it is always full of shrimp and tubifex worms happily breeding away.
They seem to like our very low winter temperatures and cool summer ones, and I am guessing that is perhaps the secret – not letting their water get too warm.

[infopimp]

I have scuds living in a tank that is being cycled... they apparently tracked in on some seasoned gravel I moved in to move the cycle along. Should have figured, eh?

Well, as part of the cycling process I've had ammonia up to 8ppm, nitrates off the chart, and these guys keep chugging along. I consider them pretty much invincible.

These guys are fun to watch - they pair up and swim together, are very squirrely... having some sympathy for all creatures, I'd love to build a "scud trap", catch them all, and ship them to those of you who want these guys. As it is, I suck them out whenever I can during water changes, and my South American Puffers get to take care of them... happily.

[Terran]

Mustafa you mention that once the Gammarus reach huge populations that they "harass the shrimp to no end"...From your experience would you say they harass them to a point that its seriously detrimental to the shrimp..... Will the shrimp be able to continue breeding successfully? And will their offspring able to successfully reach maturity with the "bothersome" gammarus?

I ask because I have been working on a project that I am using gammarus, tubifex worms, leeches(that feed on the tubifex), MTS snails, Red Ramshorns, common "Pond Snails", and cherry shrimp...(I hope to post more information on the project once I reach some conclusions, Im not a terribly sociable person)...Right now my gammarus havent yet reached a population size similiar to what you describe and I want to be able to prepare and/or make adjustments to the project to account for this issue....good information is so hard to come by especially when dealing with animals that for the most parts are considered "food" or "pests"...

[infopimp]

my current approach is pictured below.

I feel I will never win, but my South American Puffers are happy to help me with the problem!

-steve

[Mustafa]

Yes, the scuds can get to a point where they become detrimental to the shrimp. However, that only happens if there is lots of organic material in the tank that the scuds can feast on. Scuds eat more solid material than the shrimp do so they can outcompete the shrimp. The problem is not that the scuds attack the shrimp..it's just that I had so many in a ten gallon (500? 600? maybe more...from just a few) that they were climbing all over the shrimp and eating everything...and yes...they may potentially keep the shrimp from breeding. In a tank that is not full of organic material/debris, though, I don't see that happening.

Mustafa you mention that once the Gammarus reach huge populations that they "harass the shrimp to no end"...From your experience would you say they harass them to a point that its seriously detrimental to the shrimp..... Will the shrimp be able to continue breeding successfully? And will their offspring able to successfully reach maturity with the "bothersome" gammarus?

I ask because I have been working on a project that I am using gammarus, tubifex worms, leeches(that feed on the tubifex), MTS snails, Red Ramshorns, common "Pond Snails", and cherry shrimp...(I hope to post more information on the project once I reach some conclusions, Im not a terribly sociable person)...Right now my gammarus havent yet reached a population size similiar to what you describe and I want to be able to prepare and/or make adjustments to the project to account for this issue....good information is so hard to come by especially when dealing with animals that for the most parts are considered "food" or "pests"...

[Terran]

Thanks for the response Mustafa, as always your experience and expertise is valuable.
Theres a lot of organic material in the setup I have right now....so I imagine they are going to become an issue with the shrimp. *Grumbles*

Anyone have any ideas of an organism I can add to the tank that would feed upon the Gammarus and not the Cherry Shrimp....What I would prefer is something that feeds upon baby Gammarus more often than it would feed upon baby Cherry shrimp...while leaving adult Cherry Shrimp alone...Im trying to have a lot of animal diversity in the tank that can coexist to some extent....

Maybe some sort of predatory aquatic insect...a fish...guppies maybe... This is getting complicated...Cherry Shrimp, Gammarus, Leeches, Snails, Tubifex Worms....and now something to control the Gammarus...