Gammarus

Bradimus · Post by **Bradimus** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:14 pm

It seems that my ghost shrimp have some new neighbors. I'm not sure how it happened, but some gammaruses (gammari ?) hitched a ride into one of my aquariums. That leaves me with a few questions:

Do they present a threat to my shrimp? (I doubt it.)
Do they present a threat to any potential offspring of my shrimp? (Maybe?)
Is there a good biological control that will not affect the shrimp? (Yeah, right.)
Any thoughts?

Post by **Mustafa** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:58 am

Hi Brad,

You might actually have Hyalella azteca, which seem to be more common down there, but it could be some type of Gammarus, too. I don't think they will be a problem in your tank. They are not really all that predatory, so I do not think that they will harm the baby shrimp either. Here you will have to make some personal observations, though, since I have never kept scuds with shrimp before.

The only problem they *might* cause is to compete for food resources with your shrimp.

As to biological control....anything that will control the scuds will also control your shrimp.

By the way, when I was still living in Arizona, I found this totally green scud in a remote creek/waterhole in the mountains of Tucson after hiking for a couple of hours. It was just as green as the green shrimp or even greener. I would not mind establishing a little colony of these green guys in my tanks. Next time I fly to Tucson I will try to get some of these guys back for breeding purposes.

Mustafa

amber2461 · Post by **amber2461** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 9:33 am

Green? Wow

Post by **Mustafa** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 10:21 am

amber2461 wrote:Green? Wow

Yes, green! I had caught them and braught them home back in 1999, when I was still living in Tucson. I had a 125 gallon cichlid tank and foolishly tried to introduce the poor green scuds into that tank hoping they could survive in the rock crevices and java moss. Needless to say, they probably ended up as food for the fish.

I obviously know better now.

Next time I have to chance to get them, they'll be getting their own tank.

Mustafa

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 10:47 am

hey! that's as bad as my live rock fiasco, Mustafa!!

(just messin' with ya

)

Amanda

Bradimus · Post by **Bradimus** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:31 am

Petshrimp.com wrote:You might actually have Hyalella azteca, which seem to be more common down there,

Could be. I haven't put one under a lens.

The only problem they *might* cause is to compete for food resources with your shrimp.

Pretty much what I thought.

By the way, when I was still living in Arizona, I found this totally green scud in a remote creek/waterhole in the mountains of Tucson after hiking for a couple of hours. It was just as green as the green shrimp or even greener.

Very cool. I have never seen one that wasn't translucent white. My currently have a nice green stripe from the algae in their gut.

Thanks again.

Post by **Mustafa** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:03 pm

Yeah...I wish I had a website like this to ask questions back then.

Acsuth wrote: hey! that's as bad as my live rock fiasco, Mustafa!!

(just messin' with ya )

Amanda

51Cornell · Post by **51Cornell** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:29 pm

We've got gammarus--lots of them 'cause I like them. I even seed most of the shrimp tanks with the little guys because they just go scooting around--they move differently then baby shrimp. They will compete for food with your other shrimps but no more so than snails do, and they will help clean up excess food (to a certain degree anyway) and also dead leaves from the plants. They don't mess with the shrimp--seem to be totally scared of them; if a shrimp, even a very tiny one, touches a scud, the scud goes shooting away like it's on fire. So having scuds in your shrimp tank is just fine.

Bradimus · Post by **Bradimus** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 7:24 pm

51Cornell wrote:I even seed most of the shrimp tanks with the little guys because they just go scooting around--they move differently then baby shrimp.

Their sprint-rest-sprint movement is entertaining. Seems like something out of a cartoon.

scrimp · Post by **scrimp** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:16 pm

This is a good time to ask another of my great question hehehe...I once saw on the travel channle a place in russia that has fresh water sponges and seals etc...I have searched and searched but have never found any place that sells fresh water sponges. Do any of you think this would be a cool edition to the shrimp tank? This place said the sponges filter the water so well and its the clearest lakes in the world are there. I wonder if theyre also were fresh water shrimp in this lake too bad I cant remeber the name of the lake.

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 3:44 am

It's Lake Baikal, which is north of the Mongolian Border. It's a cold water lake and anything from it would die in room temperature tanks eventually.

scrimp · Post by **scrimp** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:16 am

Thanks for that info that would make sence since it is a tundra...Have you been by any chance? Im gonna start researching this.

Bradimus · Post by **Bradimus** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:20 am

Petshrimp.com wrote:You might actually have Hyalella azteca.

Right again.

Post by **Mustafa** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 1:19 pm

Hi Brad,

How did you figure? Did you do some research?

Mustafa

Bradimus · Post by **Bradimus** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 2:58 pm

My sister-in-law works for the Florida Dept. of Environment Protection. One of her colleagues monitors freshwater inverts to track water quality. He IDed them.