Skuds

[gemach7]

I was doing a little research on freshwater lake ecology. Was extrapolating the presence of some microfauna that help with keeping equilibrium in those systems and my experience with microfauna in marine aquariums.

Has anyone used skuds(freshwater shrimp or water fleas if not familiar with the term) as part of their aquarium habitat not just as a food source?

Was reading their food sources and noticed we use a lot of filters or larger species to control these nutrients. And was wondering for just the knowledge.


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[Autumnsky]

I used to have them years ago in a tank which I didn't do much other than light pwc. They just somehow appeared and skittered around in the substrate. After changing the tanks around they disappeared. I enjoy how a tank is like a little eco system.

 

[Brookster123]

I introduced them to a couple tanks a year ago. Nor sure if they're still in there as they were a food source first. The person I got them from stated that his colonies were maintained primarily with dirty filter floss from fish tanks. They eat all the "brown" stuff. If that's the case I can totally see them being beneficial in tank. They also turn the substrate. Mine went right for the substrate and I rarely saw them after. Figured whenever my scarlet badis went full torpedo into the ground he saw one

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[BillD]

Water flea is normally used to refer to daphnia, while the term scud is used for assorted species of Gammarus shrimp. Both can be cultivated. Daphnia can clean a cloudy tank or one with green water in short order as they are filter feeders. They multiply in the process. Gammarus are great for cleaning hair or thread algae in a tank. Problem with both is that they are fish food and you can't cultivate them in a tank that has fish.

 

[gemach7]

Thanks for breaking down naming. Was reading from several sites calling them different names lol.

Was looking at the fact they are food as being a plus.

Algae eats unused nutrients, grows, dies, releases those nutrients back to the tank.
We feed adding more nutrients to the tank. PWC remove these, we start again.

Could this be cycle be complimented by microfauna. Feed less as the tank foragers are also a food source. Similar to the process of seeding pods in a reef tank? As they are consumed reseed from separate culture. In the case of my sw my sump.

This