Scud culturing for apistogramma live food?

[TacocaT]

Has anyone used scuds as their live food for apistos before? I've been intending to culture some sort of live food, and I've come across using amphipods for this. I would much rather use these as opposed to daphnia or regularly hatching BBS as from what I've heard they're significantly less work. My readings have told me that all I need is a bucket with water and regularly fed with decaying plants. Has anyone done this as well?

Thanks!

 

[MacZ]

Juvenile and small scuds do work as live food, but depending on the species you choose they might be too big for the fish and then colonize the tank. The species in my region are too big, so I didn't feed them regularly, even when I still went collecting in ponds often.

 

[TacocaT]

Juvenile and small scuds do work as live food, but depending on the species you choose they might be too big for the fish and then colonize the tank. The species in my region are too big, so I didn't feed them regularly, even when I still went collecting in ponds often.

Ah that makes sense. How safe is it to use wild-caught microfauna? I've always avoided this because I fear parasites and diseases, is that not an issue due to water parameters or something?

 

[MacZ]

It depends on the body of water.
What to avoid: Freshwater with fish/snails and whereever there are many waterfowl.
Those raise the chance of something being present dramatically. Always keep in mind, obligatory pathogens (such that always cause diseases) and parasites need hosts to exist. There are pathogens and parasites like Myxobolus cerebralis which will for sure cause diseases and which have a lifecycle going trough birds and Tubifex worms. The reason I ONLY ever fed tankbred or frozen/freezedried tubifex but never live wild ones. Others go through snails as secondary or tertiary hosts.

Also to avoid: Foul water. If the puddle is covered with cyanobacteria or smells of rotten eggs... leave it. While many insect larvae and worms will find such things appealing and live there in great numbers... remember you will feed your fish any pathogen or toxin these have accumulated in their bodies. It's the most likely reason red mosquito larvae (aka bloodworms) can sometimes kill Apistos.

Recommended: A small pond without fish, flood areas like meadows or big puddles are usually safe, also really big lakes and fast flowing rivers.
Also a good source but tricky because it can be dangerous: Bogwaters. A small brook or creek in a peat bog usually is parasite free and they can have tons of insect larvae in summer. Just be safe and use areas with enough solid ground.

What I always did: Sort the live food I gathered with a pair of tweezers (e.g. to remove leeches and debris) and put it in clean water for 24 hours and then kept the rest in the fridge for up to a week while changing the water daily.

In conclusion: If you stick to some precautions live food from local ponds is highly nutritious, serves as enrichment and I can only recomment it.

 

[TacocaT]

I live near the great lakes, so that should suffice in size, but they are quite polluted, especially in this area. Would it be possible to cleanse a population of WC scuds of toxins if I quarantine for a couple weeks while conducting many water changes? Perhaps the toxins will be flushed out and thrown out with the water change.

Also, speaking of birds, how would I avoid inviting fecal parasites if I culture mosquitoes outdoors in an open bucket?

Thanks!

 

[MacZ]

I live near the great lakes, so that should suffice in size, but they are quite polluted, especially in this area. Would it be possible to cleanse a population of WC scuds of toxins if I quarantine for a couple weeks while conducting many water changes? Perhaps the toxins will be flushed out and thrown out with the water change.

That is technically possible. but I would rather do a few weeks. Pollution is sometimes hard to detect without a lab, and hard to remove completely. But it's definitely an option.

Also, speaking of birds, how would I avoid inviting fecal parasites if I culture mosquitoes outdoors in a bucket?

Keep the water too deep for birds to bath in the bucket and offer an extra bathing bowl for garden birds. The bad stuff is in the droppings of waterfowl and wading birds, not garden passerines.
My partner has a small bucket pond on her balcony, little substrate, some plants, something like this:

Works just as perfect as a simple bucket or a rainwater barrel. A rainwater barrel usually has the highest yields.

Thanks!

My pleasure!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
The best Amphipod are <"Crangonyx"> spp., they are cat-nip to most fish and are used in aquaculture etc.

The advantage they have over Hyalella azteca and Gammarus spp. is that they are <"vegetarian"> and tolerate low oxygen, low alkalinity and warm water.

They are widely naturalised in Europe, but they are native to N. America, and you should have C. pseudogracilis present near you.

If you "pick your own" you need to watch out for <"Dikerogammarus"> the "Killer Shrimp".

Cheers Darrel