Scuds
From Microcosm Aquarium Explorer
Scuds are good fish food and seem to know it, so they are seldom visible during the day. Ron Shimek
Overview
Common in most marine tanks with live rock or sand. These highly successful crustaceans lack a carapace. Unlike shrimps, all body segments are visible. Colors vary from colorless to browns or greens. Flattened a bit from side to side. Hindmost visible appendages tend to be longer than the anterior ones, and the terminal segments are splayed out to the side, allowing the animal to stand upright like a bicycle with training wheels. Most in our tanks live by scraping algae off the substrate.
Family: Gammaridae
Other common name(s):
- Side Shrimps
- Gammarus Shrimps
Native range:
- All Seas
Maximum length: 5 cm (2 in)
Minimum aquarium size: 38 L (10 gal)
Lighting: Immaterial.
Water: Marine 24 °C (75 °F) - 28 °C (82 °F)
Feeding
Aquarium forms are usually detritivores.
Aquarium Compatibility
Harmless; good food for other animals. Easy to raise in a refugium.
Notes
They can be cultured in a refugium. Chaetomorpha crassa algae is a good species for amphipod culture, as are the various filamentous green algae referred to as “hair algae.”