# Intruder Alert!



## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Hi Guys,

So it just came to my mind yesterday that I haven't seen my Tiger Shrimps in a few days so i decided to go look for them. When I pulled up the Riccia stone, something that looked like a potato bug crawled up. It was slightly transparent and looked very close to a potato bug. I tried to catch it but it swam away like a shrimp and hid in between the rocks. Does anyone know what it is and if it can be harmful to my shrimps?

Any help would be appreciated!


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

if its a tiny wee thing kind rounded whitish and jumps around a lot its probably a daphnia...they are harmless and only eat dead plant matter...actually keep your plants good because they eat all the dead/dying leaves. They can become a nuisance though...I have many of them in my shrimp tanks...they come on the plants and once in your tank they just breed like crazy!


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

i THINK i found what it was...

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatf...uarium-an-overview-of-amphipods-and-copepods/


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Although most of them say it's in saltwater tanks...


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

It's a scud. They're harmless, though they do eat moss but not at a rate to do any damage to it. They're actually related to shrimp as they are an invert as well. It's funny, when I spray Ero's in my tanks, the scuds all do the dance too. lol.


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Yep that's the little buggers that are in my tanks! You should see them try to outsmart the shrimps when I drop some algae wafers in the tank...pushing in to get some too


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## Jaysan (Dec 19, 2011)

I have them in my tanks.
Their really tiny though. Mine are probably 0.5mm
They haven't gotten any larger than that as I add in a few chili rasboras to take care of the issue. haha
Too bad the rasboras dont actually eat them. They put it in their mouth and spit it back out. After that, I see the lil white spec fall to the ground and dont move xD


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Thank goodness...i freaked out and tried to get it out but it swam away and crawled in between rocks which made it impossible for me to get him at...phew!


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## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

I just read online from another forum that they eat shrimp eggs...is that true?


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## Jaysan (Dec 19, 2011)

They will probably eat shrimp eggs if the shrimps dropped them.
Dropped eggs will most likely not hatch and die.
i.e., dropped eggs will get eaten by shrimps as well.


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

the weird things that come into shrimp tanks -_-


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

Shrimp don't lay eggs, so they won't eat the eggs, the eggs stay on the shrimp until hatched. IF a shrimp drops her eggs, shrimp will eat them too though scuds seem almost all vegi-monsters. I don't even see them eating a dead shrimp ever or going after blood worms, just moss and sometimes they munch on left over algae wafer. I look at them like snails, eat leftover food, much bits of moss off which encourages the moss to grow new nodes.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

No kidding. This must be a good time of year for them, I had a bunch show up after I rinsed a plant off in a bucket.. I ended up keeping them. If you catch one in a jar and look at it closely, they are kind of cute.. and boy are they fast ! If I have enough show up with time, I'll try feeding them to the loaches and danies, see if they like them. I have daphnia too, for the same reason. Another member told me he kept amphipods for years, as they were an outstanding clean up crew for algae covered plants. He also said they will eat plants if they get hungry enough, as in if they have eaten all the algae, so like snails, it's best to make sure they don't get too hungry.

I'm tempted to see about getting a cheap microscope so I can see some of the other tiny critters I see in the tank.. tiny white things that jump around like fleas, tiny nematodes, other tiny things. So far, thankfully, nothing nasty.


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