# Check out these critters:



## mauve (Apr 12, 2010)

HI,
I've had these guys in the tank for almost 7 years (as long as the tank has been functioning), they are inhabiting the substrate, you can see them busy digging about.
I think they are from Gammarus from Amphipoda order. These "bugs" look like fleas. I often see my fish chasing them around.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Dude can I PLEASE buy some off you??

Can you get maybe 3-400 together in a bag for me? I've seeded them tank to tank before. I had a colony of these in 2005 they make exceptional fry food and they totally cut down detrius. 

If this is possible please PM me. When I had these I used to vaccuum them out of the gravel by the hundreds at every water change. 

Thanks in advance

Im in East York


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Definitely gammarus. They thrive on algae. I had a colony going for about 7 years until I put some thread algae into their tank that contained some rivulus eggs.


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## mauve (Apr 12, 2010)

by rivulus you mean killies? Where did you get that "contaminated" algae


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

The algae came from the tank I kept the rivulus (yes killies, harti) in. I stumbled onto the fact that gammarus love thread algae. If I had a plant with algae on it, such as a crypt,or Anubias, I would put it into the gammarus tank and they would clean it off. However, if they finished the algae off and there was nothing else to eat, they would start on the plant, so, you had to watch for them to be done, usually within 24 hours.


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## mauve (Apr 12, 2010)

Oh, so it might be gammarus and not the snails 
responsible for the little holes in my plants. Because 
I never get a lot of algae in the tank. Hmm.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

interesting little creatures

consider a pest when there are hundreds in a tank?


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Fish_Man said:


> interesting little creatures
> 
> consider a pest when there are hundreds in a tank?


Its as far from a pest as you can get. They don't noticeably contribute to your bioload. They help break down any uneaten food, they look cool, they consume calcium, which is good if you want a soft water tank.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

where does such critters come from ?


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## mauve (Apr 12, 2010)

You can get them in the lake. I suspect they got into my tank with some gravel from L. Ontario, although I boiled the heck out of it...
They could be found in the sand where the water 'licks" the shore.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I got mine with some hornwort I bought at Big Al's. I saw them in the tank and made sure I got some. There are many species and they vary in size. Mine didn't get more than 1/4". The ones in Lake Simcoe seem to be much larger, up to 1/2".


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Have you thought about selling these on lots or offering them for trade? I'd love to have some too!


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## paradigmseeker (Apr 29, 2009)

i would love to buy some off of you as well. i like diversity in my tank and these would be an interesting addition (specially if they're edible). i'm also fighting with a recurring algae problem and wouldn't mind some proven eaters.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

You should sell some to a LFS and then make some $$ sounds like there is gold in them their critters


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

One of my customer's ponds has very few fish and thousands of those things as well as an array of other little critters. I always assumed they would be a good food source but I never could ID them 100% and was worried they might be a bad bug. I also found some brine shrimp lookin things in a little marsh near my cottage that I want to ID.


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## mauve (Apr 12, 2010)

I am not sure how many I actually have 
in this 5 g tank. Selling doesn't sit right with 
me but sharing or trading is good.
I see some "ridin" each other, so they must be
some eager breeders


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

mauve said:


> I am not sure how many I actually have
> in this 5 g tank. Selling doesn't sit right with
> me but sharing or trading is good.
> I see some "ridin" each other, so they must be
> some eager breeders


K, well... Can I trade you a piece of wood for some or something? 

*One of my customer's ponds has very few fish and thousands of those things as well as an array of other little critters. I always assumed they would be a good food source but I never could ID them 100% and was worried they might be a bad bug. I also found some brine shrimp lookin things in a little marsh near my cottage that I want to ID.
*

The tank I had a total infestation of these in around 2005 had a school of corys in it. They were always insanely fat and grew really fast considering the amount I fed them and they were really really into just burrying into the gravel like I'd never seen in any other tank I'd ever seen them in. That's what got me exploring to discover the little bugs. I'd never really looked at my 'out' water or closely at my substrate until then. Since then I always do .


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

these sound very interesting and I must check it out at big al's next time if I see any in the plants


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

They're not in the plants they live in gravel like in the actual gravel


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Cory said:


> I also found some brine shrimp lookin things in a little marsh near my cottage that I want to ID.


What you found was fairy shrimp, which look very much like brine shrimp but get larger, around 1" long. They appear early in spring, often before the ice is completely gone. They are a catch and feed as they are difficult to cultivate.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Not fairy shrimp. It's a copepod of some sort. Maxes out around 2mm.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

After a brief internet search Im pretty sure it's cyclops but I'll have to actually take some out next time Im up there to be sure.


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