Can Scuds and Shrimp Live Together?

[@randomman4938]

My sister's friend's uncle said his doctor's cousin was told by the holiday season postal worker that scuds will kill your dog and steal your college savings.

[@phillipsfishworks]

That's where all my money went! 🤣🤣🤣

[@elizabethmichels8250]

🤣🤣🤣

[@hmkiro]

Scuds are well known for doing that. But the worst are werescuds. They are the real culprit.

[@randomman4938]

@@hmkiro I always wear silver crossed and garlic necklace when working on my aquariums.

[@hmkiro]

@randomman4938 🤣🤣finally somebody who takes scuds seriously!!!!

[@spuriousmonkey]

Not all scud species are created equal. There are carnivorous scud species. ‘Life in jars’ made a video not so long ago titled ‘making a killer shrimp aquarium’ where he collects an invasive scud species (in the Netherlands) to put in his aquarium. They are called killer shrimp because they basically ate all the native scud species and are now dominating the ecology at the location where he collected them. This species is invasive in Europe. So stories about scuds eating shrimp can definitely be true in theory, but it would depend on the source of the scuds. I have at least two different scud species in my tanks and none seem to affect shrimp, but i live in Northern Europe where this particular killer scud species hasn’t arrived….yet. It’s probably too cold here. Hopefully.

[@phillipsfishworks]

Yes many different species for sure. I talk more about that very thing in other videos... I've been very interested in collecting different species lately. I only have one species in my systems currently. They were identified as Hyalella azteca Complex by the source of my brood stock. He was very confident in his identification.... But from what I have gathered there are endless taxonomy issues with scuds. Thank you very much for the thought out comment!

[@Justintheinsane]

I always figured the reason people see or hear about scuds eating shrimp is because everything in the tank is starving

[@Solus-qn3ur]

Exactly

[@JuanVic-nr8lu]

They are too worried about a tiny spot of algae due to overfeeding....

[@johnheaton2545]

I put the horror stories about scuds eating shrimp and plants in the same category I put the old wives' tales about goldfish eating until they burst: either patently untrue or grossly overstated. Some people on the youtubes have done "experiments" showing that shrimp kept with scuds don't grow their populations as fast, "proving" that scuds eat shrimp. But shrimp and scuds both are detrivores and compete for food and space, and I think that is the reason shrimp populations don't grow as fast when kept with scuds. My two cents...

[@phillipsfishworks]

I would agree with you completely. There's no denying food and habitat competition. Snails are also competing with them. Thank you for the sensible comment. 😁😁😁

[@JuanVic-nr8lu]

They definitely will eat your plants though if like most people who think they are shrimp killers you don't drop in a little extra food for them. If they are eating your plants and baby shrimp it's because they need food.

[@williamavery1758]

I think this is the best channel on you tube for microfauna and im learning alot from your channel I want to thank you alot Phillip

[@thatonebab7351]

The only problem I've had with scuds is with how I planted my tank -- kinda sparsely. It was when I removed the amazon frogbit that I had issues. I assume they were more fans of the roots of those than my anubias, until it was gone. Unfortunately I don't want the frogbit back either; my issue was that culling that kept ripping up said anubias. I'm trying to plant more heavily but pretty much any soft plants = instantly gone. At this point I'm going to try and not just trickle new plants in weekly like I've been trying, but get a shit ton and plant all at once.

[@katabers]

Thanks for illuminating my scudphobia

[@phillipsfishworks]

😁😁😁 We've only just gotten started.

[@DeepOnes420]

I have an aquarium with scuds and I had shrimp in there. I didn't notice that all the shrimp were gone until the other day when I dropped an algae wafer in... (they usually congregate around the wafers)... I noticed there were only snails. I don't know if it was the scuds or just not the right water parameters in that tank . My other shrimp tanks are fine. I have caridinia and neocardia. The tank in question had caridinia (red crystal) shrimp in it.

[@JuanVic-nr8lu]

They can't take out full grown shrimp, they predate on the babies.

[@christopherfassett9973]

I'm curious what work you've done in terms of identifying what types of scuds you have. Whenever there are two polar opinions I find that the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. With almost 2,000 species of freshwater amphipods, I'm always highly skeptical of anything that people try to say about "scuds" as a monolith, which I think you're agreeing with here. There are obviously scientifically documented amphipods that are highly/primarily predatory. Ecologists often categorize scuds by their shredding rate, of dead leaves, live plants, or both. To me it's like asking "can fish live with shrimp/plants?" Well, African Cichlids usually won't do well with plants, but even then you might be able to make certain plants work in the right circumstance. That doesn't mean that your Chili Rasboras are going to cause any issues, right? I'll admit, even though I absolutely love that you're selling diverse cultures of meiofauna, something that is horribly deficient in the FW side of the hobby, I have some extremely rare plants, that if they die, I may never be able to recover that plant. That's the only thing that's giving me pause, because if my tank happens to be one of those unusual situations that results in scuds eating my plants, I will have lost things that I've personally collected, and things that are more or less nonexistent outside of a very small circle of people in the hobby. Since these plants are so rare, I doubt anyone has ever even tried keeping scuds with them I'll definitely be ordering from you once I transition my 75 gal to a sump, but I may quarantine the culture and pick all the scuds out, just in case. I may keep them in a single location and run tests though. Depends on whether I'll have the space

[@phillipsfishworks]

Thank you for such a thought-out comment... I actually have another scud video coming out in the next few days that goes a little deeper into this topic and touches on a few of your questions... I originally sourced my scud brood stock from Goliad Farms. He had them ID as Hyalella azteca Complex. On his website he goes into some detail of that identification process and who identified them. There were a couple different blog posts about it on his website... I more than understand your hesitation of putting them with rare plants. I really wouldn't want to advise you either way on that matter. Thanks again for the comment. Good luck!

[@thomaslytje8656]

Thanks! That needed to be said. I am not breeding for money. If I was, perhaps I would see things differently. But I try to have somewhat natural or at least diverse tanks. So I breed guppies, shrimps etc. in the same tank. Will some be eaten? Obviously. But if all are, something needs to change. But if some will survive and all of the inhabitants seems happy -- so am I.

[@BenjaminMellor]

I do plan on getting a bag of bugs for my future salamander tank, but should I get one for my frog tank? I plan on making the water very shallow, probably ½-1" deep. Also, I think one more thing that I would like to add to the salamander tank is extra stonewort. How much more would it cost to octuple the amount of stonewort in the bag? I would also like you to bundle several cherry shrimp in a seperate bag if that's okay.

[@phillipsfishworks]

Thank you for the interest... I responded to one of your past emails. Always glad to do custom orders. 😁😁😁

[@Scorpioboyfl]

Oh hey! I just ordered from you yesterday! No idea you had vids online! Very cool!

[@phillipsfishworks]

Hey! Thank you so much for the support! Definitely more videos to come.

[@ChadGardenSinLA]

I think a lot of the channels you're referring to are AI channels. Not sure if someone let their AI loose to create content based on the body of knowledge available in any given meta, but those voices aren't like yours and mine. They are very robotic and have the same exact pronunciation and intonation on the same words within the video. i.e. you've said scuds a million times in this one video, but it sounds different every single time you say it because that how humans talk. Thanks for this content. I recently put together a brackish tank and when I was collecting sand on the beach there were all these grape sized looking fleas living in the sand ... didn't not realize they too are scuds!

[@pelhamsaquatics]

I do keep and raise scuds for fish food for my dwarf cichlids. I can say I have not seen my scuds eat live shrimplets , as far as plants are concerned I can say with first hand experience they will devistate plants it’s a been 100% my experience.

[@phillipsfishworks]

Yes, in the right circumstance, they will definitely eat plants... People under estimate how large their population can grow because they can stay hidden out of sight... In my experience, they do not go after live plants as a first choice of food. A huge population of scuds in a fishless tank can run out of food quick. Thanks for sharing your experience! 😁😁😁

[@kristenbrown1]

I’ve never had scuds eat my plants in my 6 tanks. If they do, it’s only the dying part. “Feed” your scuds. Aka Let a few dead leaves lay stacked up for them. Live plants are hard to eat for them, so if they’re eating live plants it’s because they don’t have other options.

[@Sea-cucumber1151]

They the scuds do eat the grass, they keep my grass trimmed in the front of my tank, you can tell it was eaten, not dead grass. I do wonder about my shrimplets, my scuds have been over breeding, and I see a shrimplet then I don’t. I just have to wait and see if my numbers go up, but I do wonder.

[@JuanVic-nr8lu]

You weren't feeding them enough...

[@scott1285]

Oh my thank you! I appreciate you for sharing this. Im excited to see your other videos now. ❤

[@phillipsfishworks]

Thank you for watching! There is much more to come in 2024!

[@sarsvfx]

the way this man talks u can tell he is smart

[@PotooBurd]

This is so informative!!! Fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝

[@mondraymondo]

This is the video people like me needs. Instead of freaking out about everything in the aquarium after your shrimps... its better to accept it as part of nature and as long as the general population is thriving then its actually a balance

[@yolooo5081]

I have scuds, and they ate all my plants. I waited out for months for them to die out, before buying plants again. But some still survive. That at least I can verify. I just start out a shrimp colony. The part whether or not they gonna eat shrimp. I will find that out shortly.

[@PotooBurd]

Best of luck to your shrimp 🦐

[@DirtyArnie]

When My neighbor sues me saying my scud ate all her baby shrimp I am bringing this expert with 1st hand, not second hand information to court and he will tell the judge that's very unlikely.

[@TheDabKing710]

Will your bag of leaves be ok for a nano aquarium? Will the micro organisms be ok with the other fish and shrimp in a smaller setup?

[@markvonwisco7369]

In my experience scuds and Neocaridina shrimp can exist with no issues. My understanding is that scuds are detritivores, so they're not going to eat live animals. As long as there's adequate food sources, I can't imagine scuds eating shrimp, when there's other foods available.

[@phillipsfishworks]

You are spot on... I have only raised them together and I sell a ton of shrimp... If the scuds were eating all my baby shrimp I wouldn't have any shrimp to sell. Seems simple to me 😁😁😁

[@unsocialbutterfly5760]

I just found a scud in my shrimp only tank I set up about two months ago. I had no clue what it was and I panicked 😂 The shrimp group identified it as a scud when I posted the video of it. Now I’m concerned that they will affect my plans to breed my cherry shrimp and hurting my beautiful plants. If there were fish in the tank they would likely eat the scuds, so I was thinking of getting a couple of zebra danios but it’s a very small tank, purposely as only shrimp would live in it. I assume they hitchhiked on plants, along with the gazillion pest snails that now also occupy my tank. Now I know why people spend the money on tissue culture cups 🥴 Thanks for this video, very helpful.

[@janemarriott3389]

Real information.. much appreciated.

[@matthewfrancucci3870]

Thanks for this video! Found one and got worried. Never one before haha

[@phillipsfishworks]

Never fear lol... scuds are great. Fascinating little devils!

[@1971mav]

Any scuds in my tank will have lots of shrimp and snails to compete for food.

[@LushSaltyAquariums]

Very incisive video. I believe many hobbyists, especially amateurs, think the concept of predation is inherently "bad" or "wrong" when the truth is just the opposite.

[@phillipsfishworks]

You hit the nail on the head! Simply put, on some level, everything is eating everything 🤣

[@emitadlapafi6715]

Great videos! There needs to be more long videos like yours. You sound like Chris Pratt 100%! Also, big plus!

[@miashadows]

Ive been wondering this and thought about asking u! Thanks for this!

[@phillipsfishworks]

I get questions related to this all the time. It's understandable why. Seems like a while back scud hating videos became popular all of the sudden... I only speak about what I have experience with. This has been experience for a long time now... Thanks for watching. I will have more videos on this topic. 😁😁😁

[@RubyDubidoux]

What's a safe scud to shrimp ratio?

[@robertbaker3174]

I definitely seen a decline in the babies when the scuds were in the tank.

[@VolCanixWorx]

Will limestone add calcium to the water?

[@phillipsfishworks]

Yes, it will... I have experimented with limestone. I used way too much and it made the water pretty hard. Thanks for the comment

[@brelouum]

i personally prefer water woodlice / hoglice, they do a very similar job to scuds

[@phillipsfishworks]

I have been very interested in these aquatic isopods you're talking about for some time. Working on a breeding project with them now. My goal is to have cultures available first of the year! Thanks for watching!

[@Official_Zim]

I have a mini two gallon shrimp only tank, would scuds just completely ruin it? Or can I add them in

[@phillipsfishworks]

I don't know that they would completely ruin it. But if you get a large population of scuds growing and they get low on the food and they will probably start nibbling on your plants. Lots of factors involved in that type of situation.... As time goes on, their numbers will grow and its not always easy to tell how large the population has actually grown. A small base population of scuds is usually no issue. An army of thousands can run out of food fast... And if you ever find yourself with an army of scuds, keep in mind they are no match for a hungry betta 🤣🤣🤣

[@Joe-ui5vi]

Thanks for the info! Will a guppie eat scuds?

[@towzone]

Scuds rock

[@PsychoPlantLady]

Great video! 🙂

[@美獅]

Hungry dogs eat their 😮owner's baby when were not feed well

[@jamalhester4923]

You have been out of shrimp for a while. Did your scuds finally eat all of your shrimp? LOL

[@phillipsfishworks]

🤣🤣🤣 Not yet lol... They will actually be back in stock on the website sometime tomorrow. At the same time I'll also be adding the aquatic isopods.... I like to sell what I grow and I learned a long time ago if I sell all my breeding stock I'll have nothing to sell in the future. Therefore shrimp and other creatures will be out of stock from time to time while they regrow. It's been amazing watching how quickly the populations rebounded with this couple months hiatus. 😁😁😁

[@jamalhester4923]

@@phillipsfishworks 😂😂😂 sounds great. Can't wait to finally get some. Thank you

[@userjoe4870]

So, you can not say for sure either.

[@iceroadtrucker2008]

Great videos! The background noise, I mean music needs to be quieter

[@LushSaltyAquariums]

Would you add any food for scuds in a newly set up planted tank? I was thinking of adding spirulina or fry food to help the scuds and shrimp out in the early going - thoughts?

[@phillipsfishworks]

Yes, I wouldn't hesitate to feed a little.... But a little goes a long way. The challenge is learning how much to feed as their population grows. Of course feeding will influence their population.

[@idio-syncrasy]

The background music is off-putting

[@gurinkelm]

I am talking about a shrimp only tank with no other fish

[@donaldlyons17]

You talking about so many Fianacial KZbinrs!!! They have circumstances help them and then pretend everyone can have what they have!!!