25 Live Scuds – Gammarus Pulex Starter Culture | Live Fish Food, Cleanup Crew

25 Live Scuds – Gammarus Starter Culture for Aquariums & Ponds

This listing is for 25 live scuds (Gammarus pulex), mixed sizes from juveniles to adults. Perfect for starting a self-sustaining scud colony or adding biodiversity to your aquarium, paludarium, or pond.

What Are Scuds?

Scuds are small, freshwater crustaceans found in clean streams, lakes, and ponds. In aquariums, they serve as both a cleanup crew and a natural, protein rich food source for many fish, amphibians, and invertebrates. They are pretty microscopic, they are not typically sold as pets, they are usually food!

Why Keep Scuds?

Starter Culture: Breed your own live scuds for a constant, renewable live food source.

Natural Foraging: Encourage natural hunting behaviors in fish.

Biodiversity Boost: Add beneficial microfauna to your aquarium ecosystem. Excellent for kickstarting a tank cycle.

Cleanup Crew: Eat uneaten fish food, algae wafers, detritus, and decaying plant matter.

Care & Breeding:

Light: Not required; low or ambient light is fine.

Water: Stable, clean freshwater with some hiding places (plants, moss, leaf litter).

Food: Algae wafers, blanched vegetables, fish food, and detritus.

Breeding: Reproduce readily; colonies grow fastest with steady food and stable conditions.

Best Uses:

Live food for freshwater fish, dwarf cichlids, bettas, gouramis, loaches, and more.

Amphibian and reptile feeding (newts, salamanders, turtles).

  Pond stocking for natural forage.

Shipping:

Flat-rate shipping to the continental U.S. Packed in damp media with insulation as needed.

Disclaimer: My tanks may also contain harmless hitchhikers like snails or copepods. While I do my best to separate them, you may receive extras.