creating a scud farm

[BadgersSong]

I'm giving live food culturing another shot. Got my scud farm up and running now. Big thanks to @aquamar for the scuds. They're currently living in a pretty basic setup, but I'm hoping to upgrade to something nicer soon. For now, they seem happy enough.

[coltin]

When taking a video of your scud farm, try shooting in landscape mode to get the best view.

As for the setup, I think adding more plants would really help them thrive. You could also consider adding some leaf litter to the bottom of the container. An air-operated sponge filter would be a great addition to keep the water clean and oxygenated. A well-planted container with a sponge filter would be ideal, and feeding them fish food once or twice a day should keep them happy.

[Lachlan]

Freshwater scuds have a thing for pumpkin, so if you're looking to try it out as a food source, make sure it's the fresh stuff - not canned. Cut it into small cubes, just the meat, and freeze it for later use. When feeding, weigh the cubes down to the bottom of the tank with something, and this will also make harvesting them for fish food a breeze - just pull out the cube and shake the scuds into another container.

I've also found that if you've got a plant or decoration with algae you want to get rid of, tossing it in the scud tank works wonders - they'll clean it off in no time without harming the plant or decoration. Just a heads up, though - they might munch on some mosses, but they tend to leave regular plants alone.

[bettaMagenta]

I'm thinking of starting my own scud colony, and I have to admit, I'm a bit envious of your Asian water moss - it looks great. I tried growing some myself, but unfortunately, it didn't do too well. I'm guessing it was probably due to too much water movement. I might give it another shot in one of my 10-gallon tanks that has a sponge filter, see if that makes a difference.

That scud in the video, by the way, looked bigger than I expected. And I love the idea of using pumpkin cubes for harvesting - it's genius. One thing that might make it even easier is to poke a hole through the cube and attach a string, so you can just lift it out when you need to transfer the scuds.

[infold]

That's awesome, I've always been fascinated by scud farming. Your video is making me want to jump in and start my own project. Those little guys are so cool, scurrying around like that. You get such a range of sizes too, from tiny to pretty big. It's great to see the different life stages. I've read about certain fish eating crustaceans in the wild, and it's amazing to think about replicating that in a home aquarium. I'd love to see some predator fish, like Angelfish or Tiger Barbs, hunting them down. Looking forward to hearing about your progress and any challenges you face.

[aquamar]

I'm thinking of starting my own scud colony, and I have to admit, I'm a bit envious of your Asian water moss - it looks great. I tried growing some myself, but unfortunately, it didn't do too well. I'm guessing it was probably due to too much water movement. I might give it another shot in one of my 10-gallon tanks that has a sponge filter, see if that makes a difference.

That scud in the video, by the way, looked bigger than I expected. And I love the idea of using pumpkin cubes for harvesting - it's genius. One thing that might make it even easier is to poke a hole through the cube and attach a string, so you can just lift it out when you need to transfer the scuds.

I've got 81 more scuds that need a new home - they're chillin' in a Solo cup next to my aquarium with some dwarf water lettuce and plant scraps for company. I'm keeping a few colonies for myself, but these guys were farmed from my shrimp tank and I'd rather they didn't stick around. If you're interested in giving them a new home, just shoot me a message - I ship, no problem. Just hit me up with a PM.

Scuds are super low-maintenance, by the way - I've got a jar on my window sill that's basically a stagnant green water paradise, and they thrive in it. They munch on algae and whatever plant scraps I toss in (which, let's be real, isn't often - maybe a tiny snack twice a year). They even live amongst the roots of a sweet potato I've got rooted in a mason jar. They get big, they get black, and they're happy as clams. I've got pics of the scuds I'm keeping, but I can try to grab some shots of the Solo cup crew if you're curious.

[aquamar]

That's awesome, I've always been fascinated by scud farming. Your video is making me want to jump in and start my own project. Those little guys are so cool, scurrying around like that. You get such a range of sizes too, from tiny to pretty big. It's great to see the different life stages. I've read about certain fish eating crustaceans in the wild, and it's amazing to think about replicating that in a home aquarium. I'd love to see some predator fish, like Angelfish or Tiger Barbs, hunting them down. Looking forward to hearing about your progress and any challenges you face.

I'd be happy to capture a video of that for you, it's definitely entertaining to watch. If you're looking to get into scuds, I've got a bunch I'm rehoming - 81 right now, and the number's growing every day as I catch them in my shrimp tank. Just shoot me a PM if you're interested.

[aquamar]

Just tried to film the angel hunting scuds, but it's not easy. Make that 77 scuds still looking for a new home. My angel is like a vacuum, sucking them right out of the turkey baster. The Siamese algae eater is always there to clean up what's left, but honestly, there's not much for him to get. I think I'll need some help with filming to get it right. Need to work on my coordination and holding the camera steady while feeding. Maybe tomorrow with some assistance, I'll be able to capture the hunt on camera.

[BadgersSong]

I'm thinking of starting my own scud colony, and I have to admit, I'm a bit envious of your Asian water moss - it looks great. I tried growing some myself, but unfortunately, it didn't do too well. I'm guessing it was probably due to too much water movement. I might give it another shot in one of my 10-gallon tanks that has a sponge filter, see if that makes a difference.

That scud in the video, by the way, looked bigger than I expected. And I love the idea of using pumpkin cubes for harvesting - it's genius. One thing that might make it even easier is to poke a hole through the cube and attach a string, so you can just lift it out when you need to transfer the scuds.

I've got 81 more scuds that need a new home - they're chillin' in a Solo cup next to my aquarium with some dwarf water lettuce and plant scraps for company. I'm keeping a few colonies for myself, but these guys were farmed from my shrimp tank and I'd rather they didn't stick around. If you're interested in giving them a new home, just shoot me a message - I ship, no problem. Just hit me up with a PM.

Scuds are super low-maintenance, by the way - I've got a jar on my window sill that's basically a stagnant green water paradise, and they thrive in it. They munch on algae and whatever plant scraps I toss in (which, let's be real, isn't often - maybe a tiny snack twice a year). They even live amongst the roots of a sweet potato I've got rooted in a mason jar. They get big, they get black, and they're happy as clams. I've got pics of the scuds I'm keeping, but I can try to grab some shots of the Solo cup crew if you're curious.

I'm really after having a massive scud colony, but my fish just devour them in no time, making it impossible to establish a self-sustaining population in any of my tanks.

On a separate note, I've found a simple trick for feeding your scuds or fish veggie chunks - just spear them with a stainless steel fork.

[Lachlan]

I spoke with Jonny from Dan's Fish about setting up a scud farm, and he recommended a 5-gallon tank with under-gravel filtration. This setup is ideal since there's no risk of scuds getting sucked into the filter intake. If under-gravel isn't an option, a sponge filter is the way to go.

A stainless skewer or a long piece of wood works great for feeding scuds. They're not picky eaters and will devour just about any veggie. Pumpkin is a favorite, but they're basically little garbage disposals - they'll eat whatever you give them.

I've shared this before, but here's a video of scuds in action.