Gammarus (Scuds)

[kettering bloke]

Scuds can carry a range of unwanted problems but the main ones are paracites that use two or more hosts to complete there full life cycle. As said before you break the chain for long enough you have clean scuds. But be care full of other paracites Mites and lice that may use to scuds as a vector to get into your tanks. Get a good microscope that you can check the scuds with and do it over a period of months. Also clean the bottom of the tank they breed in this should drop the worm count. And always collect you starter culture from a source well clear of fish ( and other amphibs if possible) Not as difficult as you think I find in my area we have lots of natural springs these are miles from the nearest fish. Sad to say but any spring in the middle of intensive farm land has often no amphibs near by. Once you have done this I have found no better food to date almost every thing takes them and they start quite small so good when your newts find water fleas too big. Regards KB

 

[Yahilles]

Why do people select only few wild invertebrates that are "dangerous due to parasites"?
Can't you all understand that it's not only scuds that carry parasites- earthworms, pillbugs, aquatic ispopods and whatever you collect in wild could be parasite vectors as well?

 

[Azhael]

What we understand is that the parasites carried by scuds (and snails) are particularly dangerous because some of them are vertebrate specific. Their final host is a vertebrate, specifically tetrapods.
Of course there is a risk with everything that´s taken from the wild, the point is that the risk is somewhat higher with certain foods because of what they carry. An earthworm could be a vector for parasites, of course, but if that parasite doesn´t use vertebrates as hosts, it´s entirely irrelevant. The problem with scuds is that we know they can carry parasites that specifically infect tetrapods.
And if everything is a risk, isn´t it a good idea to try to do something about it? Targeting the species that imply higher risks, having certain safety protocols and promoting captive cultures over wild collected foods, aren´t all those things for the benefit of our animals?

 

[Yahilles]

I don't get your idea of "higher risks".
I think earthworms are being eaten mostly by vertebrates, from moles to birds, so they will obviously be a target of parasites, but still nobody says "be aware of parasites from wild collected earthworms".

 

[Coastal Groovin]

I don't get your idea of "higher risks".
I think earthworms are being eaten mostly by vertebrates, from moles to birds, so they will obviously be a target of parasites, but still nobody says "be aware of parasites from wild collected earthworms".

Farm raised anything is a high risk. Earthworm farms are outside. Blackworm farms are in outside pools. It makes them the same risk as going to the pond or park just a few miles down the road. Raising your own scuds does seem like it would keep them clean in theory though. Maybe even the safest food to use along with cultured Daphnia.