Amphipods Gammarideas - breeding, feeding and cultivating advice

As ive recently found out, i have amphipod Gammarideas in my sump! these guys came out of no where. i thought they were parasites but the people on this forum helped me clear that one up. But now i know what they are i want to get their numbers up (i only have around 10). so...

what are their lighting requirements? can you give them too much?

what should i feed them? (ive thrown them a bit of fish food and they've latched onto that.)

how quickly will they multiply?

and any other information you guys have from experience or from reseach would be great! look forward to hearing from you! ;D

 

I think there is over 5000 species within the Gammeridea family. Ranging from saltwater to freshwater. Most amphipods are detritivores,scavengers, and algae eaters.

It's my opinion... Allow them to multiply on their own. If you feed them too much they won't be part of your cuc they'll be part of your livestock creating more bioload. If you see 10 you have more than that.

 

How big is your tank? I have a 4 gallon, and I can't even count all the pods I have. I have Amphipods, Copepods, Isopods, etc. Get some Chaeto, they reproduce like mad and it's safe for them to live in.

Here's my "loaf" of Chaeto in my overflow. Chaetomorpha is a macroalgae that sucks bad nutrients out of the water, and acts like a coarse mechanical filter if placed properly.

 

+1 the best thing is to just let them multiply on their own. Once they are in the system, they will have plenty of food from when you feed your fish/ corals.

Chaeto is definitely a great way to create a haven for them in your sump and it will also export some nutrients

 

Ye, pretty much everything they said.

 

Hey, thanks everyone. Btw thats a crazy amount you have there. I have some chaeto ordered from my LFS so hopefully when that comes in! my tank is roughly a 85 gallon + what ever the sump is. The only problem is that the sump is pretty much spotless and I don't want them to starve! I'm yet to see any in the main tank but the goal of this whole post is to breed them up than transfer. Thanks for your help guys!

 

I wouldn't worry, I'm sure there is a bunch of stuff, you just don't know it. How old is your tank?

 

My tanks only about 6 months old. Relatively new I guess. So I'm still new to all this. I just want the best setup possible before adding more fish etc since a recent ich infection wiped half of them out.

 

The white spots are micro-feather dusters. Not sure of their actual name, but you'll see them in almost anyones tank that's been up for a few months. Buy a handful of Chaeto (pronounced kay-tow) from your LFS, and pop it into your sump. I'd get a grow light, and you'll have TONS of pods and Chaeto in no time.