catching wild amphipods

I went to the beach today and picked up a small clump of macroalgae off a rock and my hand was literally covered with amphipods. Think I should add this to my refugium? They look great and seem to be mating by the millions. I was going to take some home and acclimate them to tank water, but I was to check if this was a good idea. I know the risk of taking home unwanted hitchhikers so I was going to put them in some sort of quarantine tank. Any opinion?

 

If you classify them correctly as a harmless amphipod, then there is probably not a problem, unless they are carrying disease, etc.

 

I'd be careful. Usually beaches are prone to having unwanted chemicals and contaminants that may not be reef safe.

 

I wouldnt risk it personally. Too much could go wrong for the benefits to be worth it.

 

Id rather get a 20 dollar bottle of pods then risk your a whole tank failure

 

+1 on that statement as too much could go wrong I wouldn't risk it personally would be cheaper in the long run to just buy them and you know they are safe,

 

good thing I asked before taking them home. Would have been too much work trying to quarantine them anyway. Thanx for warning guys

 

Honestly what could go wrong?

Worst case scenario the amphipods have a disease that will hinder your amphipod population. Fish and other inverts will most likely be unaffected.

Harmful chemicals? The amphipods are living just fine in that water. Plus you don't have to add the water to your tank and even if you do it will be so diluted I can't see it affecting anything.


Only problem I could see is where are you located? In the tropics? They could be a cold water species and will not breed in warm water (tiger copepods do this) or may even die.

 

I believe some amphipods are predatory too

 

Not true. Tigger-Pods breed just fine at reef temps. They are grown at near reef temps.

Reef Nutrition FAQ / Tigger-Pods FAQ