Hitchhikers

[WhoKnew]

What is this? And do I need to get rid of a few of them?

 

[WheatToast]

Looks like an amphipod. These “pods” are beneficial scavengers and grow larger than the more common copepods. Nothing to worry about.

 

[WhoKnew]

I thought it was a scud. Looks like a shrimp. I have a few in there. If they are good for the tank than I wound worry about them.

 

[WheatToast]

I thought it was a scud. Looks like a shrimp. I have a few in there. If they are good for the tank than I wound worry about them.

“Scud” is a common name often given to amphipods in the freshwater hobby (though amphipods are more common in the marine hobby). Both amphipods and shrimp are in the class Malacostraca, but shrimp belong to the order Decapoda, while amphipods belong to Amphipoda.

 

[WhoKnew]

Thank you. My tank is healthy don’t want to jeopardize it. I have a hurricane coming and that is what I need to focus on for the tank