- Common name
- Amphipods
- Scientific name
- Amphipoda spp.
- Category
- Live-food culture
- Group
- Crustacean live foods
- Environment
- Species-specific freshwater, brackish or marine culture
- Origin
- Worldwide; culture identity and source must be documented to species or the narrowest practical taxon
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- Unknown at group level — amphipod size varies greatly by species
- Expected lifespan
- Unknown at group level
- Minimum housing
- Dedicated escape-resistant culture vessel sized to the species and harvest goal; keep at least one separate backup culture
- Temperature
- Unknown at group level — species-specific
- pH
- Unknown at group level — species-specific
- Hardness / minerals
- Unknown at group level — match the identified freshwater species or use complete marine saltwater for marine taxa
- Salinity
- Species-specific; freshwater, brackish and marine amphipods are not interchangeable
- Lighting
- Low to moderate, matched to any algae or macroalgae used as feed
- Placement / zone
- Dedicated culture area away from display aquaria and chemical sprays
- Filtration
- Use no strong conventional intake. Provide species-appropriate biological surface area, a guarded air-driven sponge or measured water renewal, and retain juveniles during every harvest or water change.
- Aeration
- Provide gentle continuous aeration sufficient to keep oxygen stable without ejecting animals, drying splash zones or collapsing delicate shelters. Increase exchange as density and feeding rise.
- Maintenance
- Feed measured clean material, remove uneaten food and mortalities, thin before crowding, inspect under magnification for contaminants, harvest only a minority, and maintain a physically separate backup culture with separate tools.
Identity and search names
Order-level live-food culture guide only. Amphipoda contains many unrelated freshwater, brackish and marine species; record the narrowest credible identity, source and salinity and do not treat one culture recipe as universal.
Search names: Scuds, Gammarids, Marine amphipods, Freshwater amphipods
Environment and housing
Use a dedicated lidded vessel with species-appropriate aeration, biological surface area and removable shelters. Protect air lines and drains from escape.
Social structure: Culture density is species-specific
Feeding and nutrition
Feeding ecology: Species-specific detritus, algae, biofilm, plant matter or prepared aquaculture feeds
Feeding routine: Feed small measured amounts and remove leftovers before fouling
Breeding, reproduction or spread
Females brood eggs and developing young in a ventral brood pouch; juveniles emerge as miniature amphipods rather than free-swimming larvae.
Detailed care and app-ready planning
- Identity scope
- Order-level live-food culture guide only. Amphipoda contains many unrelated freshwater, brackish and marine species; record the narrowest credible identity, source and salinity and do not treat one culture recipe as universal.
- Adult size and space
- Adult size and density are species-dependent. Use a dedicated escape-resistant vessel with enough submerged surface, shelters and oxygen for the full mature culture, plus at least one physically separate backup.
- Social structure
- Mixed-age breeding colony. Retain males, brood-bearing females and juveniles; do not harvest so heavily that reproduction collapses.
- Swimming zone or placement
- Bottom, surfaces, shelters and water column according to species. Keep all occupied zones oxygenated and accessible without unguarded drains or intakes.
- Feeding ecology
- Species-dependent detritivory, algivory, scavenging or omnivory. Nutritional value reflects both amphipod identity and the clean feed used to condition the culture.
- Feeding plan
- Offer small measured portions of clean species-appropriate algae, biofilm, plant material or prepared aquaculture feed. Add more only after the previous feed is consumed without odour or bacterial clouding.
- Water stability
- Keep ammonia and nitrite at zero, oxygen adequate and salinity stable. Culture-specific numbers remain unknown until the species is identified.
- Habitat structure
- Dedicated lidded vessel with removable shelters, high biological surface area, species-appropriate water, escape control and no shared wet equipment.
- Compatibility plan
- Culture alone. Do not combine unidentified amphipods, wild water, predators, hydra, planaria, fish parasites or display-aquarium stock.
- Breeding or reproduction plan
- Females brood eggs and young in a ventral marsupium. Maintain mixed ages, stable water and shelter; harvest a minority and preserve a separate backup rather than chasing maximum density.
- Quarantine
- Keep new starter cultures isolated and observe several generations before combining or feeding valuable stock.
- Welfare checks
- Check activity, moulting, brood-bearing females, mortality, odour, oxygen, waste and contamination.
- Biosecurity and release
- Never release amphipods, culture water, wet feed, substrate or equipment rinse-water. Securely kill and contain unwanted cultures and verify current Australian and state requirements before import, collection, sale or movement.
- Main risk
- Using an unidentified or contaminated culture and spreading predators, parasites or invasive organisms.
- Adult projected load
- Project load from the entire mature culture, feed input, moults, faeces, mortalities and decomposing shelters. Culture biomass can rise rapidly and exhaust oxygen before animal numbers look excessive.
- Filtration
- Use no strong conventional intake. Provide species-appropriate biological surface area, a guarded air-driven sponge or measured water renewal, and retain juveniles during every harvest or water change.
- Aeration
- Provide gentle continuous aeration sufficient to keep oxygen stable without ejecting animals, drying splash zones or collapsing delicate shelters. Increase exchange as density and feeding rise.
- Maintenance
- Feed measured clean material, remove uneaten food and mortalities, thin before crowding, inspect under magnification for contaminants, harvest only a minority, and maintain a physically separate backup culture with separate tools.
- Overridable warnings
- Non-overridable: do not mix salinity types or unidentified cultures, share wet tools with display systems, depend on one vessel, or release live culture material. A knowledgeable user may vary vessel size, shelter and feed only when identity, oxygen, purity and containment remain demonstrably protected.
- Identity
- Order Amphipoda contains many freshwater, brackish and marine species. Record the supplier, source water and the narrowest credible identification.
- Culture Vessel
- Use a dedicated lidded vessel with species-appropriate aeration, biological surface area and removable shelters. Protect air lines and drains from escape.
- Culture Feed
- Use clean species-appropriate algae, biofilm, detrital plant material or measured prepared aquaculture feed. Remove uneaten food before it fouls the medium.
- Harvest
- Harvest only a small fraction at a time with a fine net or removable shelter. Rinse cultured amphipods in clean matched water before feeding.
- Backup
- Maintain at least one physically separate culture using separate tools. Restart from the backup rather than repeatedly rescuing a crashing vessel.
- Water Medium
- Use dechlorinated freshwater for freshwater species or correctly mixed marine saltwater for marine species. Exact temperature, pH and minerals are unknown without a species identity.
- Contamination
- Inspect for hydra, planaria, predatory larvae, fish parasites, snails, algae blooms, mould and chemical contamination. Never add wild water directly to a culture.
- Use
- Potential live food for suitably sized fish and other aquatic predators. Nutritional value varies with species and feed, so amphipods should be part of a varied diet.
- Reproduction
- Females brood eggs and developing young in a ventral brood pouch; juveniles emerge as miniature amphipods rather than free-swimming larvae.
- Culture Density
- Unknown as a universal figure. Thin the culture before oxygen falls, waste accumulates or growth slows.
- Biosecurity and release
- Never release amphipods or culture water. Bag and freeze or otherwise securely kill unwanted cultures before disposal according to local rules.
Compatibility, welfare and risk
Compatibility: Culture alone; predators, hydra, planaria and mixed unidentified crustaceans can collapse or contaminate production
Welfare: Maintain active mixed life stages, normal moulting, brood-bearing females, clean odour and stable oxygen. A motionless, foul-smelling or single-stage culture is already failing.
Main warning: “Amphipods” is not one culture species. Do not mix freshwater and marine taxa, wild-collected organisms or unidentified cultures into display systems.
Biosecurity and release
Never release amphipods, culture water, wet feed, substrate or equipment rinse-water. Securely kill and contain unwanted cultures and verify current Australian and state requirements before import, collection, sale or movement.