# Amphipods



## Manny (Oct 8, 2013)

So I was talking to a guy who owns a fish store and after a while it ends up we both served in the Navy and had the same rating. By the end of the conversation, he offered to give me a bag full of amphipods. I received some in an order of live sand activator I ordered from www.ipsf.com and added them to my tank. Needless to say, I cannot see these guys in my tank anymore. So my question is, when I go get my amphipods, what should I do with them? Seems like a lot of people are saying to just drop them off inside my display tank. But won't they get sucked up by my filter? I know they make good food for clownfish. I eventually plan on putting some clownfish in there. Should I wait a few more weeks for these guys to start reproducing or should I go buy a separate tank solely for these guys? I like the thought of having a natural food cycle for the fish readily available inside the tank for when they want it but will they eat all of these guys within a few days? I don't really know how to go about these guys. Any help please? Thanks in advance.


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## Manny (Oct 8, 2013)

Just as an off topic FYI, I added an avatar as you can see. That is the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN72, which I was stationed on. The picture is one I took during one of port calls to Antalya, Turkey. They had no dock so we threw down the anchor and had boats come in and get us and take us to land. That is how I got this picture. Pretty cool pic huh?


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

Manny said:


> Seems like a lot of people are saying to just drop them off inside my display tank. But won't they get sucked up by my filter?


Some will, but most won't.



Manny said:


> ...should I go buy a separate tank solely for these guys?


Not necessary. Some may add them to a refugium, so that there is a safe haven for them to replenish their numbers to counter the effects of fish which may heavily prey on them. In the main tank, live rock, corals (when present) and other stuff (empty shells, and even the substrate itself) can offer adequate 'safe zones' for these critters.

I noticed that web site's amphipod write up *"They consume enormous quantities of diatoms, hair algae and other nuisance algae".* I've personally never witnessed any of that. From what I've seen they seem sustain themselves on detritus and food fragments.

The amphipods that exist in my tanks are the descendants of original hitch hikers (from years ago) which found themselves in my tank via live rock, live sand and corals.


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

Manny said:


> Just as an off topic FYI, I added an avatar as you can see. That is the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN72, which I was stationed on. The picture is one I took during one of port calls to Antalya, Turkey. They had no dock so we threw down the anchor and had boats come in and get us and take us to land. That is how I got this picture. Pretty cool pic huh?


Nice avatar shipmate! I served in the navy well. My last ship was the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70); both carriers were stationed in Washington state at that time (about 10+ years ago).


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## Manny (Oct 8, 2013)

Awesome. Last I saw the Carl Vincent, it was in San Diego as we were moving from WA to VA. President Obama showed up and we had a basketball tournament (college) on the flight deck.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Manny said:


> Awesome. Last I saw the Carl Vincent, it was in San Diego as we were moving from WA to VA. President Obama showed up and we had a basketball tournament (college) on the flight deck.


By any chance it was Syracuse vs San Diego? If so, that was last year. I'm a die-hard SU fan.


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## Manny (Oct 8, 2013)

Ice said:


> By any chance it was Syracuse vs San Diego? If so, that was last year. I'm a die-hard SU fan.


It sure was!


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