Culturing Scuds for African Clawed Frogs?

[mpmistr]

I am thinking about locating a local pond to try to acquire some "Scuds" Gammarus sp. specifically.

What I am looking for is a freshwater invertebrate that I can quickly breed and can be fed to my clawed frogs and fish. After a lot of Googlin' it appears that Scuds are the best option and as a staple for many freshwater species, probably pretty nutritional too.

I'm worried of course about introducing parasites, foreign pathogens, ect to my established tanks though. If there is any risk to my animals I'd rather not do it. I want to establish a culture of safe, disease free food.

I planned to set up an aquarium for the Scuds and allow them to breed for a few generations and I figure after several water changes and no signs of disease they would be 'safe' to use as food.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

[Necromencer]

I'm by no means an expert, and you've helped me in the past more than most people too, but the most logical solution is to breed for a few generations and do water changes as you said, diluting any contaminants.

Alternatively, you could try to buy from a trusted seller, if that is possible.

Also, what if you do the above, and test your food on a tetra or another fish? It sounds mean, but I would rather test my food on a tetra than on one of my frogs. They always come first.


Hope this helps.