Seeding tank with amphipods and copepods???

Mr.Reeefer

Member
Hi Reefers,

I was wondering if you can educate me in why people seed there tanks with amphipods and copepods.

Is this only for cycling tanks?

Thank you
 

whippetguy

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
If you use live rock, it will happen. The main reason for most posts that you see are for finicky eaters. Several fish love to eat them. Mandarin gobies, dragonets, a lot of wrasses. Pods also like to eat detritus or leftover food.
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
I'm here to tell ya, those little BUGS are so much FUN to watch!!
My family thinks I'm bonkers cause I have several different strength magnifying lens that I sit and study the sand bed with during the late evening "when the bugs come out" :laughroll
I am going to try to have a Mandarin after my refugium matures a bit...I already see pods in it but I want more and more different kinds. :D
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
I'm here to tell ya, those little BUGS are so much FUN to watch!! ;)
My family thinks I'm bonkers cause I have several different strength magnifying lens that I sit and study the sand bed with during the late evening "when the bugs come out" :laughroll
I am going to try to have a Mandarin after my refugium matures a bit...I already see pods in it but I want more and more different kinds. :D
 

landshark

Member
Diana can you tell the different kind of pods you have I know i have some but for the life of my i can't tell what kind they are.:geekin:
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
I have ostracods, Amphipods, copepods....and sooo many almost too tiny to see :D
And some are HUGE...it would scare me if I didn't remind myself that I was looking through some serious magnification and a thick glass was between me & them :LOL:
Here's a link that might help you ID some of yours:
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchpods.html
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
Yep, I sit and watch these funny looking bugs picking up huge boulders (really only grains of sand!) and tossing them to the side or sometimes carrying them long distances. It's AMAZING....If you don't have a good magnifying lens people, get cha one! Most of my lenses are from torn up gun scopes...they work great tho :snrkl::D
 

Mr.Reeefer

Member
So can anyone tell me seeding my tank?
Will my fish or corals benefit?
So am I right in say that they help keep water quality good also?

Thank you
 

Mr.Reeefer

Member
Diana, I love the enthusiasm!!!

Watching our tanks beats watching TV any day!!!

Some people just don't get it...lol
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
So can anyone tell me seeding my tank?
Will my fish or corals benefit?
So am I right in say that they help keep water quality good also?

Thank you

They are beneficial to our saltwater reef tanks. Some fish and corals eat them. For some fish it's their main source of food. You will more than likely "seed" Your tank without even knowing you have if you buy live-rock to put in your tank. I have never actually bought any pods directly....every one of the hundreds I have are all hitchhikers. They came in on my matured live-rock and have probably been reproducing. So my tank is already "seeded"

I have added a refugium to my system & I already see them in it. But I still plan on buying some to add to it.
My tank will be one year running next month & My dream fish to have is a Mandarin Dragonet.
Mandarins are listed as "Difficult" so I'm doing what I need to do now to get my system ready for one.

When I had my 135gal. FOWLR (25 years ago) the Mandarin was the only fish I was ever told by a LFS (in Tulsa,OK) that I should NOT BUY. I'm still glad to this day that the LFS worker was kind enough to tell me "NO". I only knew that I wanted one, I had no idea then what it took to keep them alive.
I never have had a dragonet but now I think I'm getting closer to having a system that one can live in :fingerx:
 

kyle4201

Active Member
I to am just waiting around for a Mandarin. Prob another 6 months or so. I had pods but I bought some anyway and now they r soooo many. When im ready I will get one. My question is if they hide in a hole all day or are out looking beautiful when the lights are on? Anyway, I know an adult mandarin can decimate a healthy pod population in no time so I will prob still buy a new dose every 6 months or so.
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
Will my fish or corals benefit?

I have always added amphipods and copepods to my tank and it is 42 years old, some of the fish are over 20 and all the fish are spawning, so I assume it doesn't hurt.

Here is a video of some pods I collect in the sea
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
That looks interesting Paul B ....something about videos, I can't post them to work or make them work on here most of the time :( Do you put the ones you collect directly into your display tank or do you put them into a refugium? I plan on ordering some as soon as temps get above freezing here. I'm excited to see what I get.
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
Diana, I don't have a sump or refugium but the pods are all over my tank and in the skimmer. I just throw them in the tank with the mud and all, that is how I started my tank as I like natural.
If you can't see the video, just put your face near your monitor and shake the screen back and forth, that's what they look like. :wave:
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
I keep getting excited about getting a Mandarin....
then I think "NO!" cause I'd worry about it not eating. :smack:
My tank is only 65gal & I just added on a refugium with a DSB (not sure if DBS helps or not) going to stock with pods and try to convince myself that I can have a Mandarin or maybe even a pair. :eek:
 

ziggy

Active Member
Paul

How do the pods get from the refug to the display tank daily to feed the mandarin? Or the brine shrimp feeder must also be there daily?
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
then I think "NO!" cause I'd worry about it not eating.

My wife never worries about me not eating.

The baby brine feeeder is always in there and I fill it every day, but I have no real fuge, there are pods all over my tank, amphipods and copepods. I collect them in the sea by the thouisands and dump them in where they multiply.

My tank is also very old
 

ziggy

Active Member
Paul

In a case like feeding the brine daily, Must it be done every day or are you able to leave on vacation for 1 week a year?
Would appreciate your thoughts?
 
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