Copepods?

TheSaltySpitoon · 03-25-2008, 04:17 AM

i was looking at inverts for my tank was thinking bout putting cleaner shrimp and i ran in to this... Copepods - Group of 200 i add them into my refuge and i also buy another package to add them directly into my tank good biological filter in a way? so 200 in my refuge and 200 in my tank... good for makin live sand i bet right?

Anselth · 03-25-2008, 07:07 AM

Seeding live pods generally isn't necessary, but doing so won't hurt the tank. They'll breed and make snacks for your fish. They're not going to be a big component of live sand though.

burning2nd · 03-25-2008, 08:45 PM

the tank will find the number of pods it will sustain and the numbers will balance according to what ever is gonna eat them/feed them

JWarren · 03-25-2008, 09:56 PM

Nothing wrong with adding some to the tank, especially if it is a new setup.

I have a manderin dragonet in my tank that only feeds on pods, so I have to add them now and then. I check the population with a loop that has a one inch square measure on it. I like to see 5 pods per square inch on one of the side glass panels of the aquarium which I don't clean.

burning2nd · 03-26-2008, 06:16 AM

i have a dragonet as well.. i dont add them.. he eats pellets as well.. but likes pods the best...

but your tank will grow its own.. so i would save the money

JWarren · 03-26-2008, 06:22 AM

I tried pellets with mine and he won't take um.

What kind you got?

lcstorc · 03-26-2008, 09:10 AM

Pods are yummy. At least that is what most fish say. Getting them started in your tank is a good thing. It does not decrease the time the tank needs to be stable before adding a mandarin or scooter blenney. I also buy them from time to time to make shure my buddies have enough to eat.

SmokeyNite · 03-28-2008, 03:00 AM

It's been 5 months with my tank, and still no sign of 'pods. I even got some plant life from my LFS refugium, but still nothing.

I leave my blue LED lunar lights on all night. Would it be best just to turn those off?? Would that help the 'pods come to my tank?

JWarren · 03-28-2008, 04:57 AM

Are you looking with a magnifying glass, like a loop? They are very small.

If you are sure you don't have any pods, you have to add them. LED's on all night won't hurt or hinder them. I have moon lights that stay on all night as well.

burning2nd · 03-28-2008, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWarren

I tried pellets with mine and he won't take um.

What kind you got?

no to high jack...

meet dragoor!

i never added pods... you can seed a system that is podless by takeing a empty shell from an established or something like that..

i was afraid that my dragon would eat my pod-u-lation AND then i saw him chaseing pellets

JWarren · 03-28-2008, 09:57 PM

No, not what kind of fish; what kind of pellits?

burning2nd · 03-28-2008, 10:34 PM

ocean nut one and two pellets small ones.

goody · 03-28-2008, 11:04 PM

I had several pods at one point, but they have disappeared or been eaten. I do have a refugium with chaeto and some LR rubble stacked in corners of MT, but I still don't see them. I do have a six line wrasse and a mandarin, which doesn't eat mysis or pellets. I'm getting afraid for my Mandarin.

In the recent past, I have bought (ebay) 4 bags of supposedly 1000-2000 pods in each bag, but by their packaging, I think I was taken for $80. I was thinking about either buying a Quart of pods (30,000 pods for $129) or trying to culture them myself (Don't know how hard this is). Any suggestions?

BTW, I do have a small powerhead in my refugium, could this have caused them to disappear/die? Or I also was battling low Alk, high Ca for a couple of weeks. Didn't lose any livestock, but could this be the demise of my pod population?

JWarren · 03-29-2008, 12:13 AM

Pods are pretty durable critters, they sustain themselves very well, your pump can not be to blame if they parish. A habitat for them is what they need to really produce well. A rock with a lot of holes drilled into it or just a very porous rock with lots of holes or a potato sack with lots of shells in it, will give them a place to hide from predators as well as give them a place to reproduce. Some folks have even used gutter guard and zip ties to make a bag to put shells and rock rubble into.

This is very useful in small tanks (below 55 gallons) where a mandarin or other pod consumer could actually wipe out a small population of pods in a very short time. Since their range for food is reduced so is the habitat for the pods to do their thing.

Here are the pods I use.

03-25-2008, 04:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
TheSaltySpitoon Sea Pen Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rochester NY Posts: 309 View Gallery Karma Komment	Copepods? i was looking at inverts for my tank was thinking bout putting cleaner shrimp and i ran in to this... Copepods - Group of 200 i add them into my refuge and i also buy another package to add them directly into my tank good biological filter in a way? so 200 in my refuge and 200 in my tank... good for makin live sand i bet right?

03-25-2008, 07:07 AM	#2 (permalink)
Anselth Harlequin Tuskfish Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: South Jersey Posts: 967 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Copepods? Seeding live pods generally isn't necessary, but doing so won't hurt the tank. They'll breed and make snacks for your fish. They're not going to be a big component of live sand though. __________________ -Adam Learning on the fly My 70 Gallon Reef My 110 Gallon Build

03-25-2008, 08:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
burning2nd Golden Moray Join Date: May 2006 Location: PA Posts: 2,287 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? the tank will find the number of pods it will sustain and the numbers will balance according to what ever is gonna eat them/feed them __________________ ________________________________________________ 30g, 10g DIY sump w/ mag7 Csr90 over flow. 36" sunpod 2x150 2 Tunze 6020 40 Lb's Live Rock 20 lb's of Ls Aqua C REmora mIxed reef, softies, pora's, clams, 1 Amphiprion ocellaris (hosting GTA) jake the jedi sexy shrimp, and brown bob

03-25-2008, 09:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
JWarren Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Port Saint Lucie, Florida Posts: 1,426 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? Nothing wrong with adding some to the tank, especially if it is a new setup. I have a manderin dragonet in my tank that only feeds on pods, so I have to add them now and then. I check the population with a loop that has a one inch square measure on it. I like to see 5 pods per square inch on one of the side glass panels of the aquarium which I don't clean. __________________ John Typhoon RO/DI filter unit. My Saltwater web site. Help build ReefPedia!

03-26-2008, 06:16 AM	#5 (permalink)
burning2nd Golden Moray Join Date: May 2006 Location: PA Posts: 2,287 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? i have a dragonet as well.. i dont add them.. he eats pellets as well.. but likes pods the best... but your tank will grow its own.. so i would save the money __________________ ________________________________________________ 30g, 10g DIY sump w/ mag7 Csr90 over flow. 36" sunpod 2x150 2 Tunze 6020 40 Lb's Live Rock 20 lb's of Ls Aqua C REmora mIxed reef, softies, pora's, clams, 1 Amphiprion ocellaris (hosting GTA) jake the jedi sexy shrimp, and brown bob

03-26-2008, 06:22 AM	#6 (permalink)
JWarren Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Port Saint Lucie, Florida Posts: 1,426 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? I tried pellets with mine and he won't take um. What kind you got? __________________ John Typhoon RO/DI filter unit. My Saltwater web site. Help build ReefPedia!

03-26-2008, 09:10 AM	#7 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 26,433 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Copepods? Pods are yummy. At least that is what most fish say. Getting them started in your tank is a good thing. It does not decrease the time the tank needs to be stable before adding a mandarin or scooter blenney. I also buy them from time to time to make shure my buddies have enough to eat. __________________ Peace LYNN Lynn and Franks saltwater adventure Lynn's 20g clown tank Lynn's 90g of sunshine Lynn's frag tank experiment A reef tank is like a race car. The faster you go the harder you crash.

03-28-2008, 03:00 AM	#8 (permalink)
SmokeyNite Fire Coral Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 80 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? It's been 5 months with my tank, and still no sign of 'pods. I even got some plant life from my LFS refugium, but still nothing. I leave my blue LED lunar lights on all night. Would it be best just to turn those off?? Would that help the 'pods come to my tank?

03-28-2008, 04:57 AM	#9 (permalink)
JWarren Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Port Saint Lucie, Florida Posts: 1,426 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? Are you looking with a magnifying glass, like a loop? They are very small. If you are sure you don't have any pods, you have to add them. LED's on all night won't hurt or hinder them. I have moon lights that stay on all night as well. __________________ John Typhoon RO/DI filter unit. My Saltwater web site. Help build ReefPedia!

03-28-2008, 09:57 PM	#11 (permalink)
JWarren Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Port Saint Lucie, Florida Posts: 1,426 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? No, not what kind of fish; what kind of pellits? __________________ John Typhoon RO/DI filter unit. My Saltwater web site. Help build ReefPedia!

03-28-2008, 10:34 PM	#12 (permalink)
burning2nd Golden Moray Join Date: May 2006 Location: PA Posts: 2,287 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? ocean nut one and two pellets small ones. __________________ ________________________________________________ 30g, 10g DIY sump w/ mag7 Csr90 over flow. 36" sunpod 2x150 2 Tunze 6020 40 Lb's Live Rock 20 lb's of Ls Aqua C REmora mIxed reef, softies, pora's, clams, 1 Amphiprion ocellaris (hosting GTA) jake the jedi sexy shrimp, and brown bob

03-28-2008, 11:04 PM	#13 (permalink)
goody Ricordea Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 177 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? I had several pods at one point, but they have disappeared or been eaten. I do have a refugium with chaeto and some LR rubble stacked in corners of MT, but I still don't see them. I do have a six line wrasse and a mandarin, which doesn't eat mysis or pellets. I'm getting afraid for my Mandarin. In the recent past, I have bought (ebay) 4 bags of supposedly 1000-2000 pods in each bag, but by their packaging, I think I was taken for $80. I was thinking about either buying a Quart of pods (30,000 pods for $129) or trying to culture them myself (Don't know how hard this is). Any suggestions? BTW, I do have a small powerhead in my refugium, could this have caused them to disappear/die? Or I also was battling low Alk, high Ca for a couple of weeks. Didn't lose any livestock, but could this be the demise of my pod population?

03-29-2008, 12:13 AM	#14 (permalink)
JWarren Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Port Saint Lucie, Florida Posts: 1,426 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Copepods? Pods are pretty durable critters, they sustain themselves very well, your pump can not be to blame if they parish. A habitat for them is what they need to really produce well. A rock with a lot of holes drilled into it or just a very porous rock with lots of holes or a potato sack with lots of shells in it, will give them a place to hide from predators as well as give them a place to reproduce. Some folks have even used gutter guard and zip ties to make a bag to put shells and rock rubble into. This is very useful in small tanks (below 55 gallons) where a mandarin or other pod consumer could actually wipe out a small population of pods in a very short time. Since their range for food is reduced so is the habitat for the pods to do their thing. Here are the pods I use. __________________ John Typhoon RO/DI filter unit. My Saltwater web site. Help build ReefPedia!

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