How to increase my pod population

[jjmoneyman]

Ok my tank is fairly new and I've got rock and a lot of chaeto in my fuge along with some pods, but they don't seem to increasing in quantity like in my old tank (I had gobs and gobs) - the only difference is I don't have sand in this fuge. Does bare bottom make a difference? What else can I do to increase my pod population? I want to eventually get a mandarin and want to make sure I have a very good pod population.

 

[bshady]

i would give it more time. You can always go to your LFS and get a bottle of the tigger copepods

 

[Smokey301]

I'd put some sand in the fuge just for good measure. As long as you dont have some1 thats eating them all and their getting food amounts of food, the pods should keep increasing as time goes on. I like to think of a new tank like an empty world. You gotta build the ecosystem from the ground up and it takes some time. Thats why they say to not attempt a mandarin until ur tank is a year old.

 

[jjmoneyman]

i would give it more time. You can always go to your LFS and get a bottle of the tigger copepods

I plan of giving it plenty of time before I get a mandarin but it seems like the pods aren't reproducing like crazy like they did in my old tank. The only difference is I don't have sand in the fuge and the water seems much cleaner and more stable in the new setup.

 

[Robzilla]

Sand should not make the difference. It is the ammount of food available for them to reproduce.

 

[jski711]

Dosing phyto will help your pods but can be easily overdosed.

 

[jjmoneyman]

I got a bottle of live pods from my LFS and dumped it into the fuge last week. Now I see freaking pods all over my rocks in my DT. I have a couple of light colored rocks and I can see tons of them running all over them so it got me looking closer at the rest of the rocks and they are everywhere.

 

[nightfire76]

well no pods or tons......i'd take having tons over none im sure ya have something in there though that will gobble them up

 

[jjmoneyman]

I'm really surprised the clowns aren't going crazy over them. But that's ok since I want to eventually get a mandarin. I'm glad it's kicking in.

 

[offshore357]

Dosing phyto will help your pods but can be easily overdosed.

+1

I always get a huge pod outbreak when I use phyto.

 

[BigAl07]

I'd be a lil cautious of a "batten" because it's not made for Marine use. No telling what compounds are used in it's construction which might be released in salt water. You can get filter floss (it looks just like batten) and use that to be safe.