bhamzookeeper
New member
Excellent, Tomoko. Sounds like something I can work on tomorrow.......thanks!
Billy
Billy
Chaeto and Copepods
- Thread starter bhamzookeeper
- Start date
Tomoko Schum
New member
Here's a commercial one called Aqua-Fuge2:
http://www.aquacave.com/images/Hang On Refugium 1.jpg
It's a lot prettier than DIY refugium although expensive:
However, by the time you add all the parts together, DIY version can get expensive, too. It's cheaper for some people who already have an old large power filter and an air pump lying around like me...
Tomoko
http://www.aquacave.com/images/Hang On Refugium 1.jpg
It's a lot prettier than DIY refugium although expensive:
However, by the time you add all the parts together, DIY version can get expensive, too. It's cheaper for some people who already have an old large power filter and an air pump lying around like me...
Tomoko
TOYTEK
Member
When I said display refugium, I think what I meant was high mount refugium? Something plumbed similar to a HOB, but larger (I think the biggest aqua fuge is something like 6 gallons?). My tank is not drilled, so I was wanting to stay away from under the tank/in sump refugium to avoid issues with u-tube overflows. Doesn't necessarily have to be pretty to look at. Anyone have a refugium set up like that?
NicoleC
New member
Danny, you are talking about a gravity fed fuge? You still need a pump for that. The plumbing is slightly less complex but accidents can still happen. And definitely more reliable than a U-tube overflow.
Billy, it is possible to culture copepods. You will want to culture a very small strain of copepods for the adults to readily see them as food. (They CAN eat them, they just don't sometimes; their wild diet is very, very tiny crustaceans.) Keeping a long term clean culture is a significant project, but is do-able if you are meticulous. If you decide to do this, I can refer you to someone who can sell you a clean starter culture.
Alternately, mandarins can be trained to eat a frozen diet. However, this training is pretty tricky and their frozen diet must be very varied and enriched with a good HUFA supplement. Many people fail at training hard-to-train fish like this one.
Honestly, I wouldn't tackle the project. It requires a level of dedication and consistency that you don't know if you have yet when it comes to this hobby. People come and go from this hobby and the fabulous dragonettes are one of the big draws. But you don't know if you are going to be happy with the hobby long term, or at what level you want to work at it yet.
Billy, it is possible to culture copepods. You will want to culture a very small strain of copepods for the adults to readily see them as food. (They CAN eat them, they just don't sometimes; their wild diet is very, very tiny crustaceans.) Keeping a long term clean culture is a significant project, but is do-able if you are meticulous. If you decide to do this, I can refer you to someone who can sell you a clean starter culture.
Alternately, mandarins can be trained to eat a frozen diet. However, this training is pretty tricky and their frozen diet must be very varied and enriched with a good HUFA supplement. Many people fail at training hard-to-train fish like this one.
Honestly, I wouldn't tackle the project. It requires a level of dedication and consistency that you don't know if you have yet when it comes to this hobby. People come and go from this hobby and the fabulous dragonettes are one of the big draws. But you don't know if you are going to be happy with the hobby long term, or at what level you want to work at it yet.
Tomoko Schum
New member
TOYTEK -
Here's some old pictures of my refugiums:
http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o23/tomokoschum/
A refugium with a lot of chaetomorpha is a good thing no matter what your purpose is for having a refugium. Chaetomorpha does not require much and they take up a large amount of nitrate and phosphate for you. As for growing pods to feed your fish, I consider it's an added benefit but secondary. A refugium can produce a good amount of pods, but it's questionable if the amount of pods from a small refugium are enough to keep a mandarin with it.
As Nicole pointed out, it requires a certain amount of dedication to culture pods. You might consider trying your hand at it just for a curiosity sake for a short time to see if you like doing that sort of thing. Who knows, you might come to like it like some of us. I culture all sorts of things. It's a kind of a carry over from my fish breeding days. It's also a hobby in itself, I suppose.
Tomoko
Here's some old pictures of my refugiums:
http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o23/tomokoschum/
A refugium with a lot of chaetomorpha is a good thing no matter what your purpose is for having a refugium. Chaetomorpha does not require much and they take up a large amount of nitrate and phosphate for you. As for growing pods to feed your fish, I consider it's an added benefit but secondary. A refugium can produce a good amount of pods, but it's questionable if the amount of pods from a small refugium are enough to keep a mandarin with it.
As Nicole pointed out, it requires a certain amount of dedication to culture pods. You might consider trying your hand at it just for a curiosity sake for a short time to see if you like doing that sort of thing. Who knows, you might come to like it like some of us. I culture all sorts of things. It's a kind of a carry over from my fish breeding days. It's also a hobby in itself, I suppose.
Tomoko
bhamzookeeper
New member
Its all worth a shot. With breeding exotic birds for 17 yrs, I have had cultures of mealworms for years on end without having to replentish, along with waxworms, and other grubs. Heck, I even had cultures of ants and fruit flies (flighted and non-flighted) and some gross maggots that certain species would only eat.
ThePhytoMan
New member
I have some extra macroalgae if you are interested. Chaeto, as well as some red grape caulerpa and green caulerpa ( c. taxifolia). I moved and have no need for it these days.
In Alabaster.
In Alabaster.
