Copepod farming for a Mandarin

[Brieninsac]

I'd like to setup a breeding station for copepods and have a few questions.

I've read the preferred copepods for Mandarins are Tisbe but I can only find Tigger copepods locally. Will Tigger copepods be sufficient?

As for the breeding container I've read the water should be changed once a month. I'm curious how you would remove the copepods in order the change the water. I'm assuming a strainer and if so what type would be best?

 

[Reef Frog]

Tigger pods are not ideal for a Mandy. They generally eat benthic (substrate dwelling) pods crawling over sand & rock. Tiggers are more free swimming in the water column. I suppose a Mandy might get a few but the other fish in the tank are likely to get them first. They are easy & fun to cultivate however. They can be cultured in a simple large pickle jar at room temperature - no reason not to give it a try IMO.

Tisbe are good but most people want multiple species. These kind of cultures are available on line, or a handful of chaeto macro algae might contain the starter culture you need.

 

[MondoBongo]

i got myself a sieve set from Brine Shrimp Direct:

http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/sieve-combo-set-p205.html

and a rotifer screen:

http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/rotifer-sieve-p220.html

that way, when i was changing water, i just ran the hose outlet through my sieves and them rinsed them back in to my culture vessel (or tank) when done.

once a month water change? depends on your set up, how much you're feeding, etc... so keep an eye on your water quality and how well your cultures appear to be doing, and adjust accordingly.

algae barn has a good mix of pod cultures to get you started:

https://algaebarn.com/shop/

i also cultured phyto, aka green water, along side my pod cultures to feed them with. that was easy enough too.

aside from that, like reef frog said, you can use pretty much anything that holds water as a culture vessel. i started using those big plastic pretzel jugs you get from costco. i would drill a hole in the lid, and put my rigid airline tubing through it, to give me some water motion.