Copepods for Pipefish
- Thread starter donsods
- Start date
I don't know definitively what size would suit that particular type of pipefish, but if you contact Dan Underwood I'm sure he might have helpful information on what copepods would be the best supplemental foods for that type.
http://seahorsesource.com/?wpsc_product_category=live-food
http://seahorsesource.com/?wpsc_product_category=live-food
kizanne
Member
my pipes are in my seahorse tank. so same answer as the other thread. except they can only eat small food so they seem to enjoy the tisbe and tiggers. and They will lay on the feeder for hours sucking baby brine. So much so my mandarin gets mad at them 
I really love the feeder for pipes. While I am sure 3 or the 4 pipes I have eat mysid they really seem to love the feeder and I'm very happy to have them growing without reliance on copepods. My tank has too many copepod eaters for a 70 gallon tank even though I add thousands weekly to bi-weekly. So the feeder which is stocked with enriched baby brine seem to keep most of them happy and fat between the mysid feedings.
My mandarin has been skeletal since I bought her and hasn't switched to frozen or pellets yet. So I stock that feeder 2x per day. I have one pipe that looks like a sausage (hopefully she is gravid). After you get used to hatching brine shrimp eggs it isn't that bad using the feeder. Then you are ready for babies (well seahorse babies).
I really love the feeder for pipes. While I am sure 3 or the 4 pipes I have eat mysid they really seem to love the feeder and I'm very happy to have them growing without reliance on copepods. My tank has too many copepod eaters for a 70 gallon tank even though I add thousands weekly to bi-weekly. So the feeder which is stocked with enriched baby brine seem to keep most of them happy and fat between the mysid feedings.
My mandarin has been skeletal since I bought her and hasn't switched to frozen or pellets yet. So I stock that feeder 2x per day. I have one pipe that looks like a sausage (hopefully she is gravid). After you get used to hatching brine shrimp eggs it isn't that bad using the feeder. Then you are ready for babies (well seahorse babies).
teddscau
New member
For fussy eaters, I recommend soaking their food in freshly squeezed ginger root. I do this for my freshwater critters and it sends them into a frenzy. I haven't tried it with marine critters, but I can tell you that every freshwater critter I've tried it with (ramhorn snails, pond snails, rabbit snails, cherry shrimp, amano shrimp, ghost shrimp, crystal red shrimp, bettas, tetras, kuhli loaches, clown loaches, cory, glass catfish, mollies, otocinclus, guppies, emerald rasboras, peacock gudgeon, etc.) absolutely love it when I soak their food in ginger. It's an excellent dewormer and immune stimulant, so I'd definitely recommend trying it.
IMO, if the seahorses are eating without a stimuli then adding it is just a waste as garlic doesn't improve the nutrient profile as far as I know. Ginger does have a couple of vitamins, plus a little calcium with a greater amount of magnesium.
In 15 years now, the only time I'd add a stimulus is if I have a seahorse that doesn't eat and is in a hospital tank, but the only time it happened that way, it didn't work anyway for that particular problem.
In 15 years now, the only time I'd add a stimulus is if I have a seahorse that doesn't eat and is in a hospital tank, but the only time it happened that way, it didn't work anyway for that particular problem.
reef cuber
New member
my pipes are in my seahorse tank. so same answer as the other thread. except they can only eat small food so they seem to enjoy the tisbe and tiggers. and They will lay on the feeder for hours sucking baby brine. So much so my mandarin gets mad at them
I really love the feeder for pipes. While I am sure 3 or the 4 pipes I have eat mysid they really seem to love the feeder and I'm very happy to have them growing without reliance on copepods. My tank has too many copepod eaters for a 70 gallon tank even though I add thousands weekly to bi-weekly. So the feeder which is stocked with enriched baby brine seem to keep most of them happy and fat between the mysid feedings.
My mandarin has been skeletal since I bought her and hasn't switched to frozen or pellets yet. So I stock that feeder 2x per day. I have one pipe that looks like a sausage (hopefully she is gravid). After you get used to hatching brine shrimp eggs it isn't that bad using the feeder. Then you are ready for babies (well seahorse babies).
Can you post some information on the "feeder" you are referring too?
Thanks.
kizanne
Member
Here's a picture of it zoomed in from the cave.
Zoomed out.
I stole this idea from Paul B (of reef central) There are many threads that talk about this feeder here's one. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25309373 Sorry I couldn't find the original quickly.
Basic idea is hatch brine put them in a container with a fine mesh net and they will be wiggling toward the light (the mesh area) some will make it out but as they sit there trying to get out the mandarin will swim up and suck it up, pick at it like a copepod.
I made mine a little more user friendly. The top there is the top of a squat mason jar that my hubby dremeled/routed out some of the plastic so that I can use it with the mesh net. (just screw on the lid). he left enough plastic (on the right) so that I can have a plastic tube that comes up out of the tank (in the back) so that I can fill it without taking it out of the tank. I put in fresh brine 2x daily (3 on weekends). THen I take it out and clean it replace the panty hose footy when it starts to look nasty about once every 2 weeks.
I decapsulate the brine and I'm already hatching for my seahorses so no big deal. The footies are 3 pair for $1 at Dollar tree so $1 per 12 weeks. I have a small funnel at the top. So I strain the brine and then use a small amount of tank water to wash the brine out of the strainer into a cup. Then I trickle pour the brine into the funnel and follow up with a small amount of water so the brine is in the cup. If you don't trickle you trap air and end up with an air bubble under your mesh. Just use a turkey baster to suck the air out of the mesh by putting it on top of the air pocket. What's really nice is my pipes love to catch the brine that escape (these the mandarin won't go after she wants them down on the mesh. That way not a lot of waste. I loaned one to my LFS and have even seen a giant bangaii chasing the escaped baby brine so your whole tank will love it. My gorgorians also seem to enjoy.
I buy the white so it matches the feeder. If I wanted or was worried about the looks. I could encrust the glass with epoxy and rock and I could remove the tube and put a rock over the hole but I"m not worried about aestetic. I do have it in the back of an open cave so it doesn't stand out when looking at the tank.
I hatch my brine in green/brown water but brine isn't as nutritious as pods so I still throw pods and amphipods in the tank for nutrition and fun as well. But the brine keeps weight on my stubborn mandarin. She is one that has held out the longest on no prepared foods. At one time I thought she was eating prepared and I was short on brine for my seahorse babies so I skipped the feeder for 2 days and she was back to skeletal. With the brine it takes a while for her to put on weight. I've got her back to normal/slim and I'm waiting til she gets normal/fat before trying once again to wean her to prepared foods. I know she like fresh seahorse eggs but I can't seem to get her to eat frozen eggs.
Zoomed out.
I stole this idea from Paul B (of reef central) There are many threads that talk about this feeder here's one. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=25309373 Sorry I couldn't find the original quickly.
Basic idea is hatch brine put them in a container with a fine mesh net and they will be wiggling toward the light (the mesh area) some will make it out but as they sit there trying to get out the mandarin will swim up and suck it up, pick at it like a copepod.
I made mine a little more user friendly. The top there is the top of a squat mason jar that my hubby dremeled/routed out some of the plastic so that I can use it with the mesh net. (just screw on the lid). he left enough plastic (on the right) so that I can have a plastic tube that comes up out of the tank (in the back) so that I can fill it without taking it out of the tank. I put in fresh brine 2x daily (3 on weekends). THen I take it out and clean it replace the panty hose footy when it starts to look nasty about once every 2 weeks.
I decapsulate the brine and I'm already hatching for my seahorses so no big deal. The footies are 3 pair for $1 at Dollar tree so $1 per 12 weeks. I have a small funnel at the top. So I strain the brine and then use a small amount of tank water to wash the brine out of the strainer into a cup. Then I trickle pour the brine into the funnel and follow up with a small amount of water so the brine is in the cup. If you don't trickle you trap air and end up with an air bubble under your mesh. Just use a turkey baster to suck the air out of the mesh by putting it on top of the air pocket. What's really nice is my pipes love to catch the brine that escape (these the mandarin won't go after she wants them down on the mesh. That way not a lot of waste. I loaned one to my LFS and have even seen a giant bangaii chasing the escaped baby brine so your whole tank will love it. My gorgorians also seem to enjoy.
I buy the white so it matches the feeder. If I wanted or was worried about the looks. I could encrust the glass with epoxy and rock and I could remove the tube and put a rock over the hole but I"m not worried about aestetic. I do have it in the back of an open cave so it doesn't stand out when looking at the tank.
I hatch my brine in green/brown water but brine isn't as nutritious as pods so I still throw pods and amphipods in the tank for nutrition and fun as well. But the brine keeps weight on my stubborn mandarin. She is one that has held out the longest on no prepared foods. At one time I thought she was eating prepared and I was short on brine for my seahorse babies so I skipped the feeder for 2 days and she was back to skeletal. With the brine it takes a while for her to put on weight. I've got her back to normal/slim and I'm waiting til she gets normal/fat before trying once again to wean her to prepared foods. I know she like fresh seahorse eggs but I can't seem to get her to eat frozen eggs.
Last edited:
reef cuber
New member
Thanks for taking the time to explain your feeder!
How often are you adding pods to your tanks?
How often are you adding pods to your tanks?
kizanne
Member
Varies Greatly.
I grow pods, so it depends on how many I have and the state of my tank.
When I first got my dragonface pipefish and my mandarin was skeletal I was adding thousands every couple days.
Now my pods are infected with rotifers and everybody is more stable so every other week. I need to break my copepod tank down as it was supposed to be my grow out tank for my seahorse babies but when it was growing t-iso and pods I let it go. Then the nanno got in there an took over then the rotifers now it is a mess. Even my back up culture has rotifers. when I do clean it out I'll stain and it will go in the tank as well.
I add amphipods about 3 times a year in large numbers. They do put a hurt on the copepods though.
I put in what I have when I have it. I grow lots of stuff because I'm trying to breed certain fish. If I order from someplace and they have some good live foods I'll go ahead and get some if I'm already paying shipping. And 3 times a year I buy amphipods. I've always done this with all my tanks. Copepods aren't hard to culture. Tisbe and Tigger don't even need microalgae.
I have a sump with a refugium but that isn't enough to keep pods crawling around the display tank glass which is what I like to see.
I grow pods, so it depends on how many I have and the state of my tank.
When I first got my dragonface pipefish and my mandarin was skeletal I was adding thousands every couple days.
Now my pods are infected with rotifers and everybody is more stable so every other week. I need to break my copepod tank down as it was supposed to be my grow out tank for my seahorse babies but when it was growing t-iso and pods I let it go. Then the nanno got in there an took over then the rotifers now it is a mess. Even my back up culture has rotifers. when I do clean it out I'll stain and it will go in the tank as well.
I add amphipods about 3 times a year in large numbers. They do put a hurt on the copepods though.
I put in what I have when I have it. I grow lots of stuff because I'm trying to breed certain fish. If I order from someplace and they have some good live foods I'll go ahead and get some if I'm already paying shipping. And 3 times a year I buy amphipods. I've always done this with all my tanks. Copepods aren't hard to culture. Tisbe and Tigger don't even need microalgae.
I have a sump with a refugium but that isn't enough to keep pods crawling around the display tank glass which is what I like to see.
josepha
Member
Thanks Kizanne, I plan to do the feeder, but also wan to do culture pods. When you say Copepods are not hard to culture, I have a small tank that I want to culture and feed my main display. I was thinking copepods and amphipods. It sounds like that may be a contradiction as the amphipods eat the copepods? Also I have not heard of “infected with rotifers” is there a way to avoid this? Also I was thinking of adding some rock rubble, chaeto, a mangrove or two and then ordering amphipods and copepods. Main display water was to pump up to the pod tank and would be gravity fed with a bulkhead or two back to the main Display. Should I do something different in terms of the setup, stocking and operation?
kizanne
Member
LOL. Rotifers are a very small animal I culture for breeding. They won't hurt anything and you probably won't have any trouble with them unless you order them on purpose. Some copepods like adult tigger pods and amphipods will eat rotifers. However, I had a green water copepod culture and rotifers will out multiply your copepods and eat all the green water and at that rate of reproduction they can create ammonia issues.
You can co-culture copepods and amphipods but the amphipods will eat copepods. My amphipod tank had sponges that the copepods would hide and multiply in. But amphipods are slow in reproducing copepods are a lot faster. I'd have a separate copepod area/culture. While copepods can be grown with green water/ brown water there are some like tisbe and tigger pods (harpticoid) that will grow on flake food/algae/ detris.
I've never done the HOB refugium so I don't know how that sounds. I know people do it. I have a large sump area as a refugium and in tank areas designed to help. But I have a separate area for breeding copepods as that little 70 gal can't keep up with 2 seahorses, 3 pipefish and 1 mandarin (soon to be 2). I also use the pods for breeding. When my seahorse babies first come out of the pouch I give them lots of pods and some brine. Your pods will probably do just fine. I find they seem to reproduce better with a combo of algae and a protein source (at least the harpticoids).
You can co-culture copepods and amphipods but the amphipods will eat copepods. My amphipod tank had sponges that the copepods would hide and multiply in. But amphipods are slow in reproducing copepods are a lot faster. I'd have a separate copepod area/culture. While copepods can be grown with green water/ brown water there are some like tisbe and tigger pods (harpticoid) that will grow on flake food/algae/ detris.
I've never done the HOB refugium so I don't know how that sounds. I know people do it. I have a large sump area as a refugium and in tank areas designed to help. But I have a separate area for breeding copepods as that little 70 gal can't keep up with 2 seahorses, 3 pipefish and 1 mandarin (soon to be 2). I also use the pods for breeding. When my seahorse babies first come out of the pouch I give them lots of pods and some brine. Your pods will probably do just fine. I find they seem to reproduce better with a combo of algae and a protein source (at least the harpticoids).
