plawrence5
New member
Any idea for me to increase copepods in my tank? Actually I am not even sure what a copepod is? Can someone explain?
Green Mandarin- how do I increase copepods
- Thread starter plawrence5
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Nearly microscopic crustaceans that eat film algae. You may spot them with a magnifying glass in your refugium, crawling on the threads of cheato. Feed DTs or Phytofeast [brand name phytoplankton] and provide live rock, sand and cheato in your refugium, then dispense with the filter [which may trap them] and go over solely to live rock and a sandbed. They're small enough to get through a pump impeller, but filter media can trap them and not let them into your tank. So your filter may defeat the purpose of your refugium. Your live rock should be 1 lb per gallon, both for sump and for tank.
When you start spotting them regularly in your refugium, you can get a mandy with fair confidence you can feed him.
If, however, you are replacing filter media, do it a little bit every few days, even resorting to scissors to reduce the amount of media until there is nothing but pure flowthrough. Doing it too fast risks a minicycle.
When you start spotting them regularly in your refugium, you can get a mandy with fair confidence you can feed him.
If, however, you are replacing filter media, do it a little bit every few days, even resorting to scissors to reduce the amount of media until there is nothing but pure flowthrough. Doing it too fast risks a minicycle.
plawrence5
New member
Can you buy live copepods to add to your aquarium? Like you can buy live brine shrimp if you go to the right place. Anyone know any online sites where you can buy copepods or Ebay stores?
Yes. www.reefnutrition.com sells tiggerpods. They're live, and will reproduce in your tank. The arctipods they also sell are a coldwater species and are not sold live, so go for the tiggerpods. I'd stay off ebay for this kind of purchase: remember you're also putting their water into your tank, as you add pods, and I do trust reefnutrition.
Another route to go is buy cheato from a healthy lfs. It just about always contains pods.
Another route to go is buy cheato from a healthy lfs. It just about always contains pods.
vickreyreef
New member
vickreyreef
New member
. oops duplicate post....
Shagsbeard
New member
Doseing live phytoplankton will encourage the growth of pods. You can culture it yourself for almost nothing. Look up "aquaculture phytoplankton kit" on google and you should see some comercially available stuff.
'pods aren't all "microscopic". Some get quite large... well... an 1/8" or so. In a fish tank, you wont see many get this big. They get eaten too soon.
'pods aren't all "microscopic". Some get quite large... well... an 1/8" or so. In a fish tank, you wont see many get this big. They get eaten too soon.
sfilingeri
Member
If you have a LFS that specializes in saltwater they probably sell them, check out your yellow pages and try calling around
Alright... well i've got a question along these lines too. I have a mandarin that was supposed to go in my 55 (established for over a year with plenty of rock) but he got beat up by my neon dottyback. Soo.. in an effort to save him I temporarily put him into my 12 nanocube. This was supposed to be temporary as I was in the process of buying more live rock... which when I rearranged my 55 i figured would stop the aggressiveness of the dottyback. However, the rock came two weeks late and I'm still trying to cook it, need about another week or two.
Anyways, I did buy the tiggerpods from reed mariculture, but they dont last long... I mean that you would need to buy them fairly frequently.
I tried giving articpods too, but the mandarin isnt interested.
Any ideas of how I could catch the pods in the refugium? I can see the mysid shrimp all over the place in my fuge... dont really see any copepods but lots of amphipods and mysid.
Anyways, I did buy the tiggerpods from reed mariculture, but they dont last long... I mean that you would need to buy them fairly frequently.
I tried giving articpods too, but the mandarin isnt interested.
Any ideas of how I could catch the pods in the refugium? I can see the mysid shrimp all over the place in my fuge... dont really see any copepods but lots of amphipods and mysid.
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