How Do I Get Pods?
- Thread starter gummi
- Start date
dragon_slayer
In Memoriam
you can buy them but in 99% of the cases you've already got a good number on your rock (look with a flash light at night) and if you feed them they'll reproduce. they'll make their way to your fuge/sump where they should be safe from any pod eaters and as long as they are kept fed and water quality is up to par they'll continue to breed and keep their population up. i don't run a fuge at all any longer and I've got gazillions of them on/in the rock. my Mandy's eat more then their fair share (they are a bit on the tubby side 
)but they reproduce faster then they can consume them.
kc
)but they reproduce faster then they can consume them.kc
sage_commander
New member
One day I was looking at my tank not long after the rock went in. I was wondering why so much sand was getting blown up the glass. Then I looked closer and saw that the grains of sand had legs and antennae.
They're probably there. Give it time. If you have any fish they may be hiding during the day.
They're probably there. Give it time. If you have any fish they may be hiding during the day.
silverwolf72
New member
I've got 3 small pieces of live rock in my 120gal for around 3 weeks and I already see tons of little white things swimming around my tank. At first I thought they were either micro bubbles or dust particles after a closer look I noticed they were swimming on there own. I hope these are pods at least! There to small to see any details on them
bhamzookeeper
New member
I asked my LFS the same question, gummi, and he said the same as these folks. I see only a couple of copepods, and I'd like to see more cause eventually, I'd like to get some Mandarins...love the greens, but the spotteds are cool too....maybe I'll put those in a different tank.
Billy
Billy
Gummi, a mature tank will have heaps of them crawling round the rocks after lights out.
How old is your tank, and what fish do you have.
Depending on the age of your tank and also the fish that you have, this will have an influence on the amount of pods that you have and will be able to see.
If you are using NSW and introducing live rock into your system, in time you should see them.
And yes you can seed your tank, from fellow reefers and you should also be able to buy some as well.
Good Luck
How old is your tank, and what fish do you have.
Depending on the age of your tank and also the fish that you have, this will have an influence on the amount of pods that you have and will be able to see.
If you are using NSW and introducing live rock into your system, in time you should see them.
And yes you can seed your tank, from fellow reefers and you should also be able to buy some as well.
Good Luck
dragon_slayer
In Memoriam
If you keep a healthy system, feed the pods and have plenty of rock with places for the pods to escape to and reproduce (or a fuge) then even a pair of mandarins won't be able to consume what a healthy pod population can reproduce. one side of my tank isn't easily got to with the MagFloat so it doesn't get cleaned off but about once every few weeks, copipods enjoy the buffet of algae that grows on the glass during that time, even with the lights on and the Mandy's feasting they still cover the glass by the hundreds. the rock work has gazillions of them at night.
it's hard to get a good pic down the side of the glass but here is an attempt, you can see the pods all over the glass. as you can see from the above pic, my Mandy's aren't at all starving and I've had them in the system for about 7 yrs now. currently the tank is only half up and running with more then 2/3 the rock removed and has been for about 2 yrs now, when all the rock was in there the pod population was amazing.
kc
Shagsbeard
New member
There are two key features in cultivating pods. Food, and safety. For safety, you need to remove preditors or provide a refugium for them. For food you can dose phytoplankton, or simply allow your glass to become covered with it. I recommed looking into "aquaculture phytoplankton" for kits that are pretty easy to maintain and will supply you with fresh, live, phytoplankton for the pods to feed on.
To answer questions....
Tank has been running for abour 4 weeks.
Fish: 2 percula clownfish
Tank: 65 gallon (48X18)
80lbs of very porour Haitian live rock with plenty of big caves, tunnels, hiding spots...
Lots of white things floating around. I had a micro bubble problem with too much sump flow and downgraded my pump. I'm still getting some microbubbles but haven't checked them for 'legs' yet.
I did once see one 'bug' about 2mm dead in my sump in the early stages of my tank running. Looked a lot like a pod from pictures I've seen. But since - haven't seen anything.
I just figured that since the rock was dry that all life would have died (except cultured bacteria). So I figured I'd have to seed with something to get my pods started.
Tank has been running for abour 4 weeks.
Fish: 2 percula clownfish
Tank: 65 gallon (48X18)
80lbs of very porour Haitian live rock with plenty of big caves, tunnels, hiding spots...
Lots of white things floating around. I had a micro bubble problem with too much sump flow and downgraded my pump. I'm still getting some microbubbles but haven't checked them for 'legs' yet.
I did once see one 'bug' about 2mm dead in my sump in the early stages of my tank running. Looked a lot like a pod from pictures I've seen. But since - haven't seen anything.
I just figured that since the rock was dry that all life would have died (except cultured bacteria). So I figured I'd have to seed with something to get my pods started.
killagoby
New member
