ser_renely
Active member
I never see them. I would like a mandarin at some point, after my refugium is built. I just hear you will have them if your tank is healthy etc...
... I think my tank is healthy
... I think my tank is healthy
How do I know if I have pods...or enough
- Thread starter ser_renely
- Start date
Deep_blue15
New member
It's best to get a mandarin to eat other foods like mysis, etc. It doesn't matter if you have copepods in your tank now or not, a hungry mandarin will likely wipe them out in a short period of time anyway. Unless you want to continually seed copepods over and over again which would be a pain, it is better to train them to switch over to the other basic foods.
ser_renely
Active member
thanks guys, good to know.
but to my original question, how do I know if I have them etc...? I hear people say they have too many sometimes.
thanks
but to my original question, how do I know if I have them etc...? I hear people say they have too many sometimes.
thanks
They still like to feed on pods so the fuge is a good idea.
ser_renely
Active member
yeah, gonna build it next weekend.
What else eats pods?
What else eats pods?
Amoore311
New member
Some species of Wrasse (Sixline being one of them) will eat them. I've seen my old clown eat them too, but very rarely.
Start dosing phytoplankton and your pod populations will blow up. Don't start dosing it till your fuge is established though. Also, make sure you take it easy when you first start dosing. It just becomes food for your skimmer if you over do it.
Start dosing phytoplankton and your pod populations will blow up. Don't start dosing it till your fuge is established though. Also, make sure you take it easy when you first start dosing. It just becomes food for your skimmer if you over do it.
shuguley
New member
My system has been up since June, and I just noticed Pods for the first time 2 weeks ago. the only way to know if you have them is to look for them. I see mine crawling on the glass near the sand, on the sand, and all over the rocks. they are very small and clear/white in color so you will have to look closely and be patient.
They aren't something you will just notice, IME you have to be actively looking for them, very hard to see unless you know what to look for, where to look, and look closely. I never saw any pods until I noticed my Wrasse was constantly picking at the rocks. I was like "what is he doing?" then I saw the pods for the first time.
ser_renely
Active member
thanks guys
Actually just about anything eats pods. Hermit crabs, fish, corals and many other things will relish them. That's why a refugium is a good idea to keep a healthy pod population flourishing. It provides a safe space where they can populate, usually through wanton sex orgies. 
ser_renely
Active member
lol... nice.
So in a fuge do you have to rotate rock or something? or do they make it up to the tank with the pump?
So in a fuge do you have to rotate rock or something? or do they make it up to the tank with the pump?
The pump does the job, No need to rearrange the rockwork.
baitshopboy
New member
When I die I want to come back as a pod now!!!!!!
once you have a fuge with well-grown cheato (soccerball sized is really good) you'll have enough pods. Cheato usually comes with them, though loses some in transit of tanks---so a few weeks of growing under good conditions in your fuge and you should be good. My mandy rec: male psychodelic mandy---very colorful, very showoff.
G&NSalty425
New member
Ask you LFS if they carry Reef Nutrition products. Tigger Pods are live Copepods that you can add to your Refugium. I just recently set up a Refugium and put in some Tigger Pods. Here's the link to Reef Nutrition they also have what's called Arcti Pods (dead Copepods). http://reefnutrition.com/
HumanIMDB
Premium Member
We stocked our system with two bottles of the Tigger Pods as well as a nice ball of chaeto from another tank. Unfortunately, we neglected the tanks over the summer and noticed a considerable drop in the number of visible pods.
Now that we are feeding phytoplankton daily, the number of visible pods has increased, though not as much as I had hoped. I've been using Reef Nutrition's Phyto Feast (non-live) and am going to switch back to DT's Live Phytoplankton when that bottle is done to see if that makes a difference as I was feeding DT's before and noticed a huge explosion in the pod population.
In the New Year, I'm going to setup a copepod culturing station so that we can add a fresh bottle of pods every week. That with the refugium should keep the mandarin(s) we hope to get healthy and happy.
Rascal1371
Premium Member
The pods-in-a-bottle are always very tempting, but for my $$ I have always found the best way to seed a tank or fuge with new pods and other critters is a good piece of fresh live rock - something which still has turf algae and coraline growing on it. It will be loaded with life. Knock off any large visible sponges too keep the nutrient spike to a minimum.
The best way to see pods IME is to shine a red lens flashlight into the tank at night. Another good indicator is if you are brushing them off of your hands every time you harvest a little chaeto.
The best way to see pods IME is to shine a red lens flashlight into the tank at night. Another good indicator is if you are brushing them off of your hands every time you harvest a little chaeto.
ser_renely
Active member
good info guys.
Why do I want to keep the nutrient spike to a minimum?
thanks,
Ser
Why do I want to keep the nutrient spike to a minimum?
thanks,
Ser
