Pods

[summitk]

I set up my fuge about 5 weeks ago, and got some chaeto from Aqua World. Since then, I have had times where my tank and fuge looked like it was crawling with pods, and others when there were fewer. Here's my question:

Is it normal for all the pods to look the same? I think they all look like the same species in various stages of life.


Thanks,
Summit

 

[the2ofus]

Google "copepod" and do a lil reading....you'll find a wealth of info on it.

As far as our tanks, we can make out 8 (we think) different types of copepods and amphipods

 

[summitk]

More Pod Info

More Pod Info

Yeah, I did a lot of reading, especially the great page:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/rs/index.php

What my point is that when I go to pet shops and look in their tanks, I see little things crawling all over the place, some of which look almost like daphnia, and some that look more like small shrimp. Pretty much all I have are what look like isopods on that page above in various stages of life. I don't know if this because I haven't "innoculated" my fuge with anything else, or that other pods are nocturnal, or that these are the "first wave" of pods I'm getting before other types of pods catch up.

I got my live rock off of someone on craigslist (mature, cycled, and with some algae and with worms all over the place), and had an instantly cycled tank, and got my chaeto from Aqua World and used their water with the chaeto because I assumed it was crawling with pods. I'm thinking maybe only the isopods made this journey and that's why that's all I have.

They sell pods at Aqua World, but they are just little containers of a single species. I was wondering how to add diversity, or if this is even necessary.


Thanks,
Summit