Populating Copepods

[TTSupra]

What's the best way to do this? I have a mandarin and a six line, so I'm trying my best to promote heavy copepod growth.

Dose phyto?

I had bought live tiger pods from Petland, and put half the contents in the main tank and the other half in my sump. It was expensive as hell though.

I'm willing to buy another one to help promote population, but I was hoping to find some information on how to benefit their growth.

 

[IReefer madness]

I am watching and waiting for best answer here as well. Most people will probably tell you to get samples of cheato from other reefers to best diversify. I have been doing this as well but cant seem to get population heavy again. I do have a mandarin that seems to be starving since I overdosed mag flake to increase magnesium to 1550 and raised my salt level to 1.030. This seemed to kill the vast population I had going. I have been trying to restock for the past month and not going as well as I thought it would. Any way to order a large population??

 

[Vitaly]

Pods populations will increase with time. However, considering that you are keeping two voracious pod eaters, a Sixline and Mandarin, together in a relatively small tank...I think the pods have little chance of growing into a large population.

Between the two...the Mandarin is much slower and will lose the hunt for food (particularly as Mandarins are mostly obligate pod feeders). Just my opinion.

 

[HarryLongo]

It would be next to impossible ( in my opinion ) to try and rear a population of copepods in a main tank. Their eggs are fair game for whatever else is luking in the shadows so they're gone before they hatch... and any that do need a food supply to grow to adulthood so they they create the next generation.
I have a hang-on refugium I started a month ago and stocked it with a store bought bottle of a certain commercial species of copepods. I have 500 big ones of a different species coming next week from eBay. I have a foam barrier ( not supplied with the fuge ) which keeps the copepods in the fuge and they're trapped... they can't blow out of the return... so their population is under control until I take away the barrier. They are safer their from hungry tank inhabitants and have an assured food supply all their own. Do some research into growing your own in a seperate small tank. please post your results if you do.

 

[TTSupra]

Yeah, the mandarin is thinning out pretty badly. Guess it's time to find him a new home.

 

[zhenjw]

I just set up a refugium for my 100G and my pod population skyrocketed. Unfortunately, one of my twin spotted gobies couldn't wait that long. Fortunately, one of the skunkback shrimp was able to enjoy quit a delicious $20 fillet.

Get a fuge, and make sure its well established with pods until you buy fish that are dependent on life food. Usually your LFS will hold onto or allow you to return livestock if you let them know you're not ready to take care of it.

 

[drawman]

If you don't have a refugium then get one, the bigger the better. Provide macroalgae and then get a high quality phyto like DTs or home grown, preferably. Add a little at first and slowly work your way up. The key is to dose everyday or at least every other in your fuge. Otherwise your built up population will go hungry and crash.

 

[Gooli]

i recommend adding a red light at night and creating romantic atmosphere for them to mate...maybe a barry white record as well...

but seriously folks..you best bet is a refugium with LR and cheato.

 

[drstupid]

i had a friend with a six line and mandarin in his tank, and the six line completely out competed the mandarin. after a few months the poor thing looked terrible, i rescued it and it's doing fine in my tank, months later, even competing with a copperband.

i have a lot of rock, a deep sand bed, and a fuge with chaeto. i toss a sponge in the sump downstream from the fuge, and every two or three days take a container with some tank water and let the sponge float in there. after ten minutes maybe the container is crawling with pods, the sponge goes back in the sump and the pod water gets dumped in the display. this is keeping the population up top high enough to keep these two fish happy.

 

[Jamie1210]

I have a refugium w/tons of chaeto and LR in my sump, but I also put in hermits and snails in there too. (No reason, really) But should I take them out? I want lots of pods, but not sure if hermits/snails eat them.

TIA!

 

[zhenjw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11131514#post11131514 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jamie1210
I have a refugium w/tons of chaeto and LR in my sump, but I also put in hermits and snails in there too. (No reason, really) But should I take them out? I want lots of pods, but not sure if hermits/snails eat them.

TIA!

I put some hermits in my fuge and they died of starvation. I wouldn't put anything in there that requires extra feeding unless you want to feed your fuge and display tank. But no hermits and smails won't decimate your pod population.