why don't I have more pods?

[formsix]

Sorry, couldn't think of a more descriptive title!

I'm trying to boost the pod population in my tank. I can see one or two occasionally in my DT when I look carefully, and my leopard wrasse seems to find them occasionally on my rock and sand, but I don't think there are as many as there can or should be. I'm not sure whether I should try cultivating pods in a separate system or keep trying to get them going in my refugium, so I'm looking for advice and potential troubleshooting. I want to make sure my wrasse has all the pods she wants (though she also eats frozen like a pig, so I'm not too worried about her overall health), and I would love a pipefish someday.

Refugium: 10-15 gallons of a 40g breeder. Right now it contains 3 largish live rocks rocks and a ball of chaeto that is slowly falling apart. I added the chaeto about a month ago (second time I've tried chaeto, the first ball totally fell apart after about 2 months). I've been playing with the flow and might try to put it in a bag or container today. I added a bottle of Tisbe pods with the chaeto, and I know I had at least some pods from before, so they certainly exist in my system.

My refugium also has one monster crab with a body that is nearly 3" long, and I really don't see him hunting much of anything, but maybe he is eating pods? I'm sure there's also a pistol shrimp down there, and maybe another crab or other small animal -- nothing that I would think would decimate a pod population, but I figured I would mention it.

Current plans: Keep dosing phyto into my chaeto/sump about twice a week. Add live rock rubble to give the pods even more places to breed. What else? Should I reseed or add a different type of pods? Add a different type of macro algae? Just wait and see what happens?

Or is it worthwhile to set up a separate pod-breeding system?

 

[shesacharmer]

I just couldn't seem to keep Chaeto, Ulva, or Gracilleria but I've had terrific luck with Caulerpa Prolifica. Grows like a literal weed. Your Wrasse is likely eating every pod it can find.

 

[Sk8r]

YOur cheato falling apart sounds like a lighting problem. I have mine in a dark basement, with one shoplight (yep, the sort you use working on cars) but with a 6500k CFL floodlight right over the cheato. Flow doesn't matter so much: mine doesn't rotate or roll: it's too packed in there...but it is lit 24/7.

 

[AntiSatan]

with the wrasse in there you wont find many as he will eat all he finds.

 

[formsix]

Thanks. I know the wrasse will eat all the pods in the DT, but I'm hoping the refugium will keep a steady supply... and I just don't know if the wrasse is getting enough. She seems to pick something off a rock about once a minute, but sometimes cruises the same spots multiple times without seeming to find anything. Perhaps that's enough though? She does eat frozen but I still want her to have all the pods and hunting opportunities she wants.

As for the chaeto... I added a 65k LED flood light 2 weeks ago, right after I added this second ball of chaeto. It's not dying as quickly as the first ball from a few months back, but it still seems like it's slowly loosing pieces. It also had been turning brown, but that might have slowed. The light is on for about 16 hrs a day. I'll wait and see, but also think about adding another kind of algae to see if that grows better.

 

[Paul B]

 

[formsix]

Just imagine how happy my wrasse would be if that pulled up to my front door!!

Ok, one more question. Since my wrasse is likely going to eat every pod in sight, is it possible to ever keep another pod-eating species in the tank. Like, say, a pipefish? I'm guessing no matter how many pods I get going in my fuge, the wrasse will destroy them as they make their way up to the DT. But what about cultivating them in a separate tank? Or manually moving more from the sump to the DT to encourage faster breeding in the sump? Will the wrasse still outcompete everything, or can I realistically satiate the wrasse and keep enough pods in the DT for the pipefish?

Another thought has to do with the type of pods, but I assume the wrasse will eat any and all? Or might there be a species she won't care for as much?