Copepods

[Guest D33rex]

How does one go about increasing the number of copepods...growing them specifically?....feeding something specific to the tank?....

[Guest Keyoke]

AFAIK, I can't think of any supplements that will increase their growth/reproduction rate.

 

In my, admittedly short, experience with 'em, they need a calm place to live where there won't be a lot of predation. I set up a small 'fuge within my sump, slapped a handful of small peices of LR in with about a baseball sized hunk of grape-calurpa, and just let it sit. About a month has gone by since I did that, and the fuge is crawling with 'em. Great big ones too.

[xeon]

Yep, the phyto you should be culturing will do the trick. A refuge also helps by giving them a predator free zone... if you have predator that dine heavily on copepods.

[fishface]

I have the same idea, and I found that there is a company that sells them bottled for feeding specific fish, and it is also useful to inoculate a new fuge.

 

www.Seapods.com is the aquaculture firm and they sell thru some distribution listed on their site.

 

I haven't decided if I will buy them, but it's due to the fact that I need to piggy back that with something else or the bottle $20 will be rediculously expensive.

 

FF

[Guest D33rex]

Yes I am asking because I just got a little scooter blenny, which of course feed on them. Does anyone know of other substitutes the dragonets are known to eat?

 

I know i need to set up a refugium, once copepods start growing more abundantly in the fuge do you need to scoop em out and put them up top or will they just make it up there themselves? And yes xeon, Ive got the phyto up and bubbling away, very interested to see the corals reaction, thanks.

[Guest mikesroth]

Peter Poggi, had some 'Jars' and fake pottery in his take where the Pods could live, and not get eaten by predators. You might want to check out his setup. He had a ton of them!

[lmeyer]

I've also seen people put together "pod piles" in their tanks. I have one in mine. Take some small pieces of live rock, put them in a pile in the tank, take half of the plastic container that strawberries come in and put it over the pile of rocks (keeps predators out). Put some larger rocks over the strawberry container to keep it in place and mask it. Creates a small in-tank refugium for your pods. If you really want to get into it, check out http://home.alltel.net/teakiebarber/page2.html.

[rioreef]

I read on reef central of people putting a small block of course filter sponge material in the fuge, leave it for about a week and then transfer to the main tank (make sure to secure it to a small rock or something). The pods will inhabit the sponge in the fuge and then in the main you fish can go to this feeding station. All the while still providing a haven deeper in the sponge for the pods.

 

Chris

[fishface]

Thanks Guys, that both ideas are great, and the link was helpful. I'd still be interested in buy pods to add diversity to my pod poplation.

 

Well...I'm assuming that I'd be accomplishing that by adding from another source.

FF

[Lee Stearns]

I always picked the pods off the sponge to put where I wanteed them-doooh! I never thought just to rotate two sponges between the fuge and the main tank- I do know that if you feed Phyto they will climb seriously in numbers- within about a week.

I do use the small rubble pile method in one section of the tank.

[HowardofNOVA]

Great post on the Mandaran's!

 

I agree with Lee on the rubble piles for your tank. About 2" high ought to do it for them to hide and breed, possible near your base rocks.

[Guest D33rex]

Very informative, thanks everyone.