Adding Amphipods

[ilott]

Haha, your question is a good one and is the exact reason you see tiger pods as being the most available.

Tiger pods are the most widely sold because they can tolerate the widest temperature ranges, and for the longest times. Hence, they are the easiest to sell and hold in inventory.

That said, there are tons of sites that sell apex and tisbe pods, including reef nutrition. I’ve had lots of success with both so if you just want to order a bottle of apex from the reef nutrition website, go for it.

Are the Harpacticoida surface dwelling? Apparently they are in the pods that I was dosing

 

[Tuffloud1]

I’m not buying into the idea that amphipods reduce a copepod population enough to really know or measure.

I have had a giant amphipod population for the last 7 years along with my Mandarin for 7 years and he just passed away, likely from old age.

He was always fat and happy. I periodically notice copepods all over the glass. I added copepods only a couple times and that was 7 years ago.

 

[Butcher333]

I went through great lengths to keep amphipods out of my new tank and eventually killed them in my other tanks. I tried like the dickens to get some Munnid Isopods, but couldn’t find any. The strangest thing is that I ended up with them somehow in my new tank and nothing else. I moved my Mandarin into this tank and he’s grown a lot and is really healthy. They are able to maintain their population from the sump and hiding places. I’ll never listen to advice about how Amphipods are harmless or only bother things that are dying. They will pick at things and prevent them from recovering,and become the only pod. I dip everything in Bayer to kill them along with the other baddies.

Tigger pods are great. All the other pods are great. My .02

 

[Difrano]

I have Amphipods and Copepods in my tank and have not seen a dimming of the copepod population, I don't have any mandarin but i am sure that the Mandarin will eat the amphipods when they are small enough and this will control their population. I have amphipods that are huge about 5 to 10 mm, my fishes go crazy for them. Some time ago I watched my pistol snapping, killing and eating a huge amphipod that was at his burrow entrance, it was awesome.

 

[PhreeByrd]

Of course amphipods are beneficial. They are an important part of the natural ecosystem and food chain, and they perform tasks that no other animal can or will perform. I culture them and add them regularly to the system.
In 20 years I have never seen them bother a healthy, living coral, and they have never made any noticeable impact on the copepod population. There are plenty of other food sources in an aquarium that are much easier prey for them than copepods.

 

[rubertoe93]

Hmm, I’ll have a look later, the UK is kind of scarce for anything to do with reefing, or atleast I think it is, maybe i’m just not looking hard enough, but we deffo need something like Algaebarn here in the UK, maybe that’s a space in the market

I buy packs of 10 from my lfs! I add one pack a day have done for the past 3-4 weeks, I can’t see into my sump for them! Just add them to your sump when t he pumps off so they have chance to settle!

 

[living_tribunal]

I’m not buying into the idea that amphipods reduce a copepod population enough to really know or measure.

I have had a giant amphipod population for the last 7 years along with my Mandarin for 7 years and he just passed away, likely from old age.

He was always fat and happy. I periodically notice copepods all over the glass. I added copepods only a couple times and that was 7 years ago.

How big of a “massive” amphipod pop are we talking for your tank size? Amphipods have been widely studied and there are thousands of white papers on them. They eat a lot of copepods....

 

[Seabiscuit]

Hello,

i’ve been wondering if people have added live amphipods to their tanks, did they have any benefit? How did you add them, where did you add them and should you add them?

I used live sand to start the tank but I can’t seem to find much information online as to what is in live sand. Also I have dosed copepods and I will continue to dose them over the coming weeks to establish a healthy population in preparation for a Mandarin.
Any tips would be much appreciated

I love my amphipods. I added 50 to my nano tank. I still have lots of copepods (I can see them on the glass but they blend in with the sand and rock). The amphipods eat microalgae. I was afraid that my seahorses would eat them all but the amphipods do a good job of hiding during the daytime. I found four in my hob filter the other day, so I am trying a mesh covering on my filter intake. Now when I clean my filter, I know to check for any amphipods just incase they have to be saved.

 

[eggplantparrot]

I went through great lengths to keep amphipods out of my new tank and eventually killed them in my other tanks. I tried like the dickens to get some Munnid Isopods, but couldn’t find any. The strangest thing is that I ended up with them somehow in my new tank and nothing else. I moved my Mandarin into this tank and he’s grown a lot and is really healthy. They are able to maintain their population from the sump and hiding places. I’ll never listen to advice about how Amphipods are harmless or only bother things that are dying. They will pick at things and prevent them from recovering,and become the only pod. I dip everything in Bayer to kill them along with the other baddies.

Tigger pods are great. All the other pods are great. My .02

how did you kill them in an established tank?

 

[Tuffloud1]

How big of a “massive” amphipod pop are we talking for your tank size? Amphipods have been widely studied and there are thousands of white papers on them. They eat a lot of copepods....

At night they are running across the rocks and sand every inch or so, everywhere.

There are dozens of them in each sock every time I change them.

Started my 90 gallon tank 7 years ago and upgraded to a 260 gallon with 30 gallon frag plumbed in. Used the same rock and added more. This was almost a year ago.

Still the same MASSIVE population of them. And still, copepods remain periodically all over the glass without ever replenishing.

Every tank is different.

 

[living_tribunal]

At night they are running across the rocks and sand every inch or so, everywhere.

There are dozens of them in each sock every time I change them.

Started my 90 gallon tank 7 years ago and upgraded to a 260 gallon with 30 gallon frag plumbed in. Used the same rock and added more. This was almost a year ago.

Still the same MASSIVE population of them. And still, copepods remain periodically all over the glass without ever replenishing.

Every tank is different.

That’s not a massive population. Before I added my h chrysus, I had thousands and thousands visible during the day time. I had approximately 10,000 in the tank. Those who say amphipods don’t eat corals, don’t eat copepods, etc. typically haven’t had a large hungry population.

Amphipods feast off copepods. Read any white paper, it’s a fact. They consume as many as my mandarin, pipe fish, and h chrysus do.

 

[Butcher333]

how did you kill them in an established tank?

Rip clean and Bayer dip is one way.

I have cleared a tank with sand and rock without coral, with ammonium sulfate. The bacteria, coralline were all fine afterwards. Tank didn’t cycle either.

I have no bristle worms or amphipods. Nothing bothers my clams or coral. Tank full of Munnid Isopods, and Tigger pods mainly.

I didn’t dip my macro from algae barn and ended up with some of the harmless flatworms that eat pods. These are the flatworms Mandarines eat though, so I can‘t find any flatworms in my display anymore. Just my sump.

 

[Tuffloud1]

That’s not a massive population. Before I added my h chrysus, I had thousands and thousands visible during the day time. I had approximately 10,000 in the tank. Those who say amphipods don’t eat corals, don’t eat copepods, etc. typically haven’t had a large hungry population.

Amphipods feast off copepods. Read any white paper, it’s a fact. They consume as many as my mandarin, pipe fish, and h chrysus do.

Okay.

 

[Butcher333]

This is from an article written by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph. D.
“Nonetheless, the most common amphipods found in aquaria are either herbivores or detritivores. They tend to eat either plant or algal material preferentially and either graze on algae or eat debris of plant or algal origin. Generally, they don't eat much in the way of animal flesh, although occasionally we do get some predatory amphipods in our systems. It is difficult to distinguish between any of these species without specific microscopic examination, so the only way most hobbyists have of differentiating between the two types (and keep in mind there are several hundred potential species in each type) is to watch them feed.”

So it seems to me that the reason for so many debates on this, is that it depends on if you see them eating your coral....

 

[Uncle99]

This Mandy is 5 years old.
I have never directly added one POD.
What I do supply is a tank more than 50g, lots of rock scape which was 1 year old when she was added, and she is the only exclusive POD eater in the DT. She hunts and eats nothing but PODs.
Packaged PODS are the biggest profit maker.
Next time you buy some, put a drop under a cheap microscope, do a count, then do the math.
Your 5,000 PODS is likely under 500, sometimes 100.
Why is it people pay $30-$50 bucks for something that’s free?
I so love this business.

 

[Hermie]

I've "dosed" Amphipods two or three times, the first two specifcally to add them to the tank, first from sachsaquaculture and second from ISPF, I also got them basically as hitchhikers another time, but it wasnt until the second time I added them to the tank that I've actually started seeing them "proliferate" to a point where I see them in the sump, in the display, basically whenever I want to find them.

I have a Green Spotted Puffer, so they are great as a snack and give the puffer something to hunt whenever it's particularly hungry, but I wouldn't consider them a part of the puffers regular diet

 

[Hermie]

This Mandy is 5 years old.
I have never directly added one POD.
What I do supply is a tank more than 50g, lots of rock scape which was 1 year old when she was added, and she is the only exclusive POD eater in the DT. She hunts and eats nothing but PODs.
Packaged PODS are the biggest profit maker.
Next time you buy some, put a drop under a cheap microscope, do a count, then do the math.
Your 5,000 PODS is likely under 500, sometimes 100.
Why is it people pay $30-$50 bucks for something that’s free?
I so love this business.

The thing about packaged pods is that most of those species don't actually reproduce in an average reef tank. Or they do, but not at nominal levels (is that the word?)

btw, I'm jealous of your mandy. target mandarin has been on my wish list since I got into saltwater, but I don't want to risk it in a small tank (23 gal nano)

 

[wonroc]

I think live sand is a gimmick. Should be rinsed anyway. Live rock is what you want for bacteria.
Pods are great. Stick em in a fuge or a rear chamber so they have a chance to reproduce

 

[Aquaman508]

Thank you! Very detailed and much appreciated, i’ll stick to copepods!

Ive had amphipods before that were good for my wrasses but the amphipods wound eat all my copepods and some munched on my zoa garden. Literally ate my zoas! Id go with Tisbe pods instead of Tiger. Hands down the best pods for a reef because they stay in the sand and rocks and wont go airborne (water column) and start swimming around to get eaten by other fish. They're the perfect size for mandarin's mouth. Get you some Isochrysis Plankton (the brown plankton) and they'll reproduce like crazy in your tank.

 

[Aquaman508]

This is from an article written by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph. D.
“Nonetheless, the most common amphipods found in aquaria are either herbivores or detritivores. They tend to eat either plant or algal material preferentially and either graze on algae or eat debris of plant or algal origin. Generally, they don't eat much in the way of animal flesh, although occasionally we do get some predatory amphipods in our systems. It is difficult to distinguish between any of these species without specific microscopic examination, so the only way most hobbyists have of differentiating between the two types (and keep in mind there are several hundred potential species in each type) is to watch them feed.”

So it seems to me that the reason for so many debates on this, is that it depends on if you see them eating your coral....

Bingo! We have a winner. Thanks Butcher333, I could not have said it better.