Best Pods to Dose for Dragonet?

[Dark_Knightt]

Im about to place an order on fragbox.ca , a coral shop in Toronto, about 2 hours from me. I want to add one last fish to my tank, and I really like dragonets. I have a 20g, and we all know what people think of mandarins in 20g, so im thinking maybe a psychedelic dragonet or ruby red dragonet. Im going to seed my tank about 2 months before, which is now. I need to know which pods to buy. On the website it gives me soo many different options of pod species and brands. Anyone know the best brands and pod choices? As well as phytoplankton? And what exactly do I need to feed the pods? Will they eat phyto? It only seems to sell Reef Nutrition, and I would assume its good because its advertised at the top of this page XD
#reefsquad

 

[Daddy-o]

Im about to place an order on fragbox.ca , a coral shop in Toronto, about 2 hours from me. I want to add one last fish to my tank, and I really like dragonets. I have a 20g, and we all know what people think of mandarins in 20g, so im thinking maybe a psychedelic dragonet or ruby red dragonet. Im going to seed my tank about 2 months before, which is now. I need to know which pods to buy. On the website it gives me soo many different options of pod species and brands. Anyone know the best brands and pod choices? As well as phytoplankton? And what exactly do I need to feed the pods? Will they eat phyto? It only seems to sell Reef Nutrition, and I would assume its good because its advertised at the top of this page XD
#reefsquad

I bought a bunch of amphipods on Flea-bay for my Mandarin

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Does anyone now if Apex pods are good?

 

[ScubaFish802]

I use a guy off facebook “the fish dude copepod and live reef food”. Faster delivery, higher quantity per volume, and cheaper than the big name places I was ordering from before.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I use a guy off facebook “the fish dude copepod and live reef food”. Faster delivery, higher quantity per volume, and cheaper than the big name places I was ordering from before.

And what pods does he recommend for dragonets?

 

[flampton]

Have you no pods in there to begin with? If you already have pods in your tank you can start feeding the tank phyto. Plus you'll need a refugium, cryptic or lighted doesn't matter, as your population will be consumed and you'll have a starving dragonet. Oh and I recommend captive bred and feed at least three times a day, preferably more. That way it's not reliant on the ebb and flow of your pod population

 

[Daddy-o]

Does anyone now if Apex pods are good?

I think that the Apocyclops are a good pod to have. But they are tiny and I find it harder to judge the pod population when I cant see them.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Have you no pods in there to begin with? If you already have pods in your tank you can start feeding the tank phyto. Plus you'll need a refugium, cryptic or lighted doesn't matter, as your population will be consumed and you'll have a starving dragonet. Oh and I recommend captive bred and feed at least three times a day, preferably more. That way it's not reliant on the ebb and flow of your pod population

No I do not have pods in my tank already. I currently dont have a refugium, but im going to use buckets to cultivate pods and phyto, with maybe some macro or a pod hotel in there. That counts as a fuge, right?

 

[flampton]

No I do not have pods in my tank already. I currently dont have a refugium, but im going to use buckets to cultivate pods and phyto, with maybe some macro or a pod hotel in there. That counts as a fuge, right?

Def if you culture then that counts. Still would have inaccessible places in your tank. Basically a good amount of holey rock. Not sure on perfect pod strain. It might even be different with each species of dragonet

 

[AZReef13]

I have been using Algaebarns pods for my CB mandarin, she is 2.5 years and growing...

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Def if you culture then that counts. Still would have inaccessible places in your tank. Basically a good amount of holey rock. Not sure on perfect pod strain. It might even be different with each species of dragonet

Yeah Ive got this one rock that is basically a "hole" lottta holes, perfect for pods to hide and reproduce. And another kidna like that just less holes but bigger ones

 

[ScottR]

What other tank inhabitants do you have? There are other fish and inverts that hunt pods as well so you have to keep that in mind. You may need to order pods often and it can be expensive. A healthy refugium does help to keep a good population but may not be enough.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

What other tank inhabitants do you have? There are other fish and inverts that hunt pods as well so you have to keep that in mind. You may need to order pods often and it can be expensive. A healthy refugium does help to keep a good population but may not be enough.

I only have 1 pair of clowns

 

[ichthyogeek]

I'm...really only seeing Apex pods and Tigger pods for sale on Fragbox. Between the two, I'd use the Apex (Apocyclops) pods, since they reproduce faster than the Tigriopus.

Apocyclops pods do well on both algae paste and live algae. You can either culture it, or buy it from somebody who's made it. Keep in mind that different pods favor different microalgaes/phytoplanktons (ex. Parvocalanus grows best with Isochrysis and Chaetoceros).

Also, look into making a PaulB feeder! You just stick'em full of NHBBS (newly hatched baby brine shrimp), and the dragonet just pecks at it all day.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I'm...really only seeing Apex pods and Tigger pods for sale on Fragbox. Between the two, I'd use the Apex (Apocyclops) pods, since they reproduce faster than the Tigriopus.

Apocyclops pods do well on both algae paste and live algae. You can either culture it, or buy it from somebody who's made it. Keep in mind that different pods favor different microalgaes/phytoplanktons (ex. Parvocalanus grows best with Isochrysis and Chaetoceros).

Also, look into making a PaulB feeder! You just stick'em full of NHBBS (newly hatched baby brine shrimp), and the dragonet just pecks at it all day.

Will Apex pods eat algae off of rockwork and stuff? So I can dose a little phyto, and then just let the rest happen naturally? Also I will be culturing pods in a bucket, does it need a light ?

 

[Daddy-o]

Will Apex pods eat algae off of rockwork and stuff? So I can dose a little phyto, and then just let the rest happen naturally? Also I will be culturing pods in a bucket, does it need a light ?

The Apocyclops will eat anything they can find so no reason to reed them in a reef tank. Pods dont need light but the do need warm water.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Dark_Knightt]

The Apocyclops will eat anything they can find so no reason to reed them in a reef tank. Pods dont need light but the do need warm water.
Cheers! Mark

K ill just buy a heater to stick in the bucket. Do I need to culture phyto as well? Or will the phyto I dose in the tank be fine?