Best source of pods?

[TnFishwater98]

Sadly, I am 3 for 3 with AlgaeBarn pods... they're so small my eyes can't tell if they're alive when they arrive, but I've yet to see any bug action in my tank since adding 3 separate jars on 3 separate occasions. I can only guess that they either didn't arrive alive, or something is wrong on my end (I have nothing that eats pods that I am aware of, and I'm wanting to use them simply for CUC/Biodiversity), but the only way to confirm the second half of that is to try a different source of pods. Also, since amphipods are bigger, hopefully getting a mix of amphipods and copepods will allow me to confirm that they're alive when they get here.

So, what sources of pods do you guys prefer? Are the Aquarium Depot pods good? The price seems reasonable enough, but I have no experience with that site.

I just started keeping them in a container with airline hose and feeding them phyto. I take out a few cups a day and dump in my tanks then add fresh SW back to container. Feed every other day or when water clears up. I’m hoping I can keep them going so I don’t have to keep purchasing. So far so good but again I just started last week.

just now starting to realize, I need to make my own Phyto to keeps these pods fed…Lol

 

[OrchidMiss]

I'm sorry but this is a joke. I don't tell people where to spend their $ but I can't believe ppl buy pods and mini brittle stars! Lol.

They come in time. U want pods? Buy frags. Buy live rock. Go get a piece of nice porus live rock from someone's established tank...
Ty that is all.
D

I've supplemented pods plenty of times. Now, I share them from one tank with the others.
That being said, last night, as I was dipping 25+ frags. I always, always dip before putting in the tank, unless you welcome the baddies as much as the good. Every time I dip, I see all these pods (along with worms or sorts, algae, asternea stars... things I don't want in my tanks).
I will always, always dip my corals. Doesn't matter what vendor they are coming from.

 

[afrokobe]

I like jaysreefbugs. He has a website and he's on here. I ordered two bottles from him and my tank is littered with pods currently albeit its running fallow

 

[Paul B]

I collect them from here.

 

[lapin]

I collect them from here.

hahahahaha
I was waiting for you to pop in on this

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Aquarium depot has a flash sale. Just ordered 1k and got another 1k added to order. Last batch I put in fish went nuts.

 

[reefsaver]

Yeh, I plan on waiting till the weather warms up a bit, just trying to plan it out really. Thanks for the BOGO tip. I was just looking at their Small Refugium starter kit that ships for free, 1lb of Rubble Rock, 1 "orange" sized ball of Chaeto, and 1,000 pods for $69.99 doesn't seem bad, especially when considering they offer free shipping on that package...

I could find a bag of sterile Chaeto for $10 at pretty much any marine fish store near me, and pods are usually $10-$15 per bottle which probably houses around 1000 pods more or less.
If I was spending + $50 on pods, I better be getting a big bloody bottle of pods, or like a pod culture kit.

I had the Idea for a good while to add a hang on refugium to my tank to house pods, but I like the clean look and would prefer to just buy another tank, drill my current one out to add a sump/refugium.
Then I could just add a fuge light, some chaeto, maybe one of those Copepods Hotel things, and I think I could stress a little less about supplementing a Dragonets diet. Although I could do all that with a hang on fuge, I would prefer to reduce visual salt Crete and equipment by adding a sump.

 

[Bridgerdean]

I am a fan of get pods where you are. I am lucky enough that Algae Barn distribution center is close to me. So I pick them up there. As others have said a big healthy fuge makes a big difference.

 

[Bridgerdean]

I am a fan of get pods where you are. I am lucky enough that Algae Barn distribution center is close to me. So I pick them up there. As others have said a big healthy fuge makes a big difference.

 

[Reef and Dive]

Sadly, I am 3 for 3 with AlgaeBarn pods... they're so small my eyes can't tell if they're alive when they arrive, but I've yet to see any bug action in my tank since adding 3 separate jars on 3 separate occasions. I can only guess that they either didn't arrive alive, or something is wrong on my end (I have nothing that eats pods that I am aware of, and I'm wanting to use them simply for CUC/Biodiversity), but the only way to confirm the second half of that is to try a different source of pods. Also, since amphipods are bigger, hopefully getting a mix of amphipods and copepods will allow me to confirm that they're alive when they get here.

So, what sources of pods do you guys prefer? Are the Aquarium Depot pods good? The price seems reasonable enough, but I have no experience with that site.

 

[Lyss]

I’ve done algae barn and reef nutrition. In the end I prefer reef nutrition (for live phyto as well), but with both I could easily see plenty of movement in the container. You can tell the pods are moving and it’s not the water shaking in the jar b/c they have this sort of swarmy jerky movement — very easy to tell.

I added mine right after my cycle to build up biodiversity. And have supplemented twice since. Don’t think it’s helpful to the OP to just question why anyone would purchase them.

Amphipods I got from frags. I dip and have seen them come off but there must be eggs or something that are resistant to dipping b/c they appeared and have flourished.

 

[NS Mike D]

no issues with algae barn, very happy with Reef Nutrition when the LFS stocked them. I was also very happy with Atlantic Bitotechnology pods on Amazon (fee shipping with prime is a huge plus). I kept a dragonet for 6 years in a 29 gal. The fuge supplied most if its meals but I would supplement with one of the above every 3 moths or so just in case.

 

[JNalley]

I could find a bag of sterile Chaeto for $10 at pretty much any marine fish store near me, and pods are usually $10-$15 per bottle which probably houses around 1000 pods more or less.
If I was spending + $50 on pods, I better be getting a big bloody bottle of pods, or like a pod culture kit.

I had the Idea for a good while to add a hang on refugium to my tank to house pods, but I like the clean look and would prefer to just buy another tank, drill my current one out to add a sump/refugium.
Then I could just add a fuge light, some chaeto, maybe one of those Copepods Hotel things, and I think I could stress a little less about supplementing a Dragonets diet. Although I could do all that with a hang on fuge, I would prefer to reduce visual salt Crete and equipment by adding a sump.

Sadly, none of my LFS sells Macroalgae (That I'm aware of, but it may be worth an ask). They do have pods and phyto, but it's expensive (Usually marked up reef nutrition and the like). Regardless I'd still need to source the Macro Algae (Chaeto, Dragons Tongue, etc) and with shipping any which way I've tried usually ends up being more than $60-70. So to get pods (Both Amphipods and Copepods), phyto, chaeto, and rock rubble for $70 total seems like a deal, at least on the surface.

 

[Pistondog]

I've been thinking about buying a Dragonet for some time although only have a 25 gallon.
I'm not necessarily willing to go to my store every 3 days to buy copepods.
I'm kinda in the same boat as our friend here. I don't see any pods in my tank and I've bought them fairly often from my LFS along with Phyto. I think an in-tank self sustaining culture is out of the question in an all in one display tank as small as mine "Waterbox 25G Peninsula Mini".

But I was recently thinking of setting up a jar I modified to culture phyto, to instead house a copepod culture.
The only way I could culture phyto is if I bought it along with the Phyto fertilizer on eBay.
But I could just buy the phyto, fill the jar with salt water, aerate it and dose phyto to grow the pods, then dose the copepods to my tank.

A 25g may not be large enough to support pod feed source for dragonet. You can get these raised to feed on frozen foods, which would be better.

 

[J1a]

If the goal is for feeding only, using freeze dried pods and phyto is much more convenient and reliable.

 

[Jay'sReefBugs]

What are you trying to get amthipods or copepods? big diffrance in the 2 . Amthipods most likely will come in on frags and breed like roaches. Copepods do come in on frags also but they do require a little extra effort to get the population booming unlike amthipods that require nothing.

 

[Garia666]

Our LFS just sells live foods like these but feeder shrimps and gamarus aswell. Every Wednesday fresh gets delivered.
Just keep them in the fridge and the will last a week.

 

[JNalley]

What are you trying to get amthipods or copepods? big diffrance in the 2 . Amthipods most likely will come in on frags and breed like roaches. Copepods do come in on frags also but they do require a little extra effort to get the population booming unlike amthipods that require nothing.

Both, since I am looking for biodiversity/CUC more than anything. I setup an order on reef cleaners since I needed to replenish CUC in my daughter's tank and put CUC in my new tank, and added their pods to my order since it was going to have free shipping anyways... but, they don't have amphipods, so, I'll just have to find someone who has them... Maybe when/if I order from ipsf

 

[Lyss]

Both, since I am looking for biodiversity/CUC more than anything. I setup an order on reef cleaners since I needed to replenish CUC in my daughter's tank and put CUC in my new tank, and added their pods to my order since it was going to have free shipping anyways... but, they don't have amphipods, so, I'll just have to find someone who has them... Maybe when/if I order from ipsf

You def shouldn’t need to buy amphipods. Ever since I started adding frags I’m overrun w/them and didn’t do a thing. Some ppl also consider them to be pests.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

I just started keeping them in a container with airline hose and feeding them phyto. I take out a few cups a day and dump in my tanks then add fresh SW back to container. Feed every other day or when water clears up. I’m hoping I can keep them going so I don’t have to keep purchasing. So far so good but again I just started last week.

just now starting to realize, I need to make my own Phyto to keeps these pods fed…Lol

Obviously you know what you are doing