Copepod explosion!

[WIlliam_24]

My 75 gallon softie only tank has been up around 3 months. No fish, all base rock ... but a crazy amout of what i assumme to be either Copepods or Ampipods. They are almost transparent and barely visible, you can find them crawling on every peice of rock and the glass. I noticed that one of my zoas colonies kept closing once in awhile so i took a closer look and it seems that the tiny copepods somtimes crawl on the small zoas and cause them to retract. All my other zoas never close like the small ones. What is the cause of such an outbreak and can you ever have to many? Will any soft corals eat copepods? Do too many copepods affect the chemistry of the water? Are pods a sign of a healthy enviorment? any other info on Pods and how they work would be awesome. Thank you all for your help as always - Will

 

[tsav87]

Definitely a sign of good health! You likely have so many because you don't have any fish. If they bother you get a wrasse

They will not affect water chemistry.

 

[EmdeReef]

My 75 gallon softie only tank has been up around 3 months. No fish, all base rock ... but a crazy amout of what i assumme to be either Copepods or Ampipods. They are almost transparent and barely visible, you can find them crawling on every peice of rock and the glass. I noticed that one of my zoas colonies kept closing once in awhile so i took a closer look and it seems that the tiny copepods somtimes crawl on the small zoas and cause them to retract. All my other zoas never close like the small ones. What is the cause of such an outbreak and can you ever have to many? Will any soft corals eat copepods? Do too many copepods affect the chemistry of the water? Are pods a sign of a healthy enviorment? any other info on Pods and how they work would be awesome. Thank you all for your help as always - Will

If truly copepods then that’s great and a sign of a healthy well established tank. They won’t affect water chemistry, may even improve by eating diatoms etc. the population is self-limiting based on food sources so you don’t have to worry about an overpopulation.

For more good info
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/rs/index.php

 

[Luno]

Generally a large copepod population will be from a nutrient rich tank. You'll find most ULNS will not support large pod populations

 

[WIlliam_24]

Generally a large copepod population will be from a nutrient rich tank. You'll find most ULNS will not support large pod populations

What do you mean by ULNS?

 

[Luno]

What do you mean by ULNS?

Means ultra low nutrient system. Pods need nutrients to survive and thrive, so a system with very low nutrients they will struggle. Just in your case as you describe lately the pod population has exploded. I'm wondering if that is because your nutrients have also increased. Chances are more than likely. Not that its a bad thing but just helping answer one part of your questions.

 

[WIlliam_24]

Means ultra low nutrient system. Pods need nutrients to survive and thrive, so a system with very low nutrients they will struggle. Just in your case as you describe lately the pod population has exploded. I'm wondering if that is because your nutrients have also increased. Chances are more than likely. Not that its a bad thing but just helping answer one part of your questions.

Thanks for the help. My water Parameters have been great last week when i tested. Ill test agin to make sure