Copepod observation

[ScottR]

Back in January, about a month and half ago, I took a sample of my sand and some water from the bottom of my tank. About 50mL. I took the sample to a friend’s home to look under his microscope. I saw zero pods and was disappointed because I wanted to identify which type it was. So I took my jar of water back home, set it aside and forgot about it. About 2 weeks later, I looked inside and it was crawling with pods. So I just let it be. Now, a month and a half later, there are still pods in the water - about the same amount that I had noticed earlier. I added no food nor have I opened the jar. In my tank, I noticed my pod population comes and goes and I’ve concluded that my tank inhabitants eat them up but not before the pods lay eggs and then the cycle continues.

 

[Mr.Z]

Back in January, about a month and half ago, I took a sample of my sand and some water from the bottom of my tank. About 50mL. I took the sample to a friend’s home to look under his microscope. I saw zero pods and was disappointed because I wanted to identify which type it was. So I took my jar of water back home, set it aside and forgot about it. About 2 weeks later, I looked inside and it was crawling with pods. So I just let it be. Now, a month and a half later, there are still pods in the water - about the same amount that I had noticed earlier. I added no food nor have I opened the jar. In my tank, I noticed my pod population comes and goes and I’ve concluded that my tank inhabitants eat them up but not before the pods lay eggs and then the cycle continues.

Interesting observation -- thanks for sharing!

I've been trying to learn a bit about maintaining a pod population for when I set up my tank. Could you elaborate on what your setup is like? Specifically, I'm curious if you have a refugium or anything else in your sump to support the pods.

 

[ScottR]

Interesting observation -- thanks for sharing!

I've been trying to learn a bit about maintaining a pod population for when I set up my tank. Could you elaborate on what your setup is like? Specifically, I'm curious if you have a refugium or anything else in your sump to support the pods.

I’ve got a rather small setup. It’s an AIO. No refugium. I started my tank with Live Sand and LR. So the pods probably came with the sand. I noticed them within a week of setting up my tank. Once I added live stock, the pods would just completely disappear. Then they’d surprisingly show up out of nowhere a week later or so. Kind of frustrating if you have a fish that depends on them. But I guess they have all the food they need in the tank and probably won’t have to be target fed (although it doesn’t hurt to). Next time I do this, I’ll take pics to share.