Copepod Replenishment

[Chipper1978]

I’m interested in adding copepods to my refugium. I assumed I could add a good amount and they would reproduce and sustain a healthy population. However, I noticed Algae Barn has a recommended amount to replenish on a monthly basis according to tank size. If I have to pay for more of them every month, I doubt I will purchase any. Any insights?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I’m interested in adding copepods to my refugium. I assumed I could add a good amount and they would reproduce and sustain a healthy population. However, I noticed Algae Barn has a recommended amount to replenish on a monthly basis according to tank size. If I have to pay for more of them every month, I doubt I will purchase any. Any insights?

I'd purchase these. Better chance of them reproducing.

Apocalypse Pods & OceanMagik

ALL-NEW DURABLE PACKAGING! INCLUDES: Apocalypse Pods Single Species Apocyclops Panamensis Copepods Seed Your Aquarium | Increase Pod Populations | Feed Finicky Fish OceanMagik Live Phytoplankton Blend, Four Nutritious Strains Feed Copepods | Increase Coral Growth | Reduce Nuisance Algae

www.algaebarn.com

 

[Fishbird]

I haven’t read the AlgaeBarn website recently but when I bought my jar of copepods my interpretation was that you can

1) add them to a refugium, where they can breed, and then as long as your refugium doesn’t have any copepod predators you don’t need to add more to your tank or

2) you can just add them straight to your tank but if you don’t have a safe place for them to breed where predators can’t get to them then you’ll have to add more on a regular basis.

 

[tehmadreefer]

No need to buy pods every month or ever . This is yet just another fad in the past 2 years that one has to buy pods... you get free pods when you start your tank via livestock.

I have a mandarin, copperband, and regal angel that devour pods, and they aren’t close to starving lol.

 

[Chipper1978]

I haven’t read the AlgaeBarn website recently but when I bought my jar of copepods my interpretation was that you can

1) add them to a refugium, where they can breed, and then as long as your refugium doesn’t have any copepod predators you don’t need to add more to your tank or

2) you can just add them straight to your tank but if you don’t have a safe place for them to breed where predators can’t get to them then you’ll have to add more on a regular basis.

This is very helpful. Thanks!

 

[Chipper1978]

No need to buy pods every month or ever . This is yet just another fad in the past 2 years that one has to buy pods... you get free pods when you start your tank via livestock.

I have a mandarin, copperband, and regal angel that devour pods, and they aren’t close to starving lol.

How would I tell if I have them?

 

[Fishbird]

How would I tell if I have them?

If you look at your glass and see white specs that hop around, you have copepods . If the specs are big enough that you can see legs, then they are not copepods. Adult harpacticoid copepods (the kind you're likely to see on the glass) will be about the size of a pinhead or maybe two pinheads if they're really large.

How big is your tank? I think whether or not you need a separate refugium likely depends on the amount of live rock you have. Have you heard of the term carrying capacity? Its used in biology to mean how many of any particular species an ecosystem can support. Your tank is an ecosystem so ultimately whether or not you need a fuge or to add copepods regularly depends on whether or not your ecosystem can support (provide food and safe places to breed/grow up) enough copepods that they are not extirpated (removed) by your fish. My tank is 20 gallons and my fish (rough head blennies) are really only interested in eating live pods. I don't want to risk their lives/health and since my tank is so small I'm not confident that the amount of rock I can physically fit in it could provide enough places for copepods to breed without all being eaten by my blennies and I don't want to pay to add pods every month so I have a HOB refugium. If my tank was 120 gallons I might feel differently and see how it went without the fuge.

I think for small tanks (under 75 gallons) with fish that rely on pods for health/survival, its a good idea to play it safe and have a fuge. Not everybody will agree with me of course and I know that 75 gallons is an arbitrary number. If I was trying to keep two mandarins in a 75 I would probably want a fuge.

The point is more that you have to think about ecology, carrying capacity, and how much you're willing to risk the lives of your fish. I definitely *don't* see how you would have to add pods every month if you have a fuge, unless you had some event that wiped out your entire copepod population in the fuge as well as the DT.

 

[Chipper1978]

If you look at your glass and see white specs that hop around, you have copepods . If the specs are big enough that you can see legs, then they are not copepods. Adult harpacticoid copepods (the kind you're likely to see on the glass) will be about the size of a pinhead or maybe two pinheads if they're really large.

How big is your tank? I think whether or not you need a separate refugium likely depends on the amount of live rock you have. Have you heard of the term carrying capacity? Its used in biology to mean how many of any particular species an ecosystem can support. Your tank is an ecosystem so ultimately whether or not you need a fuge or to add copepods regularly depends on whether or not your ecosystem can support (provide food and safe places to breed/grow up) enough copepods that they are not extirpated (removed) by your fish. My tank is 20 gallons and my fish (rough head blennies) are really only interested in eating live pods. I don't want to risk their lives/health and since my tank is so small I'm not confident that the amount of rock I can physically fit in it could provide enough places for copepods to breed without all being eaten by my blennies and I don't want to pay to add pods every month so I have a HOB refugium. If my tank was 120 gallons I might feel differently and see how it went without the fuge.

I think for small tanks (under 75 gallons) with fish that rely on pods for health/survival, its a good idea to play it safe and have a fuge. Not everybody will agree with me of course and I know that 75 gallons is an arbitrary number. If I was trying to keep two mandarins in a 75 I would probably want a fuge.

The point is more that you have to think about ecology, carrying capacity, and how much you're willing to risk the lives of your fish. I definitely *don't* see how you would have to add pods every month if you have a fuge, unless you had some event that wiped out your entire copepod population in the fuge as well as the DT.

This is unbelievably helpful information. I have a 96 gallon display with a 30 gallon sump with a refugium already set up to which I think I will add copepods. Thank you for taking the time to respond!

 

[CEReefer]

Some argue that some of the species of copepods we buy aren’t meant to survive at the salinity and temperature that’s in our tanks.

 

[Chipper1978]

Some argue that some of the species of copepods we buy aren’t meant to survive at the salinity and temperature that’s in our tanks.

Good to know. I added some to my refugium and now see them on my display glass. Will be interesting to if they continue to be present.

 

[ThePurple12]

If you want to really boost your pod population, add some spirulina powder every other night. You'll see a pod population explosion in a week or 2- pods COVERING the glass. Heaven for my pipefish. I do maybe 2 teaspoons in my 125. If I don't add spirulina frequently enough, the population dies down.

 

[jaxteller007]

We are apparently in the middle of a pod bloom. If i could bottle some and ship them out I would lol. There's some crawling around in the fuge that are big enough to see easily too. We only recently added the scooter blenny and CBB so hopefully they start making a dent in them.
Side note.. it's really hard to take good pics with a cell phone trying to show what appears to be a pod bloom.

 

[NashobaTek]

I got my pod started from podyourreef. They have great pods along with military discount. I have been very happy with how they ship and the speed of shipping.

 

[ichthyogeek]

If you want to really boost your pod population, add some spirulina powder every other night. You'll see a pod population explosion in a week or 2- pods COVERING the glass. Heaven for my pipefish. I do maybe 2 teaspoons in my 125. If I don't add spirulina frequently enough, the population dies down.

Oh this is nice! I have an old jar of spirulina lying around, and I'd love to add a mandarin or two to a 55. When you add the spirulina, how do you add it? Dry? A slurry? Do you turn off the skimmer?

Also, consider looking into Tisbe pods as well!

 

[ThePurple12]

Oh this is nice! I have an old jar of spirulina lying around, and I'd love to add a mandarin or two to a 55. When you add the spirulina, how do you add it? Dry? A slurry? Do you turn off the skimmer?

Also, consider looking into Tisbe pods as well!

It just floats if you add it dry, so you have to mix it up with tank water. I'm currently not running a skimmer, but I'd imagine you should turn it off first.