Copepods where are you hiding?

[becks]

I've been adding Tigris copepods for some time now to my 150g tank and I can't see them in my DT. I know they are there because I saw lots of them all over the empty shell of a fresh scallop that I fed my fish.

But when I try to look in the tank I can't spot any, I know they are small but I would like to add either a mandarin or red ruby scooter but I'm reluctant unless I have lots of pods. I can see a lot of them in my sump along with other little creepy crawlys. What is a good indicator your pod population is sufficient? None of my other fish would eat them.

I also have no issue supplementing them with added pods/brine shrimp because my lfs sells them really cheap.

Thanks all

 

[reeferfoxx]

I only noticed them at night and if I moved a frag plug.

 

[mcarroll]

You have to look in fish-free areas of the tank....preferreably with detritus present. At night, with a flashlight helps.

 

[TRPlacek]

What other fish do you have?
I look for pods with a flash light when my tank lights are off and my fish are sleeping. They are more active then. Although my population has gone down considerably because of my wrasse.

 

[becks]

I have 2 clownfish, a cosmetus wrasse, bicolour blenny and coral beauty

 

[Bdog4u2]

Tigris pods are free swimmers and don't do the greatest in our tanks tisbe pods do the best and all of them are hard to see unless they're on the glass and rocks. Tigger pods are good for spot feeding sea horses and pipe fish or baby fish imo

 

[becks]

Unfortunately I'm unable to find tisbe pods in the uk .


Correction - Tigriopus Californicus Are the pods I seeded, I thought they were substrate dwelling pods.

 

[TRPlacek]

I have 2 clownfish, a cosmetus wrasse, bicolour blenny and coral beauty

I don't know much about the cosmetus wrasse but if it's anything like my melanurus wrasse then it will wipe out your pod population fairly quickly. They are avid hunters. I had a mandarin before my wrasse and kept him alive for a long time adding pods every month. Soon after adding the melanurus my mandarin passed and I could no longer see pods in the tank. Just something to think about before adding a mandarin to your tank.

 

[Debramb]

"TRPlacek, You are right, I have no wrasses so my pod population is so prolific, they come out in daytime to feed.....like ants at a picnic!

 

[Bdog4u2]

I have billions of copepods and amphipods and I have 3 wrasses. My sump is loaded plus I have close to 300lbs of live rock. No one will ship tisbe pods to the UK? Buy some cheato it usually comes loaded with pods

 

[TRPlacek]

I have billions of copepods and amphipods and I have 3 wrasses. My sump is loaded plus I have close to 300lbs of live rock. No one will ship tisbe pods to the UK? Buy some cheato it usually comes loaded with pods

It depends on the type of wrasse. I also have several different wrasse that do not consistently hunt for food but certain wrasse like the melanurus is notorious for hunting and scavenging substrate and rock work for food and they can take out a healthy pod population.

 

[becks]

My lfs has a pink scooter Blenny for a few months now that eats frozen, can a scooter Blenny flourish on mostly frozen and pods? I feed my fish twice a day frozen.

I got some macroalgae and apart from pods I also see amiphods I believe but not seen them in the DT

My wrasse has got a bit lazy and knows where the easy food comes from haha he's not a prolicific hunter as a melanrus., but then he is well feed.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

My lfs has had a pink scooter Blenny for a few months now that eats frozen, can a scotter Blenny flourish with frozen and pods? I feed my fish twice a day frozen.

I got some macroalgae and apart from pods I also see amiphods I believe but not seen them in the DT

My wrasse has got a bit lazy and knows where the easy food comes from haha he's not a prolicific hunter as the melanrus, but then he is well feed.

they are there. and yes the scooter will flourish.
when your trying to keep bugs, feed hard. the populations will boom like cockroaches. less food less roaches. IMO mix bugs dump them in the dt first at night. then let them make thier way to the sump, they will.

 

[becks]

They have two, both being feed frozen, if they are male and female I think I'll get them both.

 

[TRPlacek]

Definitely a plus that they eat frozen food

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Unfortunately I'm unable to find tisbe pods in the uk .


Correction - Tigriopus Californicus Are the pods I seeded, I thought they were substrate dwelling pods.

I culture Tigriopus californicus. They will mostly occupy substrate, but are known to swim in the water column. Fish aren't the only animals that eat them. Tube worms, anemones, soft corals, SPS corals, LPS corals and larger zooplankton will consume them. They will do best in a refugium, especially with macro algae, but that doesn't mean they will thrive. Keep in mind that a small mandarin dragonet can eat well over 2,000 copepods a day, so that level of predation can keep a copepod population from succeeding; however, if you are feeding phytoplankton or have such a large system that the mandarin can't possibly comb the entire tank in a day, then the copepods have a chance to keep a population going. In the end, every tank is different, so we all do our best, right?

Chad

 

[becks]

I've been dosing phytoplankton, but she eats frozen as my lfs has had for a few months now. I picked her up and she's small but has a nice fat belly. I got her late in the evening so after acclimating to the tank I released her and she hoped around for a bit then when the moon lights came on she buried in the sand. I'll try to spot feed her frozen tomorrow, but if it goes well I will eventually get her male

It's quite funny I have a 150g tank and my biggest fish is a adorned wrasse and coral beauty lol. I don't think I'll ever get a tang, i quite like how peaceful the tank is dispite it looking pretty empty.

 

[becks]

Little update, she has moved into one part of my rock work that she seems to like, and I don't really see her hunting, she rests on a ledge then moves up or down..sticks her head into a hole and goes back to her ledge. I see her picking at the rock, so I imagine there must be pods around there. I purchased a litre of copepods and added them into the tank so they would flow past and se paid no interest in them! Doh! Oddly enough my wrasse was not bothered about the pods, my coral beauty ate any that come into his path.

I then defrosted some Artemis enriched with spirulina and spot fed her...And she ate the frozen food.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Great update. I am not surprised that she didn't go after the copepods that were drifting by. Through simple observation, I have noticed that they like to hunt their prey while it's on the substrate; but, it's not 100% of the time. From time to time, I see my male pick an adult Tigriopus out of the water column. I'm sure there are other aquarists that have them picking food out of the water column, but most don't see that.

 

[becks]

I think she still might be getting use to her new environment, my bicolour blenny use to sit in a hole most of the day and just dart out for food where as now he swims around all the time and only tends to stay in his hole to sleep.