How often do you restock copepods?

[aaron186]

I’m curious how often you guys buy more pods for your tank? I have a mandarin that is my wife and daughter’s favorite fish. I also have a wrasse and dwarf angel that I believe I see eating pods regularly. I have dumped quite a lot of pods into the tank over the past year and a half my tank has been up. I see them in the refugium but have trouble spotting them in the tank. Out of fear of them being over hunted I have been throwing 2 bottles of pods into the tank every couple of months. Am I wasting money?

 

[PotatoPig]

It’s virtually impossible to see these things in the tank, especially the little ones that mandarins go after, so I wouldn’t worry too much about only seeing them in the refugium.

How big is your refugium and how is it set up?
What types of pods are you adding?

In terms of adding them - if you have a colonized system then chances are they’re breeding many times more pods than you’re adding.

Eg: If your bottle of pods has 2000 of the things and you’re adding them about once a month then you’re adding about 60 pods/day. The fish all put together probably go through over a thousand a day - hence the pod population is being sustained by reproduction in the tank.

 

[BanZI29]

It's not a bad idea to add pods every couple months though. it keeps the mating population fresh.
If you have corals, those are also eating pods when they get into the water column.
The typical life span of of pods is around 6 months and up to a year in favorable conditions.

 

[Cell]

What size tank is this? Assuming sufficient size and the presence of a refugium, supplementing with pods probably isn't necessary. I'd stop for a bit and monitor the mandarins weight.

 

[aaron186]

It’s virtually impossible to see these things in the tank, especially the little ones that mandarins go after, so I wouldn’t worry too much about only seeing them in the refugium.

How big is your refugium and how is it set up?
What types of pods are you adding?

In terms of adding them - if you have a colonized system then chances are they’re breeding many times more pods than you’re adding.

Eg: If your bottle of pods has 2000 of the things and you’re adding them about once a month then you’re adding about 60 pods/day. The fish all put together probably go through over a thousand a day - hence the pod population is being sustained by reproduction in the tank.

I have a reefer 425 xl. It’s a 4 foot tank. The fuge is about 12x18 I think. I haven’t measured. I believe it’s amphipods im seeing. Iv added bottles from algae barn, Dunkin’s, Steele, and a few others over the year. Usually 2-4 bottles at a time. I currently have a subscription from Dinkins Garden for 2 bottles of their most expensive blend (it’s like 4 or 5 species) that comes every 2 months. I also dose prepared phyto from EasyReef booster

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I’m curious how often you guys buy more pods for your tank? I have a mandarin that is my wife and daughter’s favorite fish. I also have a wrasse and dwarf angel that I believe I see eating pods regularly. I have dumped quite a lot of pods into the tank over the past year and a half my tank has been up. I see them in the refugium but have trouble spotting them in the tank. Out of fear of them being over hunted I have been throwing 2 bottles of pods into the tank every couple of months. Am I wasting money?

I add them monthly. It may be over doing it, but my tank is happy, so I am happy and don't mind the expense.

 

[Cell]

I have a reefer 425 xl. It’s a 4 foot tank. The fuge is about 12x18 I think. I haven’t measured. I believe it’s amphipods im seeing. Iv added bottles from algae barn, Dunkin’s, Steele, and a few others over the year. Usually 2-4 bottles at a time. I currently have a subscription from Dinkins Garden for 2 bottles of their most expensive blend (it’s like 4 or 5 species) that comes every 2 months. I also dose prepared phyto from EasyReef booster

I think you'd be fine without additional supplementing of pods, but adding more certainly doesn't hurt anything.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I buy them maybe once a year or even longer, but I will culture them for a while instead of just adding them to the tank. They are too expensive to buy frequently and my eyes see no physical benefit (but I have no pod eating fish)

 

[ietsjeanders]

Once every 2 weeks. My blennie eats them and even my clownfish go after them. It is a small tank though (10 gallon) so they get eten a lot

 

[exnisstech]

I have multiple tanks but I have never added pods. They are one of those things that always appear no matter what just like worms and other small creatures

 

[BanZI29]

I will say that they are great for CUC and great live feed. They are VERY nutritious if you gut load them correctly.

 

[rtparty]

Never. I dose them early on and never add again. Never have on any tank from big to small in 19 years

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

It's not a bad idea to add pods every couple months though. it keeps the mating population fresh.
If you have corals, those are also eating pods when they get into the water column.
The typical life span of of pods is around 6 months and up to a year in favorable conditions.

What I want to know is who is taking these things and following them around?

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

I buy them maybe once a year or even longer, but I will culture them for a while instead of just adding them to the tank. They are too expensive to buy frequently and my eyes see no physical benefit (but I have no pod eating fish)

Then why do you need them?