Introducing Copepods for a Scooter Blenny

[NickNiz]

Hello all! As the title says, I'm looking to introduce Copepods into my 12 gallon Nano Cube as a food source for my new Scooter Blenny. The tank is a few weeks old, so the copepod population hasn't progressed much, especially after having the Blenny for a few days now...

This Blenny DOES eat frozen Mysis shrimp, which I've been feeding once a day. He's got a great appetite. Is this enough? Or should I attempt to raise the copepod population as well? And if so, does anyone have tips for doing so? Should I feed zooplankton, etc? Or is this all pointless because of the Blenny already cleaning them out... Thanks for reading!

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[saltyfilmfolks]

The blenny will be fine on frozen. some will even take smaller pellets. Pe mysis makes a good one. I do like to have pods in the tank though. just healthy. Also consider a diverse Pod pop, not just copepods. Isopods and amphipods

 

[NickNiz]

Thank you for the reply!!! In the back of my tank I have the middle chamber empty... Would it help to put chaeto in here to house the pods? I don't have any bio balls or anything, just carbon, purigen, and a sponge in chamber 1...

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

not needed really. once therein they will multiply. populations will bloom and fade. theyll hide any where.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Feeding once a day will not suffice for a scooter blenny in a tank that new and that small.

The digestive tract on these guys is very short. They need to eat almost constantly. If you watch they swim a few inches, examine, then eat and repeat. They do this all day. It results in thousands of pods being eaten in a day.

It will have a better chance if the tank is allowed to be established for a few months before adding a dragonet. To give the pod population a chance to grow to adequate levels, but even then it will be difficult because the tank is only 12g.

 

[sde1500]

That tank is not likely to be able to support the population of pods the fish needs.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

try these. AQ depot is pretty lack luster but the pods are generally the best. They come with Iso amphi and Cope pods. Usually there's a $20 free shipping deal.
https://aquariumdepot.com/chaeto-pod-pack-with-free-shipping/
https://aquariumdepot.com/live-food
also see if you can find this stuff. http://www.nutramar.com/ova.html
https://www.amazon.com/Marina-Hang-...F8&qid=1483112638&sr=8-1&keywords=hob+breeder
scooters are the easiest of the dragonets Ive owned.

 

[NickNiz]

Thank you everyone for the helpful information. I think I'm going to attempt to keep the Blenny, maybe by adding cyclo-peeze to his diet, or soaking food in a vitamin/fat supp before giving it to him... As soon as I notice any signs of him getting skinnier or acting differently, I'll return him to the LFS. Or find an owner with a larger established aquarium.

Also @saltyfilmfolks thank you for the links! Even if I don't end up keeping the dragonet, I would like to introduce some pods, so that's very helpful.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

its the constancy of how they eat. as some pointed out. so small eggs small pieces still in the tank they graze on. unlike other fish who seem to be ok on once a day highly nutritious diets.
FWIW the $20 free shipping pack of pods is too many for your lil tank. thatll pretty well take care of ya. thats the route Id take.

 

[NickNiz]

Also another question-- if I were to feed the nutrimar, would you recommend doing target/tube feeding? Or is it fine to put in the tank and turn off the pumps for 20 min?

EDIT: just read your reply. So if the Nutrimar were to stay on the sand bed for a while, it would last the Dragonet for a longer period of time than 1 Mysis/cyclo-peeze feeding... I think I'll give it a shot.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Also another question-- if I were to feed the nutrimar, would you recommend doing target/tube feeding? Or is it fine to put in the tank and turn off the pumps for 20 min?

I turn pumps off when I feed yes. gives them a minute to really graze. Itll depends on the fish(mandy are hard) but they like to graze on the bottom or rocks. just keep an eye when you feed the fisjh will let you know.. Really an easy fish. personality like a golden lab IME.
fwiw I currently feed and rotate , baby brine, nutrimar, marine and reef fusion, oyster eggs, capellini roe, pe mysis.

 

[Timothy Butler]

I use phytoplankton to feed my copepods population. Do you have a refugium filter? Copepods like to hang out in this area of the filter. It consists of living sea weeds for a common use. You buy the plants you want to grow in the refugium. You turn on a light at night when the tank lights are off this grows the plant as well as stimulating the copepods back up in the tank. The refugium will grow the plants fast so you need to remove when the start to die back from overgrowth. My copepods are a very well established. In fact my male clown fish will not eat shrimp he only eats the copepods.