Isopods how to feed

[russells55]

Hi all

My oldest tank is a fluval evo 13.5 gal.
It always seams to have had an isopods population for years now.
I typically don’t keep any fish in here it’s more my staging tank.
I was wondering if this tank could handle a small Mandarin goby .
And should I add phytoplankton to it like seachems to keep the isopods fed.

And also what about copepods
Would apex pods get along with my booming isopod population?

Thanks

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Hi all

My oldest tank is a fluval evo 13.5 gal.
It always seams to have had an isopods population for years now.
I typically don’t keep any fish in here it’s more my staging tank.
I was wondering if this tank could handle a small Mandarin goby .
And should I add phytoplankton to it like seachems to keep the isopods fed.

And also what about copepods
Would apex pods get along with my booming isopod population?

Thanks

Galaxypods from algaebarn are my go-to pod source. 13 gal is a bit too small for a mandarin dragonet, but there may be other species of dragonets that could go in that tank, maybe a scooter blenny but I don't know much about their care

 

[Tired]

I would not try to keep a mandarin in a 13.5gal, no. Nor a scooter blenny, nor any other dragonet. Now, you could add some small pod-picking fish and have them do quite well with minimal to no feeding. Trimma gobies would be cute, and you could keep several.

 

[Mikeltee]

A capful of fresh phyto twice daily. After a week 2 capfuls. Work your way up to 1.5ml/g twice daily. If you don't want to do twice daily do once daily but don't double it... The more you feed the more they breed. These are my cultures.

 

[russells55]

What about a mandarin In here short term. Or would it just eat my isopods to death in a week

 

[Tired]

Where would it go in the long term? It's not good practice to get an animal you don't have a long-term home for, is the thing.

 

[russells55]

One of my 6 other tanks

anyways.

I’m wondering if a Mandrain goby would eat all my isopods , (not copepod)

I had a mandrain years back and bought one without understanding the diet well.

Would it just eat like crazy and wipe out my isopods in there , or do they reproduce so fast it’s ok.
Also what do you feed isopods but someone above answered so I’ll just increase my dosing of phytoplankton.

Is a 13 gal too crowded for isopods and copepods?

Cheers

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What about a mandarin In here short term. Or would it just eat my isopods to death in a week

Mandarins won't be able to eat many types of isopods... they are too big. My mandarins eat tiny copepods and extremely small pellets. Their mouths are pretty small.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

And also what about copepods
Would apex pods get along with my booming isopod population?

Isopods eat copepods... If you provide enough other food, I'm sure you could keep a population of both, but idk how much the isopods will predate the copes... especially if you have other predators in the tank.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

And should I add phytoplankton to it like seachems to keep the isopods fed.

I would source live phyto and not add any mass produced (and likely dead) phyto.

 

[Mikeltee]

One of my 6 other tanks

anyways.

I’m wondering if a Mandrain goby would eat all my isopods , (not copepod)

I had a mandrain years back and bought one without understanding the diet well.

Would it just eat like crazy and wipe out my isopods in there , or do they reproduce so fast it’s ok.
Also what do you feed isopods but someone above answered so I’ll just increase my dosing of phytoplankton.

Is a 13 gal too crowded for isopods and copepods?

Cheers

They probably won't eat isopods. They are way too big. You want either apocyclops or tisbe. Tiggers are too big. Don't buy one of those mixtures. Just get a single strain. Tisbes are best because they only take about 10 days before they start mass producing as long as you feed them. They also hide in the rock which will allow them to not all be eaten. Do you even have rock in that tank? A mandarin will eat everything in sight. If there is not significant rock you will need to dose every few days.

 

[russells55]

Perfect thanks all for the info.

I guess if I do plan to get a Mandarin I’ll have to setup something to bread Tisbe pods

There is rocks in this little tank in question but sounds like it won’t work long term.

Thanks again everyone for the info/ replays