Purchased pods and quarantine

[mosreef]

Hello! My new innovative marine sr120 is cycling(!!!) and I’m quarantining everything that will go in there following Jay H’s “current quarantine protocol” - including inverts.

But what about pods? I tried culturing Phyto and 3 different types of pods but neglected it and the air tubes to the bubbler kept popping off every night, and I think it is all dead.

Can I just dump some jars of pods, and feed them in tank with Phyto during the cycle? Will I introduce disease with the pods or Phyto?

 

[Crabby48]

You can get pods and dump them in. They are a great cleanup crew and will help through the stages. I would only recommend getting from a known good source

 

[Jekyl]

Pods and most snails (depending on source) come from fishless systems and quarantine isn't needed.

Edit: on top of that a brand new system won't have algae for the snails to eat and they will starve.

 

[mosreef]

You can get pods and dump them in. They are a great cleanup crew and will help through the stages. I would only recommend getting from a known good source

Thank you!

 

[mosreef]

Edit: on top of that a brand new system won't have algae for the snails to eat and they will starve.

Yes sadly I know - in a clean quarantine tank i’ve been wrapping Nori around shells with rubber bands and dropping them to the bottom. Most everyone is eating from that ok but I did lose 2 Indo turbo snails out of 5 so far. All the other snails caught on fast. Going to try the two little fishies pouch style nori feeder - the one that you stick to the glass

 

[PotatoPig]

I wouldn’t give up on the pods being dead - you can leave these things for weeks in just an open container and they’re normally fine.

For adding to the tank - if you’re buying cultured pods go with Tisbe or other reef type pods. The Tigger pods are much bigger and easier to see but they rarely last very long in tropical tanks. They swim in the water column rather than hide on rocks and are a good feeding size for almost all planktivores in the tank, so get heavily predated on, and then the temps are often a little high for them so they seem to not reproduce well.

For the Tisbe (and similar) - after you add them don’t expect to actually see any for a while. They’ll take a bit to build up population while the nutrient levels in the tank build up, but eventually you’ll be able to reliably find them by shining a flashlight on the glass and looking at the reverse side from around a corner.

 

[Dinkins Aquatic Gardens Verified Sponsor]

Agreed with above…pods are always cultured in separate fishless systems so they would be safe to add directly.

 

[mosreef]

I wouldn’t give up on the pods being dead - you can leave these things for weeks in just an open container and they’re normally fine.

For adding to the tank - if you’re buying cultured pods go with Tisbe or other reef type pods. The Tigger pods are much bigger and easier to see but they rarely last very long in tropical tanks. They swim in the water column rather than hide on rocks and are a good feeding size for almost all planktivores in the tank, so get heavily predated on, and then the temps are often a little high for them so they seem to not reproduce well.

For the Tisbe (and similar) - after you add them don’t expect to actually see any for a while. They’ll take a bit to build up population while the nutrient levels in the tank build up, but eventually you’ll be able to reliably find them by shining a flashlight on the glass and looking at the reverse side from around a corner.

You read my mind - was just searching for the best ones to add - Thank you!

 

[MnFish1]

I think the pod issue is not a problem - however - if you want to be sure - that somehow there is no contamination - filter the water they are in through a mesh small enough to keep them - but big enough to allow any parasites to be rinsed away. You could also rinse with a couple cups of tank water. However - This is probably (likely) overkill. As to snails. They can carry CI - and Many CUC are not merely farmed (at least some) - some are dredged from an ocean source. Even with that the chances of Ich or velvet, etc - would seem to be quite small. Hopefully this helps!

 

[mosreef]

I wouldn’t give up on the pods being dead - you can leave these things for weeks in just an open container and they’re normally fine.

For adding to the tank - if you’re buying cultured pods go with Tisbe or other reef type pods. The Tigger pods are much bigger and easier to see but they rarely last very long in tropical tanks. They swim in the water column rather than hide on rocks and are a good feeding size for almost all planktivores in the tank, so get heavily predated on, and then the temps are often a little high for them so they seem to not reproduce well.

For the Tisbe (and similar) - after you add them don’t expect to actually see any for a while. They’ll take a bit to build up population while the nutrient levels in the tank build up, but eventually you’ll be able to reliably find them by shining a flashlight on the glass and looking at the reverse side from around a corner.

The phyto is definitely dead (1st brown bottle on right) I bought Apex Tig and tisby pods - there are still a very few tisbee and a very few tig left, but the population is nothing like what I had at one point. Should I keep them going and hope they bounce back again? The Apex bottle looked like it was empty when I got it. It still looks empty.

 

[mosreef]

I think the pod issue is not a problem - however - if you want to be sure - that somehow there is no contamination - filter the water they are in through a mesh small enough to keep them - but big enough to allow any parasites to be rinsed away. You could also rinse with a couple cups of tank water. However - This is probably (likely) overkill. As to snails. They can carry CI - and Many CUC are not merely farmed (at least some) - some are dredged from an ocean source. Even with that the chances of Ich or velvet, etc - would seem to be quite small. Hopefully this helps!

I did buy a 53micron screen from Mercer of Montana - forgot about that. Thanks for the suggestion, will try it.

 

[mosreef]

Agreed with above…pods are always cultured in separate fishless systems so they would be safe to add directly.

THERE you are! I couldn't remember where I found the snackle box LOL. Do you have any first time buyer coupons or sales going on? And should I wait for Monday shipping?

 

[Dinkins Aquatic Gardens Verified Sponsor]

THERE you are! I couldn't remember where I found the snackle box LOL. Do you have any first time buyer coupons or sales going on? And should I wait for Monday shipping?

Shooting you a PM!

 

[PotatoPig]

The phyto is definitely dead (1st brown bottle on right) I bought Apex Tig and tisby pods - there are still a very few tisbee and a very few tig left, but the population is nothing like what I had at one point. Should I keep them going and hope they bounce back again? The Apex bottle looked like it was empty when I got it. It still looks empty.

Yeah - that doesn’t look great.

Possible you added too much and it went bad?

If you’re going to culture pods a much easier option than Phyto is to get some spirulina powder (BRS, Amazon, Whole Foods - it’s human food too). Put about a half teaspoon into a 4oz bottle of RODI water and shake it up. Starting out add maybe a tablespoon to the pod culture every 5-7 days for a or so until the population explodes and then add every ~3 days. Store the bottle in the fridge.

You can get a half pound of the stuff for like $10, this will last you a very long time (a year maybe) and in powder form it keeps for ages with no special storage and you’re able to easily dial up/down dosing.

Don’t add too much at once or it can start to go bad in the culture and soon you’ll suddenly find there’s no juveniles and the population is on the decline. Go slow.

 

[mosreef]

Shooting you a PM!

Yeah - that doesn’t look great.

Possible you added too much and it went bad?

If you’re going to culture pods a much easier option than Phyto is to get some spirulina powder (BRS, Amazon, Whole Foods - it’s human food too). Put about a half teaspoon into a 4oz bottle of RODI water and shake it up. Starting out add maybe a tablespoon to the pod culture every 5-7 days for a or so until the population explodes and then add every ~3 days. Store the bottle in the fridge.

You can get a half pound of the stuff for like $10, this will last you a very long time (a year maybe) and in powder form it keeps for ages with no special storage and you’re able to easily dial up/down dosing.

Don’t add too much at once or it can start to go bad in the culture and soon you’ll suddenly find there’s no juveniles and the population is on the decline. Go slow.

This is great advice, thank you. I actually had some powder that I forgot about. Will feed them that & hope they bounce back, thanks.

Also - note to self - shake the phyto before dumping it. It was still very much alive on the bottom. I discovered this as it was going down the drain. Ugh.