Question about copepods

[Kate Vellis]

We dosed our 90 gallon DT/30gallon sump with a couple bottles of copepods back over the summer for a Mandarin Gobi that did not survive 24 hours (definitely did not starve in that period of time). I cannot see the copepods in the sump or the DT but see large adult looking pods on the filter socks when I change them. Can I assume that there are many more pods in the sump and be extension, in the DT? I'd really like to try another Mandarin.

 

[hds4216]

Do you have any copepod eating fish? Things like wrasses can easily outcompete s mandarin.

 

[Kate Vellis]

Do you have any copepod eating fish? Things like wrasses can easily outcompete s mandarin.

Yes, we have a very active melanarus wrasse, two Clarkii clowns, a blue hippo tang, a yellow tang, a coral beauty, a gold head Gobi, and a lawnmower blenny in the tank.

 

[Jilly92]

We dosed our 90 gallon DT/30gallon sump with a couple bottles of copepods back over the summer for a Mandarin Gobi that did not survive 24 hours (definitely did not starve in that period of time). I cannot see the copepods in the sump or the DT but see large adult looking pods on the filter socks when I change them. Can I assume that there are many more pods in the sump and be extension, in the DT? I'd really like to try another Mandarin.

How old is your tank? All my copepods hide in the rocks, I seldom see them except when feeding phtofeast.

 

[Kate Vellis]

How old is your tank? All my copepods hide in the rocks, I seldom see them except when feeding phtofeast.

We set the tank up in May, I think, so it's less than a year old.

 

[Jilly92]

We set the tank up in May, I think, so it's less than a year old.

I think rule of thumb is a year before mandarins

 

[Kate Vellis]

I think rule of thumb is a year before mandarins

I'm willing to wait. I would like to be working on the population of pods in the meantime. Any helpful hints?

 

[hds4216]

The melanurus likely eats a ton of pods. They're pretty ravenous. I would try to get a captive-bred mandarin that has a much higher chance of eating prepared foods, and look into making copepods cultures. https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/how-i...se-that-are-interested-in-doing-the-same.795/

 

[Jilly92]

I'm willing to wait. I would like to be working on the population of pods in the meantime. Any helpful hints?

I'm willing to wait. I would like to be working on the population of pods in the meantime. Any helpful hints?

I bought a bottle from lfs and put it in a 3 gallon tank with liverock and no fish or anything and fed phytofeast and let them multiply and get bigger than dump them in tank with the liverock and then start the process over again with new liverock and copepods. I did this twice between 2 tanks and they're everywhere. Check water params for copepod

 

[tnewell]

I bought a bottle from lfs and put it in a 3 gallon tank with liverock and no fish or anything and fed phytofeast and let them multiply and get bigger than dump them in tank with the liverock and then start the process over again with new liverock and copepods. I did this twice between 2 tanks and they're everywhere. Check water params for copepod

This is so smart.....

 

[hds4216]

This is so smart.....

You don't even need a tank. You can do it with just stuff at home:

How I Culture Pods: An Introduction for Those that Are Interested in Doing the Same

I've received a lot of questions regarding my pod cultures on many different threads throughout the months. I ended up writing a brief tutorial on an old thread of mine but it was obscured on page 4. I thought I might just make a thread devoted...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Kate Vellis]

I bought a bottle from lfs and put it in a 3 gallon tank with liverock and no fish or anything and fed phytofeast and let them multiply and get bigger than dump them in tank with the liverock and then start the process over again with new liverock and copepods. I did this twice between 2 tanks and they're everywhere. Check water params for copepod

Sounds great
So you moved the live rock with the pods from the farm tank to the display tank each time?

 

[Jilly92]

Sounds great
So you moved the live rock with the pods from the farm tank to the display tank each time?

Yes they were taken out of the main tank and cycled in 3 gal then add copepods. Let them reproduce and everything dump everything in main tank then add different live rock and do cycle again. I broke up a lg liverock to about golf ball sizes and always kept that rubble switching back and forth.

 

[Kate Vellis]

Yes they were taken out of the main tank and cycled in 3 gal then add copepods. Let them reproduce and everything dump everything in main tank then add different live rock and do cycle again. I broke up a lg liverock to about golf ball sizes and always kept that rubble switching back and forth.

Thanks for the information. I have a tank with nothing in it I can do that with

 

[Sharebear]

We dosed our 90 gallon DT/30gallon sump with a couple bottles of copepods back over the summer for a Mandarin Gobi that did not survive 24 hours (definitely did not starve in that period of time). I cannot see the copepods in the sump or the DT but see large adult looking pods on the filter socks when I change them. Can I assume that there are many more pods in the sump and be extension, in the DT? I'd really like to try another Mandarin.

you can always put a flashlight to your DT when it’s dark and see the little copepods swarming around the light too.

and feed the fish can o cyclops, which smells gross but how you sorta train them to eat using a coral feeder (they look like copepods..)

I was considering biota mandarin before but they always say the word “can be trained to eat pellet food and frozen food”.. so ended up getting 2 from my local store and been spot feeding them when I see them.
Good luck!!

 

[HockeyRooster]

Great topic. I have a 90g and sump with refugium that I have seeded with pods 4 times in the last year. Starting about 2 months ago I’ve been adding pods every second week as I’m cultivating them. Yet I don’t seem to see pods anywhere in the tank. It worries me as I have a scooter blenny and added a dottyback yesterday. Thankfully the scooter eats frozen like a boss but I worry about what he grazes on during the day. Either way I’ll keep adding pods!