Questions on PODS

[MDeVito]

Hey guys,
Been keeping reef tanks for about 6 years now, love it. Yet it has come to my attention one thing I've never really tried is pods in the reef. I don't really know much about them or if they will be useful in my reef tanks.

Biocube- mixed reef
2 clowns
clown goby
6 line
drop-off- mixed reef
4 strip damsel
2 clowns
watchman goby

I am away from my tank for a few days at a time some times, do you guys think pods would be beneficial? If so, what type? how/when do I add them? Any Cons with having them in the reef?
Any links to buy them would be excellent.
Thanks,
Matt

 

[AntarcticIkeelu]

I have at least 3 types of pods in my 150 and I've noticed a difference. I don't have to feed my fish near as much food and I only have to feed every other day. Fish are happy and growing. They also help feed my scolys and meat coral at night. Amphipods and copopods just showed up one day in my refugium. I added trigger pods about 5 months ago. If you have a sump (refugium) adding pods is very easy since they have a safe place to reproduce. If your tank doesn't have a sump then I would add them at night so they have a better chance of finding places to hide before your fish get them. I have not noticed any cons so far.

 

[hatrix11]

It depends. Do you have a refugium with a safe space for pods to multiply? One "dose" or "addition" might get cleaned up rather quickly. Also some fish hunt pods better than others, and what I mean by that is your six line will constantly and aggressively hunt all the pods he can find where as other fish may be more passive when it comes to picking the rocks. If that tank is 6 years old you probably have pods, take a gander at night you should see some scurry around. Adding more pods might add some diversity and certainly wouldn't hurt. And to wrap things up and answer your question, just my opinion of course, yes pods will help but not as much as something like an auto feeder you can get from amazon for 20 bucks (assuming everything eats flakes or pellets).

 

[MDeVito]

Is there a certain type of pods that would work better than others? @hatrix11

 

[hatrix11]

Hmm to be honest I'm not too knowledgeable about pod species. I know that amphipods are the larger shrimpy ones that would be ideal for average fish, where as copepods are smaller and more sought after for mandarin owners and other picky eaters. There are guides out there for "amphipod hotels", that help them breed and colonize. Maybe you could design something like that that the wrasse cant get to somehow. My experience with wrasses is that they clean up pods quickly, so I'm concerned that either other fish wouldn't get as much, or the pods wouldn't have a chance to settle and start colonizing.

 

[MDeVito]

I plan on going to my local fish store and seeing what they have in stock. The primary issue I'm having is feeding my clown goby adequately with the 6 line and 2 clowns quickly cleaning up any food floating around. Figured maybe pods could atlas help the issue.

 

[AntarcticIkeelu]

My fish typically only go after amphipods and my scoly and meat coral eat copopods

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Is there a certain type of pods that would work better than others? @hatrix11

Harptacticoid and cyclopoid copepods are the most ideal. Tigriopus californicus, Tisbe spp., and Apocyclops panamensis are good ones to add to your reef tank if you wish to take a stab at increasing zooplankton biodiversity. They will have a better chance of colonizing your sump versus your main tank due to fish predators.

-Chad