Hello all,
I have a RedSea REEFER, and want to breed copepods for my mandarin. I do not have a refug, and really do not have room to set one up...anyone use a reactor for copepods? Advice?
Thanks!
Hey I just ran into your post. I actually breed copepods and sell/trade along with rotifers, other zoo and Phyto plankton for my fish and shrimp larvae and corals. So I have had to have pods constantly on-hand ready to go, that are well fed and juicy with nutrients. So they tend to breed a lot because they are sexual, needing a male an female to produce eggs. An interesting animal, and not difficult to produce in more than sufficient quantities if you do things correctly. You don’t need anything fancy, mostly just good broodstock that is placed in an adequate environment in which is ideal for them to reproduce. A good breeding environment is one which food is abundant in the correct amounts with variety. It needs to be quality. Most Phytoplankton species are good to combine with other feed such as diatoms, occasional flake food and Spirulina. Water changes are unnecessary as well as possibly detrimental. However, if you happen to see bubbles around the edges of the holding vat or notice a foul smell, you’ll need to correct the problem by doing a water change of 30% all the way up to terminating that culture by using a specially sized micron sieve to separate out the copepods from the culture water. This is why it takes a little practice not to overfeed and foul the water. Most cultures should last me for two months, then I terminate that particular culture, terminally clean the holding container
With a weak bleach solution then rinse with water and a dechlorinator and set outside in sun to burn off chlorine. After that I just use the pods that I Sieved out to start the new colony. If there is a good amount of them, I will split up into more than just one.
And that’s the basics. Light is ambient and optional, but recommended for them to have a day night cycle. You can use an airline for water circulation if you can, but not necessary to start. One to two bubbles a second. As far as containers, any food safe one will do that fits your available space. I have used everything from Home Depot 5 gal buckets and regular aquariums to glass sun tea containers and soda bottles (don’t do that).
The food is going to be your biggest expense unless you’re willing and able to grow Phytoplankton. It can be done. A small learning curve and a little more expense, but totally worth the fun if it.
Those are the basic highlights. There a lot more information if you’d like to learn more about them and I would recommend to. I know of a few good books on copepods, rotifers and pretty much anything you’d want to know and sources for more information. It’s not understandable why that information isn’t easily accessible on the internet. Either that, or they want you to pay for anything more than just an abstract. All the juicy info is hidden.
If anyone has any questions, let me know. I’m trying to put a Facebook page together as I have some really cool pics and a lot of video that I can’t post here. It’s a place where hobbyists can go to post questions, get answers, answer questions and participate in discussions and contests. It is under construction, but is accessible by request on FB. Just go to PaulsPods@PaulsPods. You’ll need to request to get admitted.
You can PM me or go to the page and click on the message button if you have any questions, problems or concerns you need any assistance with.
