Starting to breed copepods

[mattvd]

I'm trying to start to breed copepods in my tank. I have a 120 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump, and a hang-on refugium to the sump which is about 5-6 gallons.

I really want a mandarin in my tank, so I want to start getting a good copepod population and some sustainable copepod breeding.

My sump is setup so I could only have my refugium before my protein skimmer. I've read that copepods like to breed in the fuge, so I assume that the copepods would get killed by the protein skimmer once the water flows through the sump. So, I bought a hang on the back fuge that bypasses the protein skimmer, which will allow the pods to breed in, then get sucked back to the tank by the return pump.

In my hang on the back fuge, I have a chunk of live rock, as well as some initial chaeto and a light on all the time.

What else do I need to do to start my copepod breeding process? I'm not sure if the liverock has any copepods on it. I'm not positive on how to identify them, other than they're little specks on the rock.

Should I buy an initial starter pack of pods? I know my LFS sells them. Although they sell all sorts of different types and kinds with different names, so I'm not sure what to get.

Or, do I just need to keep waiting and the copepods will start to breed in my fuge?

Thanks for your time

 

[CodyRVA]

Sounds like your setup should work just fine. You probably don't need to run a fuge light 24/7, down time is beneficial. I suggest taking a gander at Algae Barn. They have great kits for getting pods going. They sell pods, but also phytoplankton to feed your pods. In addition, give it plenty of time, consider supplementing your system with live pods a few times. If you have any other serious pod eaters in your tank like wrasses it's going to take a lot of pods. Nothing's worse than watching a mandarin starve out, they are very stubborn fish.

 

[mattvd]

Thanks for the info! If I do get sustainable pod growth, will I have to feed phytoplankton to it frequently?

 

[CodyRVA]

Thanks for the info! If I do get sustainable pod growth, will I have to feed phytoplankton to it frequently?

I think it really depends. It definitely helps, but isn't necessary. So, if you get a strong healthy population you probably won't need to, at least I never did. If you're starting out or having trouble maintaining them it might be a good idea. It just creates more of a food source for them which helps reproduction. I'd suggest letting them build up for some time before adding mandarin or equivalent. I was shocked by how much those fish eat...

Your 5 gallon fuge will probably be ok, but don't be surprised if you have to regularly supplement the system with fresh pods.

 

[mattvd]

Thanks for all the help! Will definitely make sure there's a healthy copepod population before adding a Mandarin. Might buy some copepods from Algae Barn like you recommended, but I'm going to wait maybe a week or two more to see if I get any natural build up first. Thanks!

 

[CodyRVA]

Happy to help. Keep in mind if you think you have enough... you probably need more. There's nothing worse than finding out you don't have enough or your mandarin wipes out your supply and then the fish just cruises around the tank starving. You can get them to take other kinds of food, but it takes some serious dedication.

 

[mattvd]

I'm up for the challenge! Is there any rule of thumb for how many copepods will be sufficient for a mandarin? Since I'm breeding them in the fuge which is outside of the tank, I'm hoping this will be a great place for the pods to reproduce and continue to generate while slowly filtering back to the tank.

 

[CodyRVA]

I don't' have enough experience to answer that one; I'm not a mandarin pro. All I can tell you is you'll almost certainly need more pods than you think you'll need. You have to have enough for them to breed faster than your fish can eat them; assuming only one fish is eating them.