Tigger Pods expired?

slowngreen · Mar 4, 2018

I bought a couple bottles about 2 months ago, one went into my fuge and the other into my refrigerator. I just opened the bottle in the fridge and it is rancid smelling. I let it warm up to room temp and no one is moving, guess they all died? I thought these can last a good amount of time if in the refrigerator?

eatbreakfast · Mar 4, 2018

If they smell rancid, then the only place for them is the garbage.

slowngreen · Mar 4, 2018

They are gone, swimming in the sewer now. Just curious if this is normal? I bought two bottles at once, maybe in the future if I need to purchase any should I just stick with one and not store any?

eatbreakfast · Mar 4, 2018

I haven't used them in awhile. I thought they had a best used by date.

jd371 · Mar 5, 2018

The bottles at my lfs have the collection date on them but not expiration. They also leave the caps open a little when storing them in the fridge so the pods don't suffocate. Was the cap open on the bottle in the fridge?

mfinn · Mar 5, 2018

slowngreen said:
They are gone, swimming in the sewer now. Just curious if this is normal? I bought two bottles at once, maybe in the future if I need to purchase any should I just stick with one and not store any?

Most stores keep a close eye on the condition of the pods in the bottles, but I found one that didn't and tried to sell me dead pods that were a couple months passed the collection date.
I noticed when the guy handed me the bottles he shook them up so the dead pods were all floating, and acted like they were perfectly fine.
I saw the date on the bottle and knew what was up. So I set the bottles down and let them settle for a few minutes.
I told him they were dead but he was determined to sell them to me. I didn't buy them.

If a store has them for months past the collection date, they know.
Find a different store to do business with.

I usually go straight to Reef Nutrition.
The shipping is cheaper than driving up to the reputable stores in my area and I know I get fresh pods.
In fact I'm expecting a order for some this week along with some ROE.

NowGlazeIT · Mar 5, 2018

When I spoke with chad from reef nutrition he recommended I refrigerate no longer then a month. And to leave the cap open for oxygen exchange. I also received mine directly from reef nutrition

slowngreen · Mar 5, 2018

I did not have the cap opened at all. Bummer. Good info though, glad I asked.

jd371 · Mar 5, 2018

I wouldn't keep them longer than a month in the fridge. My lfs has a quick turn around so I don't see many bottles over the one month mark. My tank is over 2 years old and I'm sure there are plenty of pods for my Dragonet, but I like to supplement with a bottle every other month.

Oberst Oswald · Mar 5, 2018

A LFS by me likes to put the price sticker over the date of all their Reef Nutrition bottles so you don't know what the expiration date is. I peel back the stickers that little bit so I can see the date. Bet there are lots of people who don't know about this under handed trick. Also check in the back of the display to get the freshest bottles because they rotate their stock (which is not dumb on their part) and put the older bottles up front.

Reef Nutrition · Mar 12, 2018

slowngreen said:
I did not have the cap opened at all. Bummer. Good info though, glad I asked.

Hey @slowngreen. Thanks for posting your question. Sounds like the copepods suffocated if the cap wasn't popped open. Most people typically buy Tigger-Pods and add them to their tank that day. They will survive in refrigeration for quite some time, but without good oxygen exchange, heavy mortalities are likely. Most of our retail partners usually sell their Tigger-Pods within a week or two.

Thanks to everyone for chiming in!

Best,
Chad & Team Reef Nutrition