Trouble Keeping Copepods

[Eienna]

My suspicion would be that the population may have dropped somewhat but the majority simply found nice cozy holes in your rockwork. Go ahead and keep feeding 'em. You're most likely to be able to find them at night with a red or blue flashlight. You don't really have anything that would hunt them with anything approaching dedication.

 

[ptrick21186]

Copy that. I'll keep looking

 

[PotatoPig]

If you have doubts about there being pods then next time you get a bottle put half in the tank and then culture the other half.

These are very easy to culture with very modest equipment - 1-3 gallon jars/containers/buckets, a air pump, air line, adjustable valve and you’re good to go. All you need then is to decide what to feed them - phyto (cleanest but most effort/cost), spirulina powder (cheap and easy) or banana peel (easy but dirty water). There’s a bunch of guides on here about different ways.

Then get a net (soy strainer works for me) and after about 10days you can regularly harvest them.

I dump a bunch into the tank almost every day, sometimes twice or more depending how many I have on hand. Never see them in the water after more than an hour or so, but never see any algae either, so assume they’re eating it.

 

[Eienna]

If you have doubts about there being pods then next time you get a bottle put half in the tank and then culture the other half.

These are very easy to culture with very modest equipment - 1-3 gallon jars/containers/buckets, a air pump, air line, adjustable valve and you’re good to go. All you need then is to decide what to feed them - phyto, spirulina powder (cheap and easy) or banana peel (easy but dirty water). There’s a bunch of guides on here about different ways.

Then get a net (soy strainer works for me) and after about 10days you can regularly harvest them.

I dump a bunch into the tank almost every day, sometimes twice or more depending how many I have on hand. Never see them in the water after more than an hour or so, but never see any algae either, so assume they’re eating it.

You can culture them with banana peels? That's some interesting news to me.

 

[PotatoPig]

You can culture them with banana peels? That's some interesting news to me.

There’s a few guides on here that suggest that as a lazy and easy method - I’ve not tried this myself, tempted to set up a culture in a spare container and just see how they do.

 

[Eienna]

There’s a few guides on here that suggest that as a lazy and easy method - I’ve not tried this myself, tempted to set up a culture in a spare container and just see how they do.

Miiiight want to try that one outdoors. Unless you're a bachelor with zero sense of smell.

 

[PotatoPig]

Miiiight want to try that one outdoors. Unless you're a bachelor with zero sense of smell.

LOL - all my fish experiment stuff is in the basement furnace room. Not gonna try this one on a kitchen counter.

 

[Eienna]

LOL - all my fish experiment stuff is in the basement furnace room. Not gonna try this one on a kitchen counter.

Good plan XD I live in a mobile with four other people, so I'd have to keep it on the front porch or somethin'.

 

[ptrick21186]

Ok. Got myself a black light and checked out the tank after dark. There are definitely pods in there. Thanks for everyones help!

 

[USCfan]

3hrs. No filter socks, powerheads, or skimmer. Was dosing live phyto up until about 3 weeks ago after I'd given up on them being alive

dont give up on the live phyto. Pods need it and your system wont make enough

 

[ptrick21186]

dont give up on the live phyto. Pods need it and your system wont make enough

How much phyto do you think is being lost to my skimmer?

 

[USCfan]

How much phyto do you think is being lost to my skimmer?

I have never noticed a difference with my skimmer and my whole system is processed through my skimmer as is fed through my overflow. I feed a lot of phytoplankton to my system also. I make it by the gallons. I feed the phytoplankton directly into my refugium. It has to go through this display system to get into my skimmer.

 

[Blake509]

2 clowns. 3 chromis. 1 Firefish. 1 Banggai Cardinal. And a partridge in a pear tree

Pods know when there is a predator in the tank they are there just in the rock and sand hiding. If they were out in the open they are dinner. Look closely at rock at night for any movement with the addition of that many and nothing to cause major die off they are in there. My cardinals, chromis, and clowns would go nuts when I'd add them something about the live food they went nuts for.