What will eat copepods?

[karsumms]

So I have a lot of copepods in my tank and currently have a dwarf lion, angler, conch and a few astrea snails. Any idea on what I can get to help control the population that won’t be eaten by my angler or lion... or should I just let them be?

thanks!

 

[Fishurama]

Wrasse. melanurus wrasse, Dusky Wrasse, Leopard wrasse(these are hard fish to keep though)or any other Halichoeres family members will decimate them, especially if you can find a Dusky wrasse.

Melanurus Wrasse
Dusky Wrasse

 

[doodledreads]

Juat let them be, unless you have something you know is a pest. Their population is self-controlled and are very important part of cuc.
If you want something that eats pods, and safe for your other fish, you might need to go with fish larger than your current fish and even then its not a guarantee that the lionfish or angler wont swallow them. I would go with adult halichoeres species wrasse.

 

[Darren in Tacoma]

If you want something that you can see a little better, amphipods eat copepods.

 

[symon_say]

What size is your tank?

 

[karsumms]

What size is your tank?

32 gal

 

[Fishurama]

32 gal

In a tank that size i would then take back my wrasse recommendations above and say go with a midas blenny or a flasher wrasse which is a lot smaller then the wrasse listed above, or a Fairy Wrasse. A 32 wouldn't be ideal, but it would work for these wrasse. 6 line wrasse would eat them, but for their size they are very aggressive and would stray away from them.
Sand sifting gobies will also eat them out of the sandbed, but will still leave the ones on the rockwork and glass.
I would no do a mandarin even though it might seem tempting.

 

[karsumms]

In a tank that size i would then take back my wrasse recommendations above and say go with a midas blenny or a flasher wrasse which is a lot smaller then the wrasse listed above, or a Fairy Wrasse. A 32 wouldn't be ideal, but it would work for these wrasse. 6 line wrasse would eat them, but for their size they are very aggressive and would stray away from them.
Sand sifting gobies will also eat them out of the sandbed, but will still leave the ones on the rockwork and glass.
I would no do a mandarin even though it might seem tempting.

I thought about getting a wrasse but I am scared my Angler would just try and eat it

 

[homer1475]

I would go with a melanarus wrasse myself. LA says min tank size is 50G, but kept one in a 29G biocube without issue.

Small enough for your tank, great predators(not just pods, but bristle worms, flatworms, etc), and although I have no experience with an angler, I would think the melanarus would be fast enough to stay away from him/her.

My current melanarus is 7 years old, and barely 3 inches, but as round as a basketball after feeding time. They tend to get round as opposed to long when they grow.

 

[symon_say]

In that tank size any picky fish that eat copepods might die if they refuse to eat something else. Maybe some wrasse will work.