will inverts eat my pods?

[petemichelle]

I just started my 150 tank with dry rock so there is no life whatsoever. I added pods first, and try to let them get established and start populating. can I also add turbo snails, nessarius snails, cerith snails and hermit crabs during this period or will the snails and crabs eat the pods?

 

[lovecrzreef]

I have no idea but following in case someone knows

 

[Naiad]

None of those should be a problem. The hermits may score a pod here and there but nothing that will really impact the pod population. Just be sure you have the algae to sustain the snails and hermit crabs.

 

[Tahoe61]

Give your pods areas to populate like Chaeto or small piles of rubble. As posted above the only real threat are the hermit crabs but it will be hit and miss with them.

 

[ReeferBean]

I agree with Naiad and Tahoe, I would just not add any fish for a while... a hermit or two won't decimate their numbers but a wrasse for instance would. Be patient and your tank will be full of them with little to no predators to eat them.

Also, what pods did you add? Might have better luck getting some chaeto from a local reefer to seed your tank. If store bought, I like the Algagen tisbe pods.

 

[ReeferBean]

A few turbos or ceriths yes, but I wouldn't add the nassarius just yet. I personally don't have any hermits in my tank I don't think they are necessary with proper maintenance and other cuc members. Plus they can be little sobs and kill your snails for their shell. I like trochus snails.

 

[petemichelle]

how long do you guys think before I see a pod explosion? I hear they will be all over the glass as little dots and swimming in the water column too. it's been 3 weeks since I added the first batch. I've added a batch every week for the last 3 weeks, but no explosion yet.

 

[Naiad]

Are you adding any foods for the pods to eat? The population will only get as large as the available supply of food allows.

 

[petemichelle]

Are you adding any foods for the pods to eat? The population will only get as large as the available supply of food allows.

I add 8ml of phyto feast a night and a pinch of fish flake food also every night. there is plenty of diatoms and algae, although the algae is brown because it too has diatoms all over it. I hear the pod explosion will be like having lice all over the glass. has anyone actually had this happen? please comment if you have. do you leave them on the glass and not clean the glass for a while? how long? will cleaning the glass kill the baby pods? I am looking for some real experienced response please. not that I don't appreciate the other thinkers, but if you have had any actual experience please chime in, a fellow reefer needs your help. I would hate to kill all the baby pods that I am so trying hard to promote with both time and a lot of money. thanks to everyone, especially those that have responded so far.

 

[petemichelle]

okay, I had a pod explosion. everywhere I look at night there are pods. all the inverts seem to be getting along with them or at least not making any affect on the total population. I am about to make a transfer of the critters from my bio cube. does anybody know if shrimps, I have 1 blood red shrimp, and 1 skunk shrimp , will eat the pods and or worms? again, I just would hate to find out that the critters I add might wipe out all the work I've done so far. please any helpful response would be great, actual experience most appreciated.

 

[Naiad]

No those shrimp won't hurt the population.

 

[Florida reefer]

Do you use a refugium? If you would be willing to put a hang on refugium on the tank, you would never have to worry about losing all your pods. Phytoplankton is correct. Keep using it. Most species multiply pretty fast but you want to re-seed every year or so depending on your bioload. Use the same kind because different species will kill each other. As long as you have a safe place where they can continue to thrive, unmolested, there will always be plenty. Rotifers and cyclops will also be food for them. Honestly, just give em a sanctuary, they'll thrive on their own.

 

[prime8reef]

From my experience with raising benthic copepods, both tisbe and californicus tigriporus(hopefully spelled right), I've found that it generally takes about 3wks or so to seed Any significant increase in population. It takes around 2½-3 wks for eggs to become full grown adults and begin to reproduce successive generations. The naupalii will cling to surfaces and seem to be attracted to light, but I think that if you scrape the glass, you'll be ok as long s you gently scrape it down and not use an algae magnet. When first establishing a colony what I like to do I'd raise them in a glass or plastic jar. It is much easier to feed them without using a large amount of feed (I use phyto feastby algagen). I use a 6-8oz container, abd have it ¾ the way full of culture media(saltwater @ 1.020sg) and about 100 or so pods. I add one drop off phyto feast daily and keep it near a sunlit area but out of direct sunlight. Each week I suck out 1/5 of the water and add new water. After 3 weeks, I'll move the bottle or container to my sump or main tank at night and let the little guys venture out to find a new home(after acclimating them to 1.025sg by putting in 2ml tank water in container once every 30 minutes for 2hrs).
After 24 hrs of the culture jar in the main tank, I slowly remove it, inverting it to release any stragglers. I've done this in my refugium and after the first two weeks it seems like nothing is happening. By week 6 I can see them all over the glass.
Hope this trick works for you as well as it has for me. Good luck

 

[prime8reef]

Here's the culture I have going now to seed another refugium. Oh and to answer the other question, I haven't seen a major decrease in population from hermits but I only have a dozen or so in my tank