Amonia Sensitivity of copepods?

[Rohirrimus]

Hello guys,
I recently started a cycle ( AF live sand + media from established reef tank, and Moly as amonia source) and want to add copepods but I'm not sure how sensitive ( if at all) they are to amonia?
Reason why I want to add them now is that where I live live pods are a bit harder to come by so I want to get them while in stock now, just want to know which amonia level is toxic for them?

And related to that I would also add some phytoplankton, can I?

Thanks

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

IDK, but if you are concerned, then just put the pods into a small tupperware with new saltwater and a bit of phyto, until you feel the tank is ready. It will be fine like that for a few weeks.

In a brand new aquarium there is nothing to eat, so anything you add, including pods, will need to be fed to survive

 

[taricha]

Reason why I want to add them now is that where I live live pods are a bit harder to come by so I want to get them while in stock now, just want to know which amonia level is toxic for them?

And related to that I would also add some phytoplankton, can I?

If you add the live phyto first, ammonia ought to be pulled down rapidly and kept low and the pods would be fine. Pods that live on surfaces tend to be kinda tolerant of ammonia anyway.

 

[Rohirrimus]

If you add the live phyto first, ammonia ought to be pulled down rapidly and kept low and the pods would be fine. Pods that live on surfaces tend to be kinda tolerant of ammonia anyway.

Hmm that’s interesting, does the plankton consume ammonia same as the bacteria?

There is also another expect to it, I’d like to get pods established before I move my mandarin to the new tank as well.
He is a that eats even granulated food so I don’t fear him starving, I just don’t want him to prevent pod population from taking off

 

[Rohirrimus]

IDK, but if you are concerned, then just put the pods into a small tupperware with new saltwater and a bit of phyto, until you feel the tank is ready. It will be fine like that for a few weeks.

In a brand new aquarium there is nothing to eat, so anything you add, including pods, will need to be fed to survive

I could do that,
but another thing is I’d like to have pod population start to take off as I my plan is to do a more of a rapid cycle (something similar like late Jake Adams did with 1 day reef, just not as aggressive as I added a week with just a moly and no light ).
I got live sand , media from established tank and most corals I plan to put are coming with live rock, so I should be ok, but honestly I never before thought of what pods need to survive

 

[PotatoPig]

Copepods have a low sensitivity to water quality. Below is an ammonia test I did on a thriving copepod culture… (I changed the water after). If pods if are keeling over from ammonia then everything else in your tank is long gone.

In terms of adding copepods:

1. If you added rock from an established tank then you almost certainly have pods already unless you cleaned it. You just might not see them for a bit as they take a little time to colonize a new, otherwise clean, tank.

2. If you want to buy pods then a good option is places like algae barn / reef nutrition who’ll mail them to you. If the goal is a mandarin then go for either the Tisbe pods or their 4/5 Pod mix that includes Tisbe pods, these do well in reef tanks, are a good size for a mandarin, especially a new captive bred one, and hide out on rocks where the mandarin will hunt but where most other planktivores in your tank aren’t scouring.

3. I’d wait until you see a fair number of pods on the glass before adding a mandarin. The easiest way to do this is when it’s dark use a flashlight to light up a pane of your tank from the side and then look through the glass (looking straight on the pane you’re lighting up) at the lit up area - this will illuminate even the tinier pod species. It may take a month or so before you see these in numbers - for me it was around the 3 month mark after adding bottled pods. Captive Bred mandarins do/should eat foods you provide, but they may either stop after being put into a new environment, or could have a hard time competing with other fish as they have a much more leisurely swim speed and grazing habits.

 

[TarheelGrey]

I would second putting the pods in a container with phyto. Put an air line in with 1-3 bubbles a second and they will culture for you while you wait. Put your first culture split in the tank and continue to culture in prep for the mandarin.

 

[Rohirrimus]

Copepods have a low sensitivity to water quality. Below is an ammonia test I did on a thriving copepod culture… (I changed the water after). If pods if are keeling over from ammonia then everything else in your tank is long gone.

In terms of adding copepods:

1. If you added rock from an established tank then you almost certainly have pods already unless you cleaned it. You just might not see them for a bit as they take a little time to colonize a new, otherwise clean, tank.

2. If you want to buy pods then a good option is places like algae barn / reef nutrition who’ll mail them to you. If the goal is a mandarin then go for either the Tisbe pods or their 4/5 Pod mix that includes Tisbe pods, these do well in reef tanks, are a good size for a mandarin, especially a new captive bred one, and hide out on rocks where the mandarin will hunt but where most other planktivores in your tank aren’t scouring.

3. I’d wait until you see a fair number of pods on the glass before adding a mandarin. The easiest way to do this is when it’s dark use a flashlight to light up a pane of your tank from the side and then look through the glass (looking straight on the pane you’re lighting up) at the lit up area - this will illuminate even the tinier pod species. It may take a month or so before you see these in numbers - for me it was around the 3 month mark after adding bottled pods. Captive Bred mandarins do/should eat foods you provide, but they may either stop after being put into a new environment, or could have a hard time competing with other fish as they have a much more leisurely swim speed and grazing habits.

dang That is high, glad to see it as I'm surely not going to get that hight.

I plan to do a though dip since while I want copepods, I don't want to see any bristle worms and amphipods. I am not from America but my LFS does get bags of live pods, just not that often so those are the ones I'll get.

If I could I'd do a long cycle but I got a large tank and the old one now just kind of sits awkwardly on the hallway just waiting to be bumped by someone, I need to get things moved asap. I also plan to put a few bags in the sump, so I will never "run out" .

 

[Rohirrimus]

I would second putting the pods in a container with phyto. Put an air line in with 1-3 bubbles a second and they will culture for you while you wait. Put your first culture split in the tank and continue to culture in prep for the mandarin.

Thx, I think I might do something in between, get some in the tank and put some in container like that. Thx