Apocyclops panamensis not appropriate for reef tanks

[deene123]

@Reef Nutrition Another update: I just bought another bottle of Apex Pods from LFS this time (last time, they were out and I had them delivered from saltwater aquarium). This new bottle was bottled on 8/31/2021, has a green tint to it, and the pods are well suspended throughout. The bottle I bought from Saltwater Aquarium was crystal clear, all were on the bottom, and now that I have this comparison, I think they were all pretty much dead. It's sad because I didn't know any better (I thought they were just too small to see at the time) and it's been two weeks since I ordered them, so I don't think I can do anything about it.

Anyways, moving forward I plan to clean the culture tank again, try these beautiful looking pods (strait from the Reef Nutrition source <3), and do what @fryman said by straining them to see if that will keep them alive while limiting ciliates.

Do ciliates just compete for food, or do they kill copepods in some other way? I ask because if it is just food competition then making sure my water has food for a week, then harvest, should allow for the continuation of a culture. I will be making a mini-version of the airlift collection. I'm a grad student at UF and my girlfriend knows the people that wrote the article on this method (small and exciting world), so I bet he will chuckle at the downsizing I will do.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

@Reef Nutrition Another update: I just bought another bottle of Apex Pods from LFS this time (last time, they were out and I had them delivered from saltwater aquarium). This new bottle was bottled on 8/31/2021, has a green tint to it, and the pods are well suspended throughout. The bottle I bought from Saltwater Aquarium was crystal clear, all were on the bottom, and now that I have this comparison, I think they were all pretty much dead. It's sad because I didn't know any better (I thought they were just too small to see at the time) and it's been two weeks since I ordered them, so I don't think I can do anything about it.

Anyways, moving forward I plan to clean the culture tank again, try these beautiful looking pods (strait from the Reef Nutrition source <3), and do what @fryman said by straining them to see if that will keep them alive while limiting ciliates.

Do ciliates just compete for food, or do they kill copepods in some other way? I ask because if it is just food competition then making sure my water has food for a week, then harvest, should allow for the continuation of a culture. I will be making a mini-version of the airlift collection. I'm a grad student at UF and my girlfriend knows the people that wrote the article on this method (small and exciting world), so I bet he will chuckle at the downsizing I will do.

Hey there!

Sorry to hear you had that experience with SWA.com. We have been working closely with them to remedy issues like this. With that being said, I'm very happy to hear you found some at an LFS! What store and location?

The ciliates absolutely compete against the pods for food. Most ciliates thrive in poor water with an abundance of organic waste, so keep those cultures clean with a small sponge filter set on very low (keeping the filter on low helps to minimize the removal of the phytoplankton that you are feeding them). This will help strip organic waste from the water column, minimizing waste build-up on the bottom and sides. The best way to feed your culture is to add small amounts of phytoplankton every day (multiple times daily is even more ideal). Also, the algae doesn't need to be alive. I've been growing mine for 5 years without using live phyto.

That's awesome that you are a grad student at UF! Great school. Those passive harvesters are amazing. I employ them every day here at the farm when harvesting my Apocyclops.

Great chatting with you! Look forward to hearing how your culture progresses.

Best,
Chad

 

[deene123]

Hey there!

Sorry to hear you had that experience with SWA.com. We have been working closely with them to remedy issues like this. With that being said, I'm very happy to hear you found some at an LFS! What store and location?

The ciliates absolutely compete against the pods for food. Most ciliates thrive in poor water with an abundance of organic waste, so keep those cultures clean with a small sponge filter set on very low (keeping the filter on low helps to minimize the removal of the phytoplankton that you are feeding them). This will help strip organic waste from the water column, minimizing waste build-up on the bottom and sides. The best way to feed your culture is to add small amounts of phytoplankton every day (multiple times daily is even more ideal). Also, the algae doesn't need to be alive. I've been growing mine for 5 years without using live phyto.

That's awesome that you are a grad student at UF! Great school. Those passive harvesters are amazing. I employ them every day here at the farm when harvesting my Apocyclops.

Great chatting with you! Look forward to hearing how your culture progresses.

Best,
Chad

I just heard back from SWA and they gave me a $10 credit. So I am happy that they were able to do something even though I was outside the refund window. My LFS is Aquatropics in Gainesville FL. It was handed down from the original owner to a great guy who has done great with it.

Small doses throughout the day, got it! I will at least dose morning and evening with this new culture. I will also make sure to keep the water more clean. I don't know what made it dirty, but I could have just overdosed the phyto feast.

Thank you for the help and I will definitely update with my progress in a month or so!

 

[Reef Nutrition]

I just heard back from SWA and they gave me a $10 credit. So I am happy that they were able to do something even though I was outside the refund window. My LFS is Aquatropics in Gainesville FL. It was handed down from the original owner to a great guy who has done great with it.

Small doses throughout the day, got it! I will at least dose morning and evening with this new culture. I will also make sure to keep the water more clean. I don't know what made it dirty, but I could have just overdosed the phyto feast.

Thank you for the help and I will definitely update with my progress in a month or so!

Aquatropics purchases from us routinely! You are in good hands with them if you need a back up culture or anything else from our line.

No more than 3 mls of Phyto-Feast per day is advisable. An even better non-viable blend would be our RGcomplete. I feed all my Apocyclops culture our RotiGrow Plus which is 3 times as concentrated as RGcomplete but lacks the ammonia neutralizer and pH buffer. RGcomplete is excellent for small-scale cultures. If you find you are ramping up production and going through the phytoplankton rapidly, you can switch to RotiGrow Plus . Aliquots can be frozen for up to 2 years, which makes it very economical. It can also be used as a supplement to live algae since live algae is limited to cell density whereas our algae products are incredibly concentrated due to our processing.

Let me know if you ever want to get into more detail on this. I'm open to chat via messaging or phone conversation.

Best,
Chad

 

[deene123]

Aquatropics purchases from us routinely! You are in good hands with them if you need a back up culture or anything else from our line.

No more than 3 mls of Phyto-Feast per day is advisable. An even better non-viable blend would be our RGcomplete. I feed all my Apocyclops culture our RotiGrow Plus which is 3 times as concentrated as RGcomplete but lacks the ammonia neutralizer and pH buffer. RGcomplete is excellent for small-scale cultures. If you find you are ramping up production and going through the phytoplankton rapidly, you can switch to RotiGrow Plus . Aliquots can be frozen for up to 2 years, which makes it very economical. It can also be used as a supplement to live algae since live algae is limited to cell density whereas our algae products are incredibly concentrated due to our processing.

Let me know if you ever want to get into more detail on this. I'm open to chat via messaging or phone conversation.

Best,
Chad

Thank you very much for the information and advice! I am currently going to stick to a smaller culture system. However, in the future I will definitely take you up on learning more! Again, thank you so much and have a great holiday weekend.

 

[Karen00]

Hello @Reef Nutrition / Chad. I chatted with you via email however I came across this great thread and thought my additional questions will contribute to the conversation. I just started feeding your tigger pods and my fish have been transformed into hunting machines. It's amazing to watch! Having said that it doesn't take them long to chow down on all the tiggers I add to the tank. It's either that or the pods are being sucked into the filter when I turn the pump back on. In light of this I would like to start culturing them so...

1. I'm only keeping gobies at this point so is there a particular pod that is better to culture for these bottom dwellers? I will say the gobies have no trouble getting into the water column so tiggers are fine. I can also see the tiggers get close to the bottom so they're an all round great pod (IMO). I just wasn't sure if apex or towns pods might be better.
2. I saw you mention using a sponge filter to assist in keeping the water clean in the cultures. Is this recommended for all pods? The reason I ask is that I was looking for culturing instructions for tiggers and found a post on Reef Nutrition's site that mentioned the only thing needed was an air stone so now I'm curious whether a sponge filter is better across all pod types.

I am excited to try culturing pods and want to be sure I'm getting the most appropriate pod for my current livestock as well as the appropriate hardware.

Thanks.

 

[Maximus]

Hey there!

Sorry to hear you had that experience with SWA.com. We have been working closely with them to remedy issues like this. With that being said, I'm very happy to hear you found some at an LFS! What store and location?

The ciliates absolutely compete against the pods for food. Most ciliates thrive in poor water with an abundance of organic waste, so keep those cultures clean with a small sponge filter set on very low (keeping the filter on low helps to minimize the removal of the phytoplankton that you are feeding them). This will help strip organic waste from the water column, minimizing waste build-up on the bottom and sides. The best way to feed your culture is to add small amounts of phytoplankton every day (multiple times daily is even more ideal). Also, the algae doesn't need to be alive. I've been growing mine for 5 years without using live phyto.

That's awesome that you are a grad student at UF! Great school. Those passive harvesters are amazing. I employ them every day here at the farm when harvesting my Apocyclops.

Great chatting with you! Look forward to hearing how your culture progresses.

Best,
Chad

Chad, I just received some Apex pods from you and have a question. You mentioned feeding them algae that wasn't alive. Can you send me a link to this algae? It would be far easier to feed dead algae for me so I don't have to culture live phyto. Thanks!

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Chad, I just received some Apex pods from you and have a question. You mentioned feeding them algae that wasn't alive. Can you send me a link to this algae? It would be far easier to feed dead algae for me so I don't have to culture live phyto. Thanks!

Sure thing. Here is the phytoplankton blend I recommend: https://reefnutrition.com/products/rgcomplete

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Best,
Chad

 

[Maximus]

Sure thing. Here is the phytoplankton blend I recommend: https://reefnutrition.com/products/rgcomplete

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Best

Sure thing. Here is the phytoplankton blend I recommend: https://reefnutrition.com/products/rgcomplete

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Best,
Chad

Awesome! How much should I feed daily to a 2g container with Apex pods? What is the shelf life of the algae? Thanks.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Sure thing. Here is the phytoplankton blend I recommend: https://reefnutrition.com/products/rgcomplete


Awesome! How much should I feed daily to a 2g container with Apex pods? What is the shelf life of the algae? Thanks.

Try 1ml a day and see how it goes. It's best to split this dose into at least two.

Chad

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Sure thing. Here is the phytoplankton blend I recommend: https://reefnutrition.com/products/rgcomplete


Awesome! How much should I feed daily to a 2g container with Apex pods? What is the shelf life of the algae? Thanks.

Sorry, forgot to address the shelf life. It's good for 4 months, but you can lengthen the shelf life by freezing small portions (like ice cubes). Just thaw a portion in the fridge when needed the next day and use it up within a few months.

Chad

 

[Maximus]

Thanks Chad. Appreciate all the info as usual. Looks like I need to place another order of pods and algae from you.

 

[Mikeltee]

Try 1ml a day and see how it goes. It's best to split this dose into at least two.

Chad

Do you still recommend RGComplete over PhytoFeast for tigs, tisbe, and apo pods? I just have 1.5g cultures going. The plan would be 1ml daily and maybe split on the weekends. What's the shelf life on the products assuming that a 16oz bottle is kept in the fridge and shaken daily? What is your opinion on feeding ReefRoids to the Tisbes?
Thanks!

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Do you still recommend RGComplete over PhytoFeast for tigs, tisbe, and apo pods? I just have 1.5g cultures going. The plan would be 1ml daily and maybe split on the weekends. What's the shelf life on the products assuming that a 16oz bottle is kept in the fridge and shaken daily? What is your opinion on feeding ReefRoids to the Tisbes?
Thanks!

RGcomplete would be my choice for culturing those copepods. The food is good for up to 4 months. You can freeze aliquots and use them up as needed.

We only feed microalgae to our copepods. They do very well on it. We don't have an opinion on RR since we don't manufacture or use that food. Thanks for asking, though.

Chad