Are a lot of copepods good?

[michaelabellz]

In the past 2 days I’ve noticed a bunch of little white dots all over the glass. When i first noticed I scrubbed them all off thinking that it was just dirt from the aquarium. But today when I took a closer look they were all moving. They seem to be doubling by the day. I’ll add a picture I took of one that I know for sure is a copepod but the other ones are a lot smaller and I can’t quite get a picture of them. So my question is if too much copepods are a bad thing and also what live stock I could get to keep the population in check. Serpent starfish’s are my favourite invert ever but I stopped myself from getting one because I didn’t know if my tank was ready. Is this a sign it’s ready?

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Sounds like you do not have any fish in the tank yet Almost any fish will make quick work of them

 

[Gobi-Wan]

How long has the tank been set up and how big is it, what kind of filtration?

 

[michaelabellz]

Sounds like you do not have any fish in the tank yet Almost any fish will make quick work of them

I have two baby clownfish and 2 mollies. I did notice the molly pick at one but he didn’t get it and it just fell down into the sand bed.

 

[michaelabellz]

How long has the tank been set up and how big is it, what kind of filtration?

It’s been set up for about 6 months I’d say it’s 40 gallons with a 10 gallon refugium.

 

[Gobi-Wan]

It’s been set up for about 6 months I’d say it’s 40 gallons with a 10 gallon refugium.

For the first 2 or so years of my setup running the pod population would take off and slow down. They say a year or so is usually long enough for the population to stabilize enough to get a mandarin or other type of dragonet, which eat primarily cooepods. Though most people would probably say your tank is too small to support enough pods for a mandarin, opinions widely vary. Sometimes you can find a mandarin that will also eat frozen food but that’s a gamble. The only reason I really ever see people talk about pods is when wanting to get a mandarin. They’re certainly not a bad thing or harmful in any way, and all they will do is process a little detritus in your rocks and sand and become a quick snack for any fish that bother with food that small. Generally wrasses and small fish will eat them, and they are considered a sign of healthy biodiversity in your tank.

 

[Rmckoy]

They are good .
only assuming there isn’t anything to eat them . Kinda makes me laugh . Years ago mollies were used to cycle da saltwater tank being a cheap fish and easily acclimated to marine salinity .
You don’t hear anyone keeping them anymore .
just as funny how as soon as they’re acclimated depending on how many you add .
there is always babies shortly after acclimating .
They are amazing at eating algae ..

 

[michaelabellz]

so here’s a picture of the larger copepod I spotted but as you can see in the picture there’s little white specs around it that are moving too

 

[michaelabellz]

Here’s some more of the little guys

 

[michaelabellz]

For the first 2 or so years of my setup running the pod population would take off and slow down. They say a year or so is usually long enough for the population to stabilize enough to get a mandarin or other type of dragonet, which eat primarily cooepods. Though most people would probably say your tank is too small to support enough pods for a mandarin, opinions widely vary. Sometimes you can find a mandarin that will also eat frozen food but that’s a gamble. The only reason I really ever see people talk about pods is when wanting to get a mandarin. They’re certainly not a bad thing or harmful in any way, and all they will do is process a little detritus in your rocks and sand and become a quick snack for any fish that bother with food that small. Generally wrasses and small fish will eat them, and they are considered a sign of healthy biodiversity in your tank.

Okay that’s great! Thank you so much for your help. And yes I’ve been looking into getting a Mandarin but I sort of steered away from it as of now simply because my tank is more on the new side and i find its constantly in change

 

[Gobi-Wan]

Little ones look like copepods the big one is definitely not. It looks like an amphipod to me though, also harmless free fish food.

 

[michaelabellz]

They are good .
only assuming there isn’t anything to eat them . Kinda makes me laugh . Years ago mollies were used to cycle da saltwater tank being a cheap fish and easily acclimated to marine salinity .
You don’t hear anyone keeping them anymore .
just as funny how as soon as they’re acclimated depending on how many you add .
there is always babies shortly after acclimating .
They are amazing at eating algae .

Funny you say that actually that’s exactly why I got my mollies was to try and speed up the cycle. I always remember how unhappy they looked at the pet store in the freshwater aquarium and now they seem more happier than ever! I would feel bad if I were to give them away and risk that life on them again

 

[Rmckoy]

Agree with Goni-wan

small ones look like copepods but the larger , like different .
I first thought either amphipod but also looks similar to the shape of a nudibranch

 

[michaelabellz]

Little ones look like copepods the big one is definitely not. It looks like an amphipod to me though, also harmless free fish food.

Oh wow. I totally thought that was a copepod. How interesting guess I got to do some research on amphipods! Glad to know they’re not bad.

 

[Rmckoy]

Funny you say that actually that’s exactly why I got my mollies was to try and speed up the cycle. I always remember how unhappy they looked at the pet store in the freshwater aquarium and now they seem more happier than ever! I would feel bad if I were to give them away and risk that life on them again

They are hit or miss acclimating them to marine salinity .
some don’t last long .
ive never tried going from marine salinity back to freshwater .
Did yours spit out a bunch of babies when acclimated ?

 

[michaelabellz]

Agree with Goni-wan

small ones look like copepods but the larger , like different .
I first thought either amphipod but also looks similar to the shape of a nudibranch

What is a nudibranch? I always thought of those as those cool looking sea slugs.

 

[terraincognita]

Yeah that's a great sign.

They'll probably end up working their way into the sand bed and rock work soon, and you won't see them on your glass like this forever. Also adding fish like wrasse or other vigorous pod eaters will also make them disappear

 

[michaelabellz]

They are hit or miss acclimating them to marine salinity .
some don’t last long .
ive never tried going from marine salinity back to freshwater .
Did yours spit out a bunch of babies when acclimated ?

Nope they didn’t. They went quite perfectly actually.

 

[pochaxoo]

They are likely on your glass eating the Algae slime which grows there. Super beneficial IMO.

 

[terraincognita]

so here’s a picture of the larger copepod I spotted but as you can see in the picture there’s little white specs around it that are moving too

This is an Isopod

Amphipods are more like roll poly's (pill bugs) that's my best description for someone who hasn't seen them before lol.