Copepods? The benefits.

[exnisstech]

Quit? Maybe you need to read the entire thread within context and figure out where the inaccuracies and corrections are. And what's "drama"? Those who promulgate inaccuracies based off of dogmatic viewpoints? Or those who pushback in order to correct the record?

My pushback in every way benefits the OP with respect to information on copepods because it dispels dogma with well known facts which are:

The principle copepods species that are purposely cultivated are viewable by the naked eye.

That a large majority of fish species we keep and raise graze on copepods.

Clown fish -like many fish in this hobby- in fact graze on copepods.

Political correctness which can be argued is just another form of "drama" might be your schtick.

I assure you it isn't mine...

 

[Bear22]

LOL

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act". ~George Orwell

 

[musselman]

I'm not sure that you need to add them - they are probably already there. It seems to me that the easiest way to get lots of copepods is to feed them. I run a fishless tank with lots of filter feeders, so I drip a lot of phytoplankton. The phytoplankton feeds the filter feeders, but there is excess, which supports pod populations. The heavy pod populations then feed many other inverts. Overfeed a bit and wait for the pods to catch up. Repeat until you have them at the level you want. Last time I checked, I was at about 60 per square inch on the glass, which seems to keep small anemones well fed. (I have a cold water tank, so advice might not translate perfectly to tropical.)

 

[rcasa]

Pods, great food source for certain fish. Also a great cleanup crew.

1. Quarantine your incoming fish coral and cleanup crew. Copper treatment, fallow periods, search for quarantine protocols on here.

2. Two scopas will most likely bicker and fight even in the 200 unless you removed your 200g scopas for a few weeks then add both to the 200 at the same time. Even then, they may not get along.

I love the idea of taking him out and putting him back into the tank with the other. That can actually be a good transition for them. Definitely will attempt

 

[rcasa]

I believe Ryan Batchellor proved in one of hid presentations that pods eat dinos which can be supper helpful in bad outbreaks.

It’s an amazing thing to get during Dino’s, normally I would let my tank deal with it on its own and also by changing filters more frequently. Besides that diatoms/dinos are single celled and copepods will do amazing as they eat singled cell algae

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Quit? Maybe you need to read the entire thread within context and figure out where the inaccuracies and corrections are. And what's "drama"? Those who promulgate inaccuracies based off of dogmatic viewpoints? Or those who pushback in order to correct the record?

My pushback in every way benefits the OP with respect to information on copepods because it dispels dogma with well known facts which are:

The principle copepods species that are purposely cultivated are viewable by the naked eye.

That a large majority of fish species we keep and raise graze on copepods.

Clown fish -like many fish in this hobby- in fact graze on copepods.

Political correctness which can be argued is just another form of "drama" might be your schtick.

I assure you it isn't mine...

I'm not sure you know the meaning of the word graze. I will agree that all fish take the occasional nibble at a pod, but going from there to "grazing from sun up to sun down" is a huge exaggeration. Please stop spreading misinformation and inaccuracies, repeating incorrect statements like this to prove your point do not benefit anyone. If you still stand by your statement, then please walk over to your tank and take a short video of your fish, according to you they are grazing right now, and prove your point instead of just repeating

 

[56longroof]

Quit? Maybe you need to read the entire thread within context and figure out where the inaccuracies and corrections are. And what's "drama"? Those who promulgate inaccuracies based off of dogmatic viewpoints? Or those who pushback in order to correct the record?

My pushback in every way benefits the OP with respect to information on copepods because it dispels dogma with well known facts which are:

The principle copepods species that are purposely cultivated are viewable by the naked eye.

That a large majority of fish species we keep and raise graze on copepods.

Clown fish -like many fish in this hobby- in fact graze on copepods.

Political correctness which can be argued is just another form of "drama" might be your schtick.

I assure you it isn't mine...

I have read the entire post. Your pushback is only feeding your ego.

 

[Bear22]

I have read the entire post. Your pushback is only feeding your ego.

"Reason is the first casualty of emotion". ~ Scytale The Dune book series

 

[mcarroll]

It’s an amazing thing to get during Dino’s, normally I would let my tank deal with it on its own and also by changing filters more frequently. Besides that diatoms/dinos are single celled and copepods will do amazing as they eat singled cell algae

Dino blooms are VERY toxic, so anything that eats one will not survive to reproduce. That's a losing strategy unless you're breeding 'pods and literally bombing the tank with them by the 1,000,000's. (Dino's are reproducing FAST during a bloom.)

Also, someone earlier claimed that it was "proven in a video." You can stop reading when something like that is claimed.

"Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see."

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Pods are a go for me, you may or may not see their benefit to your system. They clean up a lot of stuff in the tank. They work over algae and left over foods. Pods have different rolls, some stay on surfaces and some are free swimming. Some will only eat algae and some are opportunistic on foods. I don't culture the free swimming because I want the clean up benefit from the pods. I would add them at lights out and pumps turned off for about an hour if possible and always acclimate your pods to your tank temp .

 

[Biokabe]

Pods are extremely beneficial to any reef tank. They're close to an absolute requirement for certain species of fish, and they provide an excellent forage opportunity for most fish in between feedings. They will also contribute to keeping your tank free of certain types of algae films.

Having said that - unless you have those certain species of fish and don't have the rockwork to support a large breeding population, I don't think you need to buy more than a seed population. They're extremely easy to cultivate, and once you have a decent population they will breed to the level of your tank's ability to support them. And yes, they do eat some algae, but they won't rescue a tank from an algal explosion. They'll consume some amount of film algae and detritus, but not so much that you can avoid stocking snails and other CUC.

 

[exnisstech]

Pods are probably beneficial but I'm not sure how beneficial buying them is. I have 5 tanks running and all have pods of different sizes but I've never bought them to add. They've always been one of those things that just make their way in.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Quit? Maybe you need to read the entire thread within context and figure out where the inaccuracies and corrections are. And what's "drama"? Those who promulgate inaccuracies based off of dogmatic viewpoints? Or those who pushback in order to correct the record?

My pushback in every way benefits the OP with respect to information on copepods because it dispels dogma with well known facts which are:

The principle copepods species that are purposely cultivated are viewable by the naked eye.

That a large majority of fish species we keep and raise graze on copepods.

Clown fish -like many fish in this hobby- in fact graze on copepods.

Political correctness which can be argued is just another form of "drama" might be your schtick.

I assure you it isn't mine...

it doesn’t matter if it is “yours” or not.
You’re being a jerk.

 

[Bear22]

it doesn’t matter if it is “yours” or not.
You’re being a jerk.

(eye roll inserted here)

 

[rcasa]

pods are so tiny they are invisible to our eyes

Speak for yourself.

Yes, they are tiny, but not invisible - I used to sit close to the tank and watch my royal gramma pick them off the glass in the mornings. No mistake, definitely copepods.

I understand where everyone is coming from and it’s okay if the answer is get isn’t accurate. That’s why there’s a whole community filled with humans like us that love this hobby.

 

[rcasa]

It's not about a "lecture" or an "apology". It's about giving accurate relevant information...

I feel it is relevant. My fish don't go for pods, I have 5 tanks and 18 fish, I don't see it, almost 20 years keeping salt tanks and I don't see it. I only keep nano fish but its hard for me to imagine medium or large size fish going for pods, do tangs eat pods? I keep seahorses, and even seahorses don't bother with pods, they are too small. So my comment my differ from yours but it doesn't mean its not relevant, IME majority of fish won't bother going for them, pods don't eat hair algae despite what the hype, and I cannot think of any benefit for the $30 price tag. Buy a coral and you will have hitchhiker pods for free.

I feel I am answering the OP's question, based on my experience. On contrary, all you've added to this discussion is to argue with me.

And that’s all that matters, their whole community is here just in case but definitely not to argue BOTH OF YOU.

What’s most frustrating is having people argue and disrespect the thread that’s up. Not only is it extra for the person but also its use less because if yall go back in forth about drama how does that benefit ME or ANYONE else that comes across this

 

[dvgyfresh]

I think a great way of protection against sickness, is to feed a wide variety of foods and add selcon to frozen foods. Squid from deli soaked in selcon, clams, frozen mysis, occasional pellets, phytoplankton dosing, ect.

for pods, try to not clean the glass for a week or so and the film algae will be home to alot of life

 

[higher99]

Wondering about copepods. I’ve heard of them and wonder what they actually do and benefit any aquarium.

I’m not only looking to see how they benefit and when and what to add them too but I’m also wondering when is not a good ideas to add them and also what’s the down fall if there is one.

Finding new ways to benefit my reef aquarium and I’m curious

Also have questions,
1.What would be the best way to not allow any of the live stock fish/inverts I have in my newest aquarium get sick. I know some come naturally but most of the time there’s not just a simple reason. I’m really wondering.

2. I have about a decent size scopas tang living in my 75 gallon and another one in my 200. I’m curious if I should move both together and bring the 75 gallon one to the 200??. I’m also wondering if you can even keep two scopas tangs in a big enough tank , wondering if they’ll be differently aggressive with each other or not mind

I added pods a few weeks ago. They're not visible to eye due to the size but I've seen my fanged blenny pick at rocks and my backwall. I think it's a good food source and apparenly and keep your sandbed clean. I've yet to see that tho since I'm going through an ugly stage with diatoms on rock & sandbed.

 

[higher99]

I feel it is relevant. My fish don't go for pods, I have 5 tanks and 18 fish, I don't see it, almost 20 years keeping salt tanks and I don't see it. I only keep nano fish but its hard for me to imagine medium or large size fish going for pods, do tangs eat pods? I keep seahorses, and even seahorses don't bother with pods, they are too small. So my comment my differ from yours but it doesn't mean its not relevant, IME majority of fish won't bother going for them, pods don't eat hair algae despite what the hype, and I cannot think of any benefit for the $30 price tag. Buy a coral and you will have hitchhiker pods for free.

I feel I am answering the OP's question, based on my experience. On contrary, all you've added to this discussion is to argue with me.

I've seen grazing fish pick at pods like blennies, but it could be just algae or diatom. Regarding the larger fish, I'm not sure either... my LFS mentioned that one of his yellow tangs always pick at rockwork, which I assume could be filled with pods.

 

[Renfield42]

I started with Marco rock and live sand so I added a lot of pods to quickly jump start the biome. I definitely see their population increase when I’m regularly dosing phyto. As mentioned above letting the glass get “filmy” helps the pod population as well.

My Rainford’s goby picks at pods all day. My Bangai cardinals regularly eat them as well but pods can’t be a significant part of their nutrition. (They’ll hang out by the black back wall and snipe pods where they’re easily seen against the background.)

One benefit of a good pod population in my opinion is giving the fish the chance to do more of their normal behaviors.

Corals bring in pods but I added corals fairly slowly and didn’t want to rely on that pathway so I added various species of pods myself.

Back on the days of beautiful Indo live rock a lot of things took care of themselves. Tanks now need more of our attention and intervention to more quickly get a stable biome, especially with dry rock, IMO.