Cultivating Copepods

[hsp]

I am cultivating Tisbe biminiensis, Cyclopoid Dioithona, Tigriopus californicus and Apocyclops in four different 5-gallon jars (this kind, but not exactly the same). My ammonia is creeping up (up to 2.3 ppm, which I understand is OK for the copepods but prevents them from multiplying), which I prevent with weekly 25% water changes (now I keep it consistently around 0.2 ppm).

I read a lot about resetting the entire culture every month, but I also read that many copepods' naupliar stages live in the mulch at the bottom, so I try to avoid disturbing them and never do a full reset.

I feed Phyto every hour via a cheap Jebao 4-head dosing pump so that the water is slightly tinted green (only very slightly greenish!).

I am still wondering:
- Is this the best approach in general to maximise production?
- Shall I be concerned that the opening of the spigot for harvesting just gets a few copepods out of the benthic (crawlers) ones (e.g. Tigriopus)? An issue that is less of a concern with the pelagic ones (e.g. Apocyclops).
- Anything else I should automate to achieve more consistency?

Any advice is welcome!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I think not doing the full reset is the problem. I harvest my cultures at 4 weeks then I drain and sterilize the container before starting the next batch with new saltwater.

IME no need to change the water or even test the water.

I also add enough phyto that the water turns green and I only add phyto maybe once a week. IMO more food = more reproduction.

Below is my low budget simple as possible set up.

 

[IceNein]

You're worried about losing nauplii, but the copepods are just going to continue to reproduce when you do your reset. I don't really see the concern. Am I missing something in your logic?