Culturing 'tigger pods' (Tigriopus californicus)

[LordJoshaeus]

Hi everyone! I am interested in culturing small numbers of these pods as a treat for my fish. I have a few questions about them;
1 - This species reportedly has an extraordinary salinity tolerance from 4-102 ppt according to algae research supply (the algaebarn gives 6-102 ppt). Is that simply their tolerance range, or will they breed (and thus be culturable) across that entire range? I was thinking of culturing them around 10-15 ppt
2 - Will this species eat dry algae powders, such as spirulina or astaxanthin, or perhaps even fry powder? Failing that, would algae paste work? I want this to be a low maintenance culture, so I would rather not culture algae to feed the pods.
3 - I understand that it takes about 18-21 days for these pods to reach sexual maturity at room temperature. How long would I keep a culture running after that, and how often would it need water changes? I was thinking of harvesting nauplii daily after they reach maturity, and when restarting the culture I was going to take some of those harvested nauplii and replace the adults with them.
4 - Speaking of the above...what mesh size is required to capture adult 'tiggers'? What size would capture nauplii?
5 - What is the optimal density of adult copepods for nauplii production?
6 - Anything else I should know?

Thanks

 

[ichthyogeek]

1) Why 10-15 ppt? What's your basis behind this?

2) They've been known to eat algae flakes (things like Omega One Super Veggie Flakes). A little bit of dry algae powder can't hurt though, and any leftover phyto that you've cultured at the end of the day definitely wouldn't hurt.

3) Take a look through Google Scholar. These are the results for looking up "Tigriopus culture". You'll probably want to focus on T. californicus and T. japonicus. Most places that sell pods focus on T. californicus, but I've definitely heard of T. japonicus being cultured. As a pro-tip, a lot of the questions you're asking about, can

4 and 5) See #3 . If you're having trouble with any of the papers (ex. "I can't access this paper!" or "I don't understand what this paper is saying!"), then feel free to ask around.

6) You've been asking a lot of really good questions lately in this forum. Keep at it! Just remember that you can always google search and google scholar search for some of the more basic information.

 

[csb123]

I’m culturing them in 35ppt saltmix. You can feed them with preserved phyto (ie. Phytofeast.) spirulina powder can be used in a pinch. Live home cultured phyto is not necessary. I harvest when there are “lots” of them. Keep the water tinted green. And lastly, 200 micro sieve.

I think that’s about it.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

1) Why 10-15 ppt? What's your basis behind this?

Easy...price. If they could be cultured decently at that salinity, then just a gallon of old saltwater could become 2-3 gallons of culture water.

 

[Jen1978]

Here is my simple setup for culturing pods and plankton. Just an extra tank. If you DT water is good, I just used water change water. Extra air pump with splitter. DIY cheato light (I think the link to make one is on my build thread). The Cheato light helps keep it around 76 degrees. Culturing plankton to feed them is really no work at all. If you are interested in a set up like this and have questions, let me know.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

1 - This species reportedly has an extraordinary salinity tolerance from 4-102 ppt according to algae research supply (the algaebarn gives 6-102 ppt). Is that simply their tolerance range, or will they breed (and thus be culturable) across that entire range? I was thinking of culturing them around 10-15 ppt

• We grow ours at 28ppt. We top off for evaporation once a week. I've had very little production running them below 20ppt. While they can tolerate lower salinities, it's not optimal for them.

2 - Will this species eat dry algae powders, such as spirulina or astaxanthin, or perhaps even fry powder? Failing that, would algae paste work? I want this to be a low maintenance culture, so I would rather not culture algae to feed the pods.

• Yes, they will eat powdered algae like Spirulina. You have to be careful with powdered algae and other food types since they can foul the system rapidly causing bacterial issues in the tank. Many of our customers will feed that as well as our Phyto-Feast. Since this product has 6 species of phytoplankton, it provides a great nutritional variety for them. The algae is also very concentrated, so it will last months if kept refrigerated. https://reefnutrition.com/collections/hobbyist/products/phytofeast

3 - I understand that it takes about 18-21 days for these pods to reach sexual maturity at room temperature. How long would I keep a culture running after that, and how often would it need water changes? I was thinking of harvesting nauplii daily after they reach maturity, and when restarting the culture I was going to take some of those harvested nauplii and replace the adults with them.

• You can keep a culture running for up to 60 days without ever doing a water change. They actually do better with a dirtier system. As long as the organic waste build-up on the bottom of the tank doesn't get too thick, they will be fine. When the mulm gets to dense, the bottom layer can go anoxic (no oxygen) resulting in anaerobic bacteria in the system which is harmful to the copepods. You can stir the tank once a week to prevent this.

4 - Speaking of the above...what mesh size is required to capture adult 'tiggers'? What size would capture nauplii?

• We use a 300 micron to separate out all the juvenile and adult stages from the nauplii.

5 - What is the optimal density of adult copepods for nauplii production?

• Don't know this one.

6 - Anything else I should know?

• You definitely want a light on the tank. 12 hours on and 12 hours off. This will help to promote the growth of live algae that tends to grow in cultures. This algae will provide some food for the copepods in between feedings.

-Chad

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Thanks! That answers (almost) all my questions

EDIT: For comparison, how long can an Apocyclops culture last?

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Thanks! That answers (almost) all my questions

EDIT: For comparison, how long can an Apocyclops culture last?

I do a 20% water change once a week on my production tanks. I usually take the entire tank down after 30 days. This is 30 days after they've become sexually mature.

Chad

 

[LordJoshaeus]

I just came up with an idea that may improve Tigriopus culture yields...from doing some research, I discovered that the first two naupliar stages of this genus are apparently benthic and do not swim (at least in T. brevicornis), and these are also the life stages that get cannibalized by the adult copepods. With that in mind, could nauplii production be improved by adding a layer of relatively large grained (perhaps 1-3 mm) substrate for those nauplii to hide in until they molt to their third naupliar stage (at which point they gain the ability to swim and cease to be vulnerable to cannibalism)? I was thinking perhaps using a gallon jar with a 1/2-1 inch layer of this substrate, a weak airline (maybe a bubble per second?) and feeding whenever the jar no longer looks tinted. (I was still going to harvest the nauplii daily, but of course if they are not reaching the stage where they are swimming in the water column where I could harvest them that would not help anything).

 

[Reef Nutrition]

I just came up with an idea that may improve Tigriopus culture yields...from doing some research, I discovered that the first two naupliar stages of this genus are apparently benthic and do not swim (at least in T. brevicornis), and these are also the life stages that get cannibalized by the adult copepods. With that in mind, could nauplii production be improved by adding a layer of relatively large grained (perhaps 1-3 mm) substrate for those nauplii to hide in until they molt to their third naupliar stage (at which point they gain the ability to swim and cease to be vulnerable to cannibalism)? I was thinking perhaps using a gallon jar with a 1/2-1 inch layer of this substrate, a weak airline (maybe a bubble per second?) and feeding whenever the jar no longer looks tinted. (I was still going to harvest the nauplii daily, but of course if they are not reaching the stage where they are swimming in the water column where I could harvest them that would not help anything).

Give it a try and let us know! I've found that if you allow mulm to build up on the bottom of the culture, that typically minimizes cannibalism, but this is a good, too.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Following along on this!

 

[csb123]

To build up a pod population in a reef, do I harvest just juveniles, and leave the breeding adults behind?

How often should I harvest, and how much?

 

[LordJoshaeus]

To build up a pod population in a reef, do I harvest just juveniles, and leave the breeding adults behind?

How often should I harvest, and how much?

We were actually chatting about culturing the copepods in their own culture. I have little knowledge on how you would boost their numbers in a reef, though a refugium would be helpful (as would introducing the pods at night when they are less visible). Tigriopus species live in tide pools hostile to fish and most other predators, and are ill equipped to handle predation pressures from fish, corals, and other micropredators. Tigriopus nauplii are small enough that a lot of fish may not notice them, so they may be the better choice for trying to seed a tank with Tigger pods (though corals, feather dusters, and other filter feeders can still eat them). Adult tigger pods (and MANY other copepods, for that matter) will cannibalize young nauplii, so it makes sense to regularly harvest young copepods from the water column before they become adults capable of feeding on their younger siblings.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

I suggested above using a substrate for the Tigger pod nauplii to find refuge in...would lava rock work instead? It would definitely provide the needed cover and would be easier to remove for cleaning as needed.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Here's another question I did not think of...can Tigger pod nauplii be used for larval fish, perhaps after they have been feeding on rotifers or Parvocalanus nauplii for a while and are ready for something a bit bigger?

 

[ichthyogeek]

I discovered that the first two naupliar stages of this genus are apparently benthic and do not swim (at least in T. brevicornis), and these are also the life stages that get cannibalized by the adult copepods. ... I was still going to harvest the nauplii daily, but of course if they are not reaching the stage where they are swimming in the water column where I could harvest them that would not help anything).

Here's another question I did not think of...can Tigger pod nauplii be used for larval fish, perhaps after they have been feeding on rotifers or Parvocalanus nauplii for a while and are ready for something a bit bigger?

That will be dependent on the instar stage. As you've learned (not discovered), T. brevicornis (and presumably other Tigriopus species) have benthic nauplii. Which directly conflicts with the needs of pelagic larvae for water column food items. And if you're looking for a bigger food item, why not go with something like Acartia or Pseudodiaptomus, which are larger, pelagic, calanoid copepods (as opposed to benthic harpacticoid Tigriopus)?

It's also dependent on the size of the larval fish. My question, is why not just feed the following instars of the Parvocalanus you're already planning on culturing? By the time the fish are ready for something larger than Instar I/Egg stage Parvo, they should be ready for Instar II.

Additionally, there have been anecdotal reports of tigriopus ripping their way out of seahorse larvae when fed to them. Whether that's true or not is up for debate....

 

[Reef Nutrition]

I do know one clownfish breeder that has fed Tigriopus californicus nauplii to clownfish. With enough current, you can get the naups to drift in the tank, but I wouldn't recommend it. Most people just use rotifers for clownfish larvae and then wean them on to either newly hatched brine and/or a weaning food like TDO (TDO A is a powdered food ranging from 75 to 250 micron which is similar in size to rotifers and is what breeders offer first when weaning. There are many sizes after this that they apply).

The Tigriopus ripping their way out of seahorse fry stomachs is not true, from what I've been told. I know a few Syngnathid breeders that routinely feed Tigriopus to their fry and they have never reported this. Anecdotal, for sure.

 

[ectoaesthetics]

I keep advocating peeps try this as well. I’ve kept outdoor cultures both in Cali (Monterey -where you naturally find T Cali growing in tide pools) but I’ve also done it in CO 50 min from Moab UT...

raising TCali indoors can be a bit trying.It requires airline and not over agitating and feeding the right amounts etc... raising T Cali outdoors is a simple as: bucket, water from your last water change (no need to worry about co culturing something on accident nothing else will thrive in the conditions), maybe a chunk of chaeto or dry baserock if you are feeling overly generous... that’s it.

the wind will agitate the water flys and bugs will fall into the culture feeding it. I’m fact my pods swarm fuzzy caterpillars as they breakdown in the buckets (probably eating the bacteria). When the culture becomes super dense I pull a bunch and start another culture before the first crashes. Right now I have 5 cultures in 3.5 gallon buckets. There are times when I have to take large quantities to the LFS and give them away cause it’s just way too much. I do really love adding live phyto to the tub but it seems to be unnecessary.