Do i need a refugium to house copepods?

[PegasisR]

Just wanted to know if i needed a refugium to cultivate and house copes or something else would work, of course without the refugium. Thanks in advance

 

[Alexreefer]

I would recommend a refugium for pods and other microfauna to safely reproduce but is not needed 100%. I kept a mandarin happy and healthy in my 45 without a refugium. Just reseeded the tank every 2 months via algae barn.

 

[PegasisR]

I would recommend a refugium for pods and other microfauna to safely reproduce but is not needed 100%. I kept a mandarin happy and healthy in my 45 without a refugium. Just reseeded the tank every 2 months via algae barn.

Would a copepod hotel be a good replacement? aside from the refugiums benefits?

 

[Alexreefer]

copepod hotels would work, Haven't personally tried but it is a more direct way of putting pods into the dt as you shake them out of it. What tank do yu have and how much space in do you have for a refugium.

 

[lapin]

Would a copepod hotel be a good replacement? aside from the refugiums benefits?

This will work. It really depends on how many you expect to grow. They need food and a safe place to breed otherwise they will get eaten before they can get a good population going.

Just wanted to know if i needed a refugium to cultivate and house copes or something else would work, of course without the refugium. Thanks in advance

For example you can grow them in a bucket of rocks and macro algae or a gallon tank in the window.

 

[PegasisR]

copepod hotels would work, Haven't personally tried but it is a more direct way of putting pods into the dt as you shake them out of it. What tank do yu have and how much space in do you have for a refugium.

I have a rsr 525xl and i dont have a lot of space in the sump for a refugium as my skimmer takes up a big amount of room... and since im thinking on running an algae reactor i wanted to know of an alternative to keeping a good population of copepods

 

[lapin]

Sounds like your home needs a new room addition. *-}

 

[PegasisR]

This will work. It really depends on how many you expect to grow. They need food and a safe place to breed otherwise they will get eaten before they can get a good population going.


For example you can grow them in a bucket of rocks and macro algae or a gallon tank in the window.

I want to have excess amounts so they can always be available to mandarin dragonettes and other inhabitants

 

[PegasisR]

Sounds like your home needs a new room addition. *-}

haha i wish!

 

[Alexreefer]

you can always culture pods but most people wont because of all the time it takes. Here is a pretty good article...
https://www.themandaringarden.com/how-to-culture-copepods.html

 

[Sod Buster]

Get a couple of those loofah exfoliating shower things girls use and hang them in the sump. Pods love them. Take one and dip it in the display every few days to evict the residents. The worst pod killer is a filter sock also, free flow the drain

 

[PegasisR]

Get a couple of those loofah exfoliating shower things girls use and hang them in the sump. Pods love them. Take one and dip it in the display every few days to evict the residents. The worst pod killer is a filter sock also, free flow the drain

That is a nifty idea! but are those loofahs aquarium safe? also would the pods go from the sump to the dt if i didnt shake it off?

 

[Sod Buster]

I've never had a problem with them. They are basically a plastic onion bag wadded up nicely with a small rope to hang it. You will get some free swimmers going through the return pump. If you want a cloud of them in the display, shut off the return and dip the loopha in the display a few times. The round plastic mesh dish pan scrubbers work well also, they just don't come with a string for convenience.

 

[Njdevils1220]

I highly suggest a refugium, it makes it much easier and more room to multiply. I also find dosing phyto has increased my pod production GREATLY both in my refugium and my display. My mandarin is fat and happy.

 

[Rundown87]

Hey everyone, sorry to bring an old post back to life but is it viable to add a refugium to an aio aquarium? I picked up a JBJ45 from someone local as a first tank. I am hoping to get my fiance interested so that I can get a larger tank down the road and she really likes mandarins. Before I am even thinking about getting one i want to get a steady foodsorce for one and was wondering if anyone had experience with implementing a refugium into the tank I have.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pezcadoazul]

copepod hotels would work, Haven't personally tried but it is a more direct way of putting pods into the dt as you shake them out of it. What tank do yu have and how much space in do you have for a refugium.

I have a 75 gallon with lots of live rock, soft corals, inverts, chromis, mandarin, and ocellaris clowns and 1.5 inch sand bed. My mandarin eats brine shrimp as have all the mandarins I've had over the last 25 years. I've dumped hundreds of dollars worth off all kinds of pods in my tank over the years, and have tried pod motels and an in sump refugium with chaeto, but have never been able to establish a stable pod population. It is much easier to hatch you own brine shrimp. I don't think Mandarins know the difference and the chromis absolutely love them.