Do you acclimate your copepods?

[AydenLincoln]

I’ve never added pods before yesterday purposely. And I was reading after I probably should’ve acclimated them or turned off my filtration. Does anyone just pour them in lol? Also they stay tiny like little specs tiny right? Unlike amphipods which are huge in comparison.

 

[TokenReefer]

They can handle a huge range of temperatures so I just poured em in

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I just add them.

I used to turn off my equipment, but after a while I figured it doesn't matter. Equipment on or off, some will be lost anyway. As long as you feed phyto to the tank, the pods will survive and reproduce.

 

[ilikefish69]

I’ve never added pods before yesterday purposely. And I was reading after I probably should’ve acclimated them or turned off my filtration. Does anyone just pour them in lol? Also they stay tiny like little specs tiny right? Unlike amphipods which are huge in comparison.

If tank is big enough you will be just fine they are very hardy,m

 

[AydenLincoln]

If tank is big enough you will be just fine they are very hardy,m

Well my tank is tiny haha. Yes I do know that. And I’m overthinking this. It’s survival of the fittest lol.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

I add them at night lights out and dump them in.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’ve never added pods or anything similar .
when I notice zero in my filter cloth I might consider adding some .
For many years the most interesting part of water changes Was seeing how many critters live in my filter cloth .
from pods , micro brittle stars , and how many
It’s never a combination of both at the same time .

 

[stoney7713]

I float them and turn off the flow and the lights and add them. That's the instructions most places provide.

But honestly I doubt it makes much of a difference, they are very hardy and will migrate throughout your filters anyways.

 

[Rmckoy]

I float them and turn off the flow and the lights and add them. That's the instructions most places provide.

But honestly I doubt it makes much of a difference, they are very hardy and will migrate throughout your filters anyways.

How many would become food as they are added ?

 

[stoney7713]

How many would become food as they are added ?

Depends on what type of fish you have. I add baby brine shrimp and only my small clownfish, dottyback, and mandarins pay attention to them. Larger fish just ignore them.

Most people add 1000's of pods at once so my guess would be 1%....lol

 

[Rmckoy]

Depends on what type of fish you have. I add baby brine shrimp and only my small clownfish, dottyback, and mandarins pay attention to them. Larger fish just ignore them.

Most people add 1000's of pods at once so my guess would be 1%....lol

When I do a water change I always take the filter cloth and shake the pods off into a bucket before trashing the soiled cloth .
I add them to the display tank and it’s like a shark feeding every fish goes crazy …..
I sometimes wonder if any actually make it to hiding .
Having a refuge in the sump I’m only assuming most of the reproduction happens there but to be on the filter cloth says they do make it through the system

 

[stoney7713]

When I do a water change I always take the filter cloth and shake the pods off into a bucket before trashing the soiled cloth .
I add them to the display tank and it’s like a shark feeding every fish goes crazy …..
I sometimes wonder if any actually make it to hiding .
Having a refuge in the sump I’m only assuming most of the reproduction happens there but to be on the filter cloth says they do make it through the system

Sounds like a good treat for them. Sounds like you do have a healthy population of they are making a trip all the way around the system like that.

 

[Weeb]

Interesting question. Wondering the same. But after checking around the Internet -- no acclimation needed.

HOWEVER I did come across a rather clever way of adding them -- even for a small aquarium which is like the one I have. That is, add the pods down a (previously cleaned) PVC or acrylic pipe that touches the top of the substrate. Follow by rinses of the bottle(s) with aquarium water. This gets more pods to the substrate than those quickly lost in the water flow.

I also thought of, with a relatively newer setup, to follow down that same pipe, food for the pods (e.g., a live phytoplankton blend) also rinsing bottle(s) with tank water. I wonder if this last part is a good to fair idea.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

I just float for 10-15mins to temp acclimate then throw them in.

 

[stoney7713]

Interesting question. Wondering the same. But after checking around the Internet -- no acclimation needed.

HOWEVER I did come across a rather clever way of adding them -- even for a small aquarium which is like the one I have. That is, add the pods down a (previously cleaned) PVC or acrylic pipe that touches the top of the substrate. Follow by rinses of the bottle(s) with aquarium water. This gets more pods to the substrate than those quickly lost in the water flow.

I also thought of, with a relatively newer setup, to follow down that same pipe, food for the pods (e.g., a live phytoplankton blend) also rinsing bottle(s) with tank water. I wonder if this last part is a good to fair idea.

Turkey baster, most of us have one.