Growing Copepods in a bucket

[AyoItsRocco]

So basically I'm looking into culturing copepods on my screened porch in a 5 gallon bucket to see if it works. Other than the Pods and Phytoplanket, what else is needed to grow a decent sized culture? I'm new to the whole copepod thing so any tips and advice are greatly appreciated!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

sure it will work, thats going to be a lot of pods though lol. I culture them in small tupperwater containers.

Only other thing you should have is an airline going into the water, just to keep the water from going stagnant and help keep the phyto suspended in the water column.

 

[AyoItsRocco]

sure it will work, thats going to be a lot of pods though lol. I culture them in small tupperwater containers.

Only other thing you should have is an airline going into the water, just to keep the water from going stagnant and help keep the phyto suspended in the water column.

I agree lol it will be quite alot, just trying to start it with all the things I have at my house.

 

[floridareeflabs]

Hello, our 2 cents:

airline with slow bubbles
dose Dead or live phyto daily so green tint, depends on species but tetra or nano is typical but some like one over the other per harder to eat etc.
gravity of water depends on species of copepod, but in general 1.022-1.025 is best.
Try and keep lid on buck with small hole for positive pressure escape
Dont bother adding a special light, just allow bucket to have some ambient light near by so they are not completly in the dark, they are "afraid" of the dark.

 

[bradreef]

I have two tigrio cultures inside with airlines in them and a 10ish gallon( half full) container outside with no air movement and a lid on it for minimal evap. That one grows the best. Just add phyto at least every 2 days

 

[pezcadoazul]

sure it will work, thats going to be a lot of pods though lol. I culture them in small tupperwater containers.

Only other thing you should have is an airline going into the water, just to keep the water from going stagnant and help keep the phyto suspended in the water column.

Do you start with eggs or live copepods. Which one's. If starting with bought live copepods, how long does it take for them to mature and reproduce? If starting with eggs, same question. Is it easier than growing brine shrimp? Thanks

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Do you start with eggs or live copepods. Which one's. If starting with bought live copepods, how long does it take for them to mature and reproduce? If starting with eggs, same question. Is it easier than growing brine shrimp? Thanks

You should check on youtube or search this forum, there are a hundred different ways to do it. But each way is set it and forget it kind of thing.

I use small tupperware, fill with new saltwater.
Buy a bottle of live copepods from somewhere (cannot buy copepod eggs) and add most of the copepods to your aquarium and keep a third of the bottle to start your culture.
Add phytoplankton until the water is lite green. You can add the store bought stuff, but I find I get better results when using cultured phyto.
Add an airline to the culture, to keep the phyto suspended.
They reproduce in about 3-4 weeks, I harvest them once a month. I drain the water completely, clean the container, and start all over again. My culture is below.
Thats it, I top off with fresh water once a week, but nothing else to do but wait.