Reef By Steele
10K Club member
Pods, does species matter?
Most agree that copepods are a desired addition to saltwater aquariums. But does it matter which pods you get? Short answer is yes the species do matter. Why? Because just as the fish in our tank offer different utilitarian purposes, pods also behave differently and provide different benefits and utilities to our glass boxes.
Though there are more species than can be easily counted, with many so closely related it can be difficult to tell them apart, there are some very clear and apparent differences within the copepod world. The most notable being where in the tank the pods reside. In basic terms copepods break down into two distinct types. Pelagic (free swimming) and Benthic (crawlers).
Although benthic pods can be seen swimming in cultures, their primary residence is in the substrate and on the rocks. This is the point where they offer one of their greatest utilities to our tanks as an integral piece of the CUC (Clean Up Crew). These copepods will eat left over food and detritus, and will graze algae down to its very roots. This makes copepods such as Tisbe, Apocyclops, Tigriopus and our specialty Harpa pods valuable micro members of you CUC. But there is even more that these little power houses provide. Pods are a great nutritious food source for many of the inhabitants of your aquarium. Fish including Mandarin Gobies, Scooter Blennies, Sand Sifting Gobies and more will augment their diet with copepods. Some of these fish may struggle without a constant supply of copepods, but even if converted to prepared foods they will lead a healthier happier life with the presence of copepods. We culture 4 separate species of benthic pods offering a greater variety and diversity for our tanks.
The pelagic copepods serve a different purpose in our aquaria. It is my belief that their presence makes keeping high metabolism fish easier. While I will not say that having them would offer guaranteed success with species like the Purple Queen Anthias, it is my belief that a constant source of free swimming pods definitely benefit what I call cruisers, those fish that cruise constantly burning calories in a continuous manner. Having a robust population of pelagic copepods greatly benefits those species of fish that require multiple feedings per day. While an automatic dry feeder can support some of these species, I personally prefer to feed fresh or frozen foods, which creates issues for hobbyists who are not at home all day everyday. These pods will also assist in the CUC, but they are not touted as being the workhorses that we see in the benthic pods. We offer the Acartia, Parvo and two distinct Pseudo for a total of 4 pelagic pods and find them to be perfect for these dietary needs.
With eight distinct species offered in various blends, a person is able to select the right blend to target their specific tank’s needs. You can find which pods are best for targeting your tank here.
I have found that a specific blend of copepods are especially helpful in eliminating dinoflagellates. And have had customers purchase a special blend of two species combined to use against a dino bloom. We have since added the third species, this blend in conjunction with our Coral Delight Phyto Buffet, Brightwell Microbacter7, and controlled silicate dosing has had positive results from our customers.
While we recommend dosing live phytoplankton for all species of pods to increase their health and nutritional profile, we highly recommend this for the pelagic pods as they will benefit greatly from a food source suspended in the water column.
You can check out our entire selection of Copepods here.
https://reefbysteele.com/collections/copepods
Kent and Sherry
Most agree that copepods are a desired addition to saltwater aquariums. But does it matter which pods you get? Short answer is yes the species do matter. Why? Because just as the fish in our tank offer different utilitarian purposes, pods also behave differently and provide different benefits and utilities to our glass boxes.
Though there are more species than can be easily counted, with many so closely related it can be difficult to tell them apart, there are some very clear and apparent differences within the copepod world. The most notable being where in the tank the pods reside. In basic terms copepods break down into two distinct types. Pelagic (free swimming) and Benthic (crawlers).
Although benthic pods can be seen swimming in cultures, their primary residence is in the substrate and on the rocks. This is the point where they offer one of their greatest utilities to our tanks as an integral piece of the CUC (Clean Up Crew). These copepods will eat left over food and detritus, and will graze algae down to its very roots. This makes copepods such as Tisbe, Apocyclops, Tigriopus and our specialty Harpa pods valuable micro members of you CUC. But there is even more that these little power houses provide. Pods are a great nutritious food source for many of the inhabitants of your aquarium. Fish including Mandarin Gobies, Scooter Blennies, Sand Sifting Gobies and more will augment their diet with copepods. Some of these fish may struggle without a constant supply of copepods, but even if converted to prepared foods they will lead a healthier happier life with the presence of copepods. We culture 4 separate species of benthic pods offering a greater variety and diversity for our tanks.
The pelagic copepods serve a different purpose in our aquaria. It is my belief that their presence makes keeping high metabolism fish easier. While I will not say that having them would offer guaranteed success with species like the Purple Queen Anthias, it is my belief that a constant source of free swimming pods definitely benefit what I call cruisers, those fish that cruise constantly burning calories in a continuous manner. Having a robust population of pelagic copepods greatly benefits those species of fish that require multiple feedings per day. While an automatic dry feeder can support some of these species, I personally prefer to feed fresh or frozen foods, which creates issues for hobbyists who are not at home all day everyday. These pods will also assist in the CUC, but they are not touted as being the workhorses that we see in the benthic pods. We offer the Acartia, Parvo and two distinct Pseudo for a total of 4 pelagic pods and find them to be perfect for these dietary needs.
With eight distinct species offered in various blends, a person is able to select the right blend to target their specific tank’s needs. You can find which pods are best for targeting your tank here.
How to choose the correct Copepods for your tank
WHAT ARE THE RIGHT COPEPODS FOR YOUR TANK? Generally speaking there are two major sub-groups of copepods that we offer. They are: BENTHIC (Crawlers), these copepods spend the majority of their life on the substrate and rock work in our tanks. You may see them on the glass if you allow a film to...
reefbysteele.com
I have found that a specific blend of copepods are especially helpful in eliminating dinoflagellates. And have had customers purchase a special blend of two species combined to use against a dino bloom. We have since added the third species, this blend in conjunction with our Coral Delight Phyto Buffet, Brightwell Microbacter7, and controlled silicate dosing has had positive results from our customers.
While we recommend dosing live phytoplankton for all species of pods to increase their health and nutritional profile, we highly recommend this for the pelagic pods as they will benefit greatly from a food source suspended in the water column.
You can check out our entire selection of Copepods here.
https://reefbysteele.com/collections/copepods
Kent and Sherry
