Is there such a thing as too many copepods?

[Mathieu.lafleur1992]

Don't get me wrong, I know the benifits of having lots of pods in your tank but for the past couple of weeks I have been seeing 1000s of pods in my tank. I am not talking about the small pods that appear frequently in new tanks and can be seen usually on the glass at night, I am talking big monstruous copepods (10mm-15mm). They're so big that I'm pretty sure a mandarin wouldn't be able to eat them until it's grown to its mature size. My question would be, when do you know that it's too much?

I hace been feeding heavily lately to keep my nitrates/PO4 at seeyable levels so that mighr be the reason for the pod boom in my tank. What do you guys think?

 

[jerrod]

That big they’re probably amphipods and they shouldn’t be bad they eat detritus. A lot of fish will pick the off like wrasses dottybacks etc. it could be a sign you’re over feeding or that nothing is eating them.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

No

 

[Han]

No, their population should self regulate according to food supply.

 

[Mathieu.lafleur1992]

That big they’re probably amphipods and they shouldn’t be bad they eat detritus. A lot of fish will pick the off like wrasses dottybacks etc. it could be a sign you’re over feeding or that nothing is eating them.

They look like amphipods from what I could look online. Thanks for the ID.

I've got a solar fairy, a six line and melanurus.. I assumed that they would at least hurt a bit the pod population but it doesn't seems like it.

So I take from this that there's no big issue from having that many? At some point I had the same problem with bristleworm but I think the pod population boom reduced the numbers of bristleworms loll.

Thanks

 

[divewsharks]

They look like amphipods from what I could look online. Thanks for the ID.

I've got a solar fairy, a six line and melanurus.. I assumed that they would at least hurt a bit the pod population but it doesn't seems like it.

So I take from this that there's no big issue from having that many? At some point I had the same problem with bristleworm but I think the pod population boom reduced the numbers of bristleworms loll.

Thanks

If you are feeding heavy, the populations (of whatever, pods or worms) will grow fast due to the overabundance of food. The overabundance of food means your fish that would normally be on the hunt, feel no reason too; just kickback and wait for the easy stuff....

 

[JimmyV]

Don't get me wrong, I know the benifits of having lots of pods in your tank but for the past couple of weeks I have been seeing 1000s of pods in my tank. I am not talking about the small pods that appear frequently in new tanks and can be seen usually on the glass at night, I am talking big monstruous copepods (10mm-15mm). They're so big that I'm pretty sure a mandarin wouldn't be able to eat them until it's grown to its mature size. My question would be, when do you know that it's too much?

I hace been feeding heavily lately to keep my nitrates/PO4 at seeyable levels so that mighr be the reason for the pod boom in my tank. What do you guys think?

As far as I can tell I don't have any in my tank. So I think to many is better than not enough

 

[Royce White]

Don't believe you can have to many. wish I had that problem.

 

[Fishy212]

Hey man you holding!? Let me get some of those ;Hilarious

 

[azreefkeeper]

I'm a little envious of your position! My system is less then 6 months old and I've been trying to establish a solid pod population for weeks now.

I first added 5000+ of the Algaebarn product directly to my refugium. That jar looked like just water but the instructions assured me they may not be visible to the naked eye. No big deal...but I didn't see any "adults" so I kept looking for more options.

Then I introduced about 500 pods using a much larger sized amphipod pack from Aquarium Depot ... these guys were very visible but seemed to completely disappear after a week. Crazy thing is there's nothing that can be predating them in the sump and they are not making it to my DT. I have plenty of detritus in there, in fact I've been avoiding cleaning the sump just for the benefit of the amphipod population. Everything else in the tank is doing great, including corals and a skunk cleaner shrimp so it's not water quality (which also tests fine).

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

Awhile back, I was in a similar situation where I had amphipod everywhere I looked. I noticed that the amphipods were bothering my corals and reducing my copepod populations by eating them. I would say that you need to find something to eat some of them.

 

[Spydersweb]

I'm a little envious of your position! My system is less then 6 months old and I've been trying to establish a solid pod population for weeks now.

I first added 5000+ of the Algaebarn product directly to my refugium. That jar looked like just water but the instructions assured me they may not be visible to the naked eye. No big deal...but I didn't see any "adults" so I kept looking for more options.

Then I introduced about 500 pods using a much larger sized amphipod pack from Aquarium Depot ... these guys were very visible but seemed to completely disappear after a week. Crazy thing is there's nothing that can be predating them in the sump and they are not making it to my DT. I have plenty of detritus in there, in fact I've been avoiding cleaning the sump just for the benefit of the amphipod population. Everything else in the tank is doing great, including corals and a skunk cleaner shrimp so it's not water quality (which also tests fine).

Anyone else have this problem?

I used aquarium depot’s amphipods too. I see them from time to time in the aquarium, sump, and hiding in the tiny spaces on the sides of the overflow. I use filter socks, and the funny thing is, every time I remove them to clean them, there are dozens of them just hanging out in the filter socks (best place to find detritus to eat). Some of them I dump in the sump, and some of them I feed to the fish each time. They’re great at hiding though, so even if you only see them once in awhile, there could be hundreds of them in the aquarium.

 

[azreefkeeper]

I used aquarium depot’s amphipods too. I see them from time to time in the aquarium, sump, and hiding in the tiny spaces on the sides of the overflow. I use filter socks, and the funny thing is, every time I remove them to clean them, there are dozens of them just hanging out in the filter socks (best place to find detritus to eat). Some of them I dump in the sump, and some of them I feed to the fish each time. They’re great at hiding though, so even if you only see them once in awhile, there could be hundreds of them in the aquarium.

I gave up trying to find them during the day but even the nighttime spying with a red light has been fruitless. I suppose it's just a matter of time. There are plenty of other areas to focus on given that it's such a young tank. At some point I'm hoping to introduce a blue or green Mandarin but that may need to wait until next year. Glad to hear that others have to play hide and seek with them on occasion though.

 

[PhreeByrd]

IMO, it's not possible to have too many copepods or amphipods. As others have noted, their populations are self-regulating depending upon food supply.

How large are your wrasses? They are generally very dedicated hunters of 'pods, but if they are small fish, they may be avoiding the larger amphipods.

 

[Mathieu.lafleur1992]

IMO, it's not possible to have too many copepods or amphipods. As others have noted, their populations are self-regulating depending upon food supply.

How large are your wrasses? They are generally very dedicated hunters of 'pods, but if they are small fish, they may be avoiding the larger amphipods.

They are big enough to get them and they do, I see them eat in the rock all day but at night when they sleep, or do whatever fish do at night, the pods get out of the rocks and you can see how big of a colony it is. Makes me think that my wrasses can get enough of them to effectivly affect the population number.

Might get a dragonet, I've heard that they feed at night.

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

Might get a dragonet, I've heard that they feed at night.

I would not recommend this. Dragonets have small mouths and do not eat many amphipods. They eat much smaller copepods, and an extremely large amount of them.

 

[Squidward]

Copepods would be nice but amphipods are annoying.

 

[CherBear811]

They look like amphipods from what I could look online. Thanks for the ID.

I've got a solar fairy, a six line and melanurus.. I assumed that they would at least hurt a bit the pod population but it doesn't seems like it.

So I take from this that there's no big issue from having that many? At some point I had the same problem with bristleworm but I think the pod population boom reduced the numbers of bristleworms loll.

Thanks

That melanaurus should keep them from becoming out of control, but like others have said, food will regulate their population most.

 

[PhreeByrd]

Copepods would be nice but amphipods are annoying.

I don't want to sidetrack the thread, but I'm curious about why you say this.

 

[Squidward]

I don't want to sidetrack the thread, but I'm curious about why you say this.

Mandarins don't eat them. Few claim they do. I've never seen mines eat them. When they get overpopulated, they can irritate zoas etc.