PODS: Should you see them in your tank?

Do you actively see "pods" in your reef aquarium?

  • No never

    Votes: 99 13.7%
  • Very seldom

    Votes: 193 26.7%
  • Yes often

    Votes: 291 40.2%
  • Yes a ton of them

    Votes: 125 17.3%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 15 2.1%

  • Total voters
    723

threebuoys

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Wow that's awesome, threebuoys! do you have chaeto in your sump? what do you have down there? i was hoping to just get away with seeding the extra live rock i have down there?
I do not have chaeto. wish I had room for it. I'm a bit unconventional. I do not have rocks or bricks in my sump. I have filter foam for my biological media in the sump. Several large thick flat pieces. They are crawling with pods. Some in the chamber before the sump, some in the sump chamber, and some in the chamber after the sump before the return chamber.
 

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal

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I have huge explosions of copepods during/after cycling but cannot keep them after the tank has settled no matter how many I add and how much I attempt to feed them. Though I do have a healthy amount of amphipods at all times.

I love having them when possible for the fish' sake and to watch them do their thing.
Your amphipods are eating the copepods.
 

michelle_y

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Today let's talk copepods, amphipods, pods in general and more specifically should you see them active in your reef tank! "Let’s just get this straight: Copepods are always a good thing to have in an aquarium. First, they do absolutely no harm. In fact, because their favorite food is stuff like suspended particulate matter, detritus, and film algae, they add punch to your clean-up crew. They are also an excellent, natural, nutritious food source for corals and small reef fish." - AlgaeBarn

1. Do you actively see "pods" in your reef aquarium? None, a little, a lot?

2. Do you care if you have "pods" in your tank or not?


image via @alex.mccann99
4d27bebc0a9020e6342116f2a157bbed.jpg
 

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Spieg

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Being a food source for most critters in your tank, they don't really come out much with the lights on. If you use a flashlight at night you should see them out and about though.
 

James_O

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1. Do you actively see "pods" in your reef aquarium? None, a little, a lot?
Very seldom during the day. During the night however? They are EVERYWHERE.


2. Do you care if you have "pods" in your tank or not?
As long as their population stays in check, I’m ok with it. They do a decent job of CUC.

Mu dottyback eats any and every pod he sees, so I’m happy about that.
 

Wick3d_1

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I dose pods and baby brine. Then feed phytoplankton, I have a Mandarin to keep happy. But I do see them in my display at night, they swarm in the water column. They are stupid dense in our fuge.
 

ClownWrangler

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Amphipods can definitely wreak havoc if the population gets out of control. I have seen them aggressively steal food from corals and anemones and irritate BTAs to the point of deflating. I caught a few large ones devouring a $30 dragons breath algae frag. This has made me think twice about a fishles tank. You need predators to keep the population down, otherwise it will get out of control.
 

bnord

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Amphipods can definitely wreak havoc if the population gets out of control. I have seen them aggressively steal food from corals and anemones and irritate BTAs to the point of deflating. I caught a few large ones devouring a $30 dragons breath algae frag. This has made me think twice about a fishles tank. You need predators to keep the population down, otherwise it will get out of control.
 

The Fry

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Today let's talk copepods, amphipods, pods in general and more specifically should you see them active in your reef tank! "Let’s just get this straight: Copepods are always a good thing to have in an aquarium. First, they do absolutely no harm. In fact, because their favorite food is stuff like suspended particulate matter, detritus, and film algae, they add punch to your clean-up crew. They are also an excellent, natural, nutritious food source for corals and small reef fish." - AlgaeBarn

1. Do you actively see "pods" in your reef aquarium? None, a little, a lot?

2. Do you care if you have "pods" in your tank or not?


image via @alex.mccann99
4d27bebc0a9020e6342116f2a157bbed.jpg
Im starting with saltwater.... getting my tank in a month or few weeks.. Are these harmful? Will they kill perculas? Will they kill anemones? How to control them in a 10g? If i see them should i do a 100% water change??? Oh god these crustaceans are scary (they are crustaceans right?)..... The amount of stress in marine, phew!
 

DannoOMG

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I have little ones all over the glass on the tank at work. I've never seen them that big.
 

Dburr1014

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My vote is other.
In display, sometimes see them but I'm sure they get eaten pretty quick.
Now if you look in my sump, that's where you can find a ton of them running around. In the refuge, around the rocks, all over.
 

KeepSwimming12

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Wish I knew your secret
I have a mandarin that eats copepods. I think the biggest mistake that people have made with copepods is not thinking to feed them. People think nutrients in the water is enough. I’ve started dosing frozen cyclopods into my tank by injecting them into the rockwork. Since then, my copepod population has exploded and I see them everywhere on my glass and on the rockwork now. Good luck!
 

Nicklepickle

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Today let's talk copepods, amphipods, pods in general and more specifically should you see them active in your reef tank! "Let’s just get this straight: Copepods are always a good thing to have in an aquarium. First, they do absolutely no harm. In fact, because their favorite food is stuff like suspended particulate matter, detritus, and film algae, they add punch to your clean-up crew. They are also an excellent, natural, nutritious food source for corals and small reef fish." - AlgaeBarn

1. Do you actively see "pods" in your reef aquarium? None, a little, a lot?

2. Do you care if you have "pods" in your tank or not?


image via @alex.mccann99
4d27bebc0a9020e6342116f2a157bbed.jpg
 

mattdg

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My spotted Mandarin keeps them on their toes, so I don't see them out in the open too often. If I take a second to look in / around / under coral and rockwork, I can always find someone skittering around.
 

New2Reefn

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I have trouble seeing copepods in my refugium. I have seen them in the containers when I add them so I know they are there. My refugium is a translucent HDPE container with an open top. How do I see them best?
Try putting a red lens (red balloon will work) over a flashlight after lights out and check, I never see mine in the daylight but with this trick can see them scurrying everywhere after lights out
 

REEFTIDE

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We put mandarins in our tanks. I've found that overtime if you let the pods take over they can start irritating things and its so much easier to deal with the problem before its actually a problem than it is to scurry afterwards lol
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 44 48.9%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 48 53.3%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 21 23.3%
  • None.

    Votes: 23 25.6%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 10.0%
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