Why Copepods sold with Phytoplankton?

[Obriy]

I've learned from different sources that copepods are consuming diatoms and it is good to add pods after a new tank cycled and diatoms started growing in a tank.
When shopping for copepods, I see that they are often paired with Phytoplankton because Phytoplankton is copepods' food.
Question - do I really need Phytoplankton at this stage? Because, if the pods are fed, why would they want to consume diatoms? I have no corals yet, so coral food isn't needed.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

The phyto has other benefits, but for the copepods specifically it helps the larva in their free-floating stage. If you want to accelerate their reproduction, phyto is the way to go

 

[Joe Kennedy]

The phyto has other benefits, but for the copepods specifically it helps the larva in their free-floating stage. If you want to accelerate their reproduction, phyto is the way to go

Agree with the above message from @ZzyzxRiver. In our experience of culturing dense populations of copepods, we wanted to research different foods we could add / supplement / or exclusively feed to get the best populations.

Live Phytoplankton produced the best results hands down by a factor of around 10x the densities compared to the other options. We tried everything from fish food, pellets, reef roids, dried phyto, "dead"/shelf stable phyto, spirulina, yeast varieties, various protein powders and nothing compared to Live Phyto.

 

[DaJMasta]

Diatoms are a kind of phytoplankton. I culture some diatoms (Chaetoceros gracilis) to feed to my copepods along with other non-diatom kinds of phytoplankton. Different species will eat different things, but most available copepods can eat several kinds of phytoplankton, so you raise them on what's convenient to culture in high density and they can still eat other things.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Hi there,

In a new tank, copepods can survive on diatoms and other available food sources, but they may not thrive without phytoplankton. While they can eat diatoms, having phytoplankton as a supplemental food source is beneficial for their health and reproduction.

If phytoplankton isn't present, the copepods might struggle to establish a robust population, especially if other food sources are limited. So while they won’t necessarily starve immediately, providing phytoplankton will help ensure they grow and reproduce successfully in the new environment. Here at AlgaeBarn, we offer pod and phyto combo packs. They provide everything you need to ensure your copepods have a consistent and nutritious food source, helping them grow and thrive in your new tank. This ultimately contributes to a healthier tank ecosystem.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Hi there,

In a new tank, copepods can survive on diatoms and other available food sources, but they may not thrive without phytoplankton. While they can eat diatoms, having phytoplankton as a supplemental food source is beneficial for their health and reproduction.

I dose phyto at the recommended levels but often find myself annoyed at how much it ends up on the glass. Is that just part of the gig or does that mean I’m doing something wrong?

 

[twentyleagues]

I dose phyto at the recommended levels but often find myself annoyed at how much it ends up on the glass. Is that just part of the gig or does that mean I’m doing something wrong?

Whenever my glass is "dirty" I find tons of pods on it too. So at least in my tank it isnt going to waste.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

I dose phyto at the recommended levels but often find myself annoyed at how much it ends up on the glass. Is that just part of the gig or does that mean I’m doing something wrong?

It’s totally normal for phytoplankton to settle on surfaces in your tank, including the glass. This is just part of the natural process, since not all of it gets consumed right away by your copepods or other tank inhabitants.

Having good water movement can help spread the phyto around and reduce what settles on the glass. And don’t forget, a little regular cleaning goes a long way! Wiping down the glass during your routine maintenance is a great way to keep things looking sharp.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Whenever my glass is "dirty" I find tons of pods on it too. So at least in my tank it isnt going to waste.

Happy pods! Win Win!

 

[saltyfish24]

Here at AlgaeBarn, we offer pod and phyto combo packs. They provide everything you need to ensure your copepods have a consistent and nutritious food source, helping them grow and thrive in your new tank. This ultimately contributes to a healthier tank ecosystem.

Do the phyto you sell reproduce in our home aquarium if there is enough light and nutrients? If there's a continuous source of nitrates or ammonia in the aquarium and enough light, will the AlgaeBarn phyto "grow" and perpetuate in the home aquarium?

 

[damsels are not mean]

Copepods are fed phytoplankton because we know how to culture that. I don't think it matters much. It also might depend on species or genus (maybe the ones that actually live in the tank are grazers and the ones that come in bottles stay in the water column) The copepods I see in my tank appear when there are diatoms growing on the glass.

 

[Garf]

It’s totally normal for phytoplankton to settle on surfaces in your tank, including the glass.

Is there evidence available that confirms that the species on the glass is the same as the phyto dosed. I've always thought that an induced film algae on glass was just a bloom of "something else".

 

[jdpeters]

Hi there,

In a new tank, copepods can survive on diatoms and other available food sources, but they may not thrive without phytoplankton. While they can eat diatoms, having phytoplankton as a supplemental food source is beneficial for their health and reproduction.

If phytoplankton isn't present, the copepods might struggle to establish a robust population, especially if other food sources are limited. So while they won’t necessarily starve immediately, providing phytoplankton will help ensure they grow and reproduce successfully in the new environment. Here at AlgaeBarn, we offer pod and phyto combo packs. They provide everything you need to ensure your copepods have a consistent and nutritious food source, helping them grow and thrive in your new tank. This ultimately contributes to a healthier tank ecosystem.

Does algaebarn suggest waiting for initial cycle to be complete before adding your pods or is there benefit to adding them during a fish in cycle?

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Does algaebarn suggest waiting for initial cycle to be complete before adding your pods or is there benefit to adding them during a fish in cycle?

Hi there! Pods can be added as soon as the cycle is completed. If adding the copepods before the cycle is complete, they may not survive any ammonia and nitrite spikes so best to wait until the cycle is complete. Once added you will also want to be dosing live phytoplankton to be sure the pods have something to eat.

 

[afboundguy]

Diatoms are a kind of phytoplankton. I culture some diatoms (Chaetoceros gracilis) to feed to my copepods along with other non-diatom kinds of phytoplankton. Different species will eat different things, but most available copepods can eat several kinds of phytoplankton, so you raise them on what's convenient to culture in high density and they can still eat other things.

I mix my 5-7 strands of phyto and feed my copepod cultures the mix and get great results!

I dose phyto at the recommended levels but often find myself annoyed at how much it ends up on the glass. Is that just part of the gig or does that mean I’m doing something wrong?

I don't think it's necessarily the phyto growing on the glass. Your tank would grow a film anyways even without the phyto so you're not doing anything wrong.

I have noticed that when I am dosing phyto regularly the algae film on the glass grows much much slower and is significantly easier to scrape off and I often go days if not a week before scraping it off and it still comes off very easily. Before dosing phyto if I didn't scrape the glass every other day it would be a PITA to scrape off.

 

[afboundguy]

I've learned from different sources that copepods are consuming diatoms and it is good to add pods after a new tank cycled and diatoms started growing in a tank.
When shopping for copepods, I see that they are often paired with Phytoplankton because Phytoplankton is copepods' food.
Question - do I really need Phytoplankton at this stage? Because, if the pods are fed, why would they want to consume diatoms? I have no corals yet, so coral food isn't needed.

As others have mentioned they're shipped with phyto so they have something to eat increasing the chance they survive shipping and keep breeding.

I have two one gallon jars for three of my copepod strands for 6 total and I am dosing small amounts of phyto every 2-3 days as it clears up fast as they eat it all!