Copepod dwellings

[Bevobud@hotmail.com]

I have a 28 gallon aquapod, planning to get a mandarin and populate the tank with copepods. I have live rick but it is all Tonga and doesn't provide many crevices for the copepods to take refuge. I wanted to ask what would be the best way to provide cover for the copepods to hide and hopefully procreate to provide a good source of food for the mandarins.

[jtrux]

I have a 28 gallon aquapod, planning to get a mandarin and populate the tank with copepods. I have live rick but it is all Tonga and doesn't provide many crevices for the copepods to take refuge. I wanted to ask what would be the best way to provide cover for the copepods to hide and hopefully procreate to provide a good source of food for the mandarins.


I have this green grass stuff in my sump that they love to hang out in, don't know how you feel about it in your display though.

[Bevobud@hotmail.com]

yeah macro algae was one of my first ideas i was thinkin i would put it in the back put that stuff spreads like wildfire

[zcatzmeow]

Hey! Welcome fellow Mandarin adventurer! :bigsmile:

I have a 28g and have had a Mandarin for several months now. I culture my own pods and try to keep the tank stocked.

My humble two cents I've learned along the way.:

- First, make sure the Mandarin you buy is eating either live shrimps or frozen foods. They do exist, I bought one! He eats everything.

- Prior to Mandarin saturate tank with a couple order of mixed pods.

- My rock is really holey and I will admit it seems to make a big difference. I can see swarms of copepods in all the little holes.

- If you can't put in a piece or two of cave-y type rock, then make a Pod Pile....a small stack of rubble near the back of the tank. Some people use sponge material, but I find it gets too dirty. IMHO, I've found the best rubble to be those old fungia skeletons. There are TONS of grooves and pods love them. Some times I have to move the rubble and I squeal when picking up the fungia rubble because pods run out all over my hand :blushing:

- Culture your own pods to replenish the main tank. I've got two things running for that:
- HOB refuge with macro algae pod heaven

- Tiny separate culture tank...bought at Walmart for like $10 bucks. It has all you need, a light and a miniature air stone and pump.
- When you are stocking your pods in your display, fuge, or culture tank, buy from several different sources and of course buy a bottle of Tiggerpods.
- If in a fuge or separate tank, the best macro I've found is chaeto and sea lettuce. They love both types.

It is a bit embarrassing how long I could ramble on about pods, culturing and resources so rather than give you too much info I'll stop here. If you want more details just holler :bigsmile:

Here's a pick of Beemer, King of the Nano

http://lh6.ggpht.com/zcatzmeow/R8tDNO9S7uI/AAAAAAAAAqI/IC2pO8w50mM/s800/DSC00428.JPG

[Rychek]

Wow! Beemer looks great! Not to hijack the thread, but where are good places to get live copepods other than Tiggerpods (I know where I can get those)?

Another option for copepod dwellings is to take some eggcrate (or something similar) and build a box/tube, stuff some cheato in it and place it in an out of the way part of your tank. Basically it works like a pod pile, but with cheato. If you need to get the pods out, just give is a few shakes. Admittedly this method works best if you put it in a fuge/culture tank.

[zcatzmeow]

Thank you for the Beemer compliments :bigsmile: He is quite the stud, heehee.

Okay, here are pics from my pod culture set-up:


http://lh3.ggpht.com/zcatzmeow/SBKf15SFw7I/AAAAAAAABQo/hce8nwnV_D0/s800/DSC00470.JPG



http://lh3.ggpht.com/zcatzmeow/SBKf25SFw8I/AAAAAAAABQw/OMoiNg9BJDs/s800/DSC00471.JPG

Greenish, cloudy water is good!


http://lh4.ggpht.com/zcatzmeow/SBKf5JSFw-I/AAAAAAAABRA/jmKeVq0sKSE/s800/DSC00473.JPG

Image of large pod...amphipod, I believe.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/zcatzmeow/R_z8iCtqRfI/AAAAAAAABJM/ADa5OrrCGGo/s800/DSC00681.JPG

Babies! Lots of amphipods, but note other pod types too. I actually get out magnifying glass and observe them :nerd:

[zcatzmeow]

Wow! Beemer looks great! Not to hijack the thread, but where are good places to get live copepods other than Tiggerpods (I know where I can get those)?

Another option for copepod dwellings is to take some eggcrate (or something similar) and build a box/tube, stuff some cheato in it and place it in an out of the way part of your tank. Basically it works like a pod pile, but with cheato. If you need to get the pods out, just give is a few shakes. Admittedly this method works best if you put it in a fuge/culture tank.

Whee! This topic is entirely too fun for me :lauging:

I have several sources that are awesome and I'd order again from them in a heartbeat. (in fact I have ordered on multiple occasions) I'm a huge believer in diversity and each supplier has had different pods in their mix.

http://www.oceanpods.com/ - primo pods, supplier is a scientist in the field and very friendly to e-mail if you have questions

http://www.ipsf.com/podbreedingkit.html - awesome kit, I used it to start off with, comes with big mat of sea lettuce, flake food, and tons of large pods which breed like crazy

Piece of the Reef (http://stores.ebay.com/Piece-of-the-Reef_Food-Salt-Water_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ7979682QQftidZ2QQtZkm )
One of my favorites and have ordered on several occasions. You get all sorts of groovy stuff with their packages. It's like a great big scoop of the ocean floor. Comes with tons of nerite snails, lots of different pods, and there was even an emerald crab hitchhiker one time. She packs her stuff using a lot of filter floss which is convenient. You can swish the pads out in the tank water, or tuck them in the tank for a day or two and let the pods crawl out on their own :)

[crabman]

I have several sources that are awesome and I'd order again from them in a heartbeat. (in fact I have ordered on multiple occasions)
maybe a group order on pods wouldn't be a bad idea? there seem to be many interested, and i know i am!

[zcatzmeow]

maybe a group order on pods wouldn't be a bad idea? there seem to be many interested, and i know i am!

I will always buy more pods. I'm addicted and there is no way to overstock a mandarin tank with pods :blushing:


~ Z :heart:'s Pods ~

[crabman]

i'm up for that, do you know of any places that might give a group discount? maybe others will want in.

[zcatzmeow]

i'm up for that, do you know of any places that might give a group discount? maybe others will want in.

Not off-hand, but I can ask the suppliers I've ordered from before. Maybe they will be friendly to repeat buyer :)

[crabman]

Not off-hand, but I can ask the suppliers I've ordered from before. Maybe they will be friendly to repeat buyer :)
that would be awesome! and with this particular product we might become repeat group buyers!

[apedroza]

Also a little it of live rubble in one of the back compartments will provide a nice haven for pods, while also supplying your tank!!!

[SoLiD]

I'd buy a small masonry drill bit and commence to making as many small holes (Swiss Cheese Effect) in your live rock with out making it too brittle\weak. This will give your pods a place to hide and reproduce. It works well. I know because I did it about 6 months ago on some base rock and I've already seen the difference in my pod population. Be sure to have another bucket full of RO water on stand by to thoroughly rinse the sediment from your newly drilled rock or it will cloud up your water. Also don't leave your rock out to long or you'll have more than the usual amount of die off which in turn will give you an ammonia sp-ike (had to put the -dash- because of the forum word filter) . Give it a try & trust me, it works.

PS most pods need to eat some sort of phytoplankton to live and reproduce, so you'll need to feed your tank some phyto regularly for them to proliferate.

-David

[Rychek]

Thanks for the info catz! A group order would indeed be an interesting proposition.

[mattymalcolm]

if yall do a group order let me know.

[mattymalcolm]

I have heard you aat least a 1 year old tank with 90 pounds of live rock. There are things you can do though.( for a dragonet)

[Jonthefishguy]

For every reef system that I start up for a customer, I decaspulate 2 Tbl sp of brine eggs and add them to the refug. In about a months time, there is a boom of life in the mains tank and below. The brine become food for every little critter and fish in the system. Soon the amount of pods starts becoming noticeable. Just a helpful tip for you all out there.

[zcatzmeow]

For every reef system that I start up for a customer, I decaspulate 2 Tbl sp of brine eggs and add them to the refug. In about a months time, there is a boom of life in the mains tank and below. The brine become food for every little critter and fish in the system. Soon the amount of pods starts becoming noticeable. Just a helpful tip for you all out there.

Ooh! Great idea! I'm going to have to try that :bigsmile:

[rocketeer]

I'he heard that Cell-Pore has openings a good size for copepods and maybe too small for amphipods. It might be a safe haven for the little guys. Just throw in a brick or some cubes.

I always thought that mandarin dragonettes eat copepods and not amphipods or mysis, live that is.

Here's a link:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4169

Jack

[fjr_wertheimber]

LOL Her mandarin eats copepods... mysis... frozen bloodworms... PE mysis... brine (frozen and live)... Basically, if he can fit it in his mouth he's on it. Well, except for all the "food for finicky fish" stuff being sold by various vendors... He absolutely turns up his nose at that stuff...

[zcatzmeow]

I'he heard that Cell-Pore has openings a good size for copepods and maybe too small for amphipods. It might be a safe haven for the little guys. Just throw in a brick or some cubes.

I always thought that mandarin dragonettes eat copepods and not amphipods or mysis, live that is.

Here's a link:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4169

Jack

Weird. Well, I am certainly not an expert :) Just someone researching as much as possible and doing everything I can to make sure my Beemer is eating. Please, please don't think I'm trying to say I know all there is about copepods and Mandarins....I just do a lot of research :)

There is just so much varied information out there regarding Mandarins. I was very much of the mind set that I could not maintain a Mandarin in a 29g after reading all that I had online. There are some people who have succeeded but they are often jumped on by the Mandarin police, lol, and they rarely speak out. There is no way that I would ever feel comfortable sharing my Mandarin adventures with a board like nano-reef.

What really changed my mind and lead me to believe that just like any other fish, what works some doesn't work for others, was my trip to True Percula in Dallas. For the first time ever I saw a tank full of Mandarins and they were all eating frozen/live foods. They fed the tank right in front of us and those Mandarins went to town chasing all the food down. Then, another shopper at the store just happened to stop and talk with us telling us she had kept something like 2 Mandarins in a >20g nano for well over a year. :confused: I was shocked, but I did grab my Beemer right on the spot to give it a go.

I have read many sites that include the larger amphipods in the Mandarin's diet. Perhaps they like the babies or juvenille's? Or maybe it is dependent on the size of the Mandarin? It would be entirely possible for Beemer to eat something the size of an amphipod. I couldn't believe that he was eating the large mysis the other day. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought they would fit in his mouth.

Here is another oddity. I'm 95% sure that Beemer eats flatworms too. I have a problem with copepod eating flatworms in my fuge. I stuck Beem in there for a day and he cleared them out! I've never seen even 1 flatworm turn up in my main display. Strange stuff :p

[p00num3lli]

yea, i have the perfect rocks 4 cope's. im about to start raising them my self and get a mandrin...beautifull fish they are. but neways you should try getting smaller rocks and piling them up in a corner... that i hear works great.

gl and happy reefing.

[ErikH]

My mandy eats nori, I haven't seen any others do that as of yet. very little, VERY fat.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x315/erikharrison/Fish/DSC_0058Medium.jpg

I have a bunch of manmade rock, and the pods invaded it. :bigsmile:

[Richard]

http://lh3.ggpht.com/zcatzmeow/R_z8iCtqRfI/AAAAAAAABJM/ADa5OrrCGGo/s800/DSC00681.JPG

Babies! Lots of amphipods, but note other pod types too. I actually get out magnifying glass and observe them :nerd:


Looks like some of the smaller pods on the glass are munnid isopods. Great critters and good food for mandarins. They are herbivores and ulva is one of the best foods for them, good for amphipods to. So you'll need to buy more ulva from time to time. It takes awhile but they will eventually eat it all.

[zcatzmeow]

Looks like some of the smaller pods on the glass are munnid isopods. Great critters and good food for mandarins. They are herbivores and ulva is one of the best foods for them, good for amphipods to. So you'll need to buy more ulva from time to time. It takes awhile but they will eventually eat it all.

Awesome! Thank you for the ID :) I do need to pick up more sea lettuce. Not too many places carry the stuff :(

[zcatzmeow]

My mandy eats nori, I haven't seen any others do that as of yet. very little, VERY fat.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x315/erikharrison/Fish/DSC_0058Medium.jpg

I have a bunch of manmade rock, and the pods invaded it. :bigsmile:

That looks like a fat, happy little fish :) I hear a lot about the nori, but have yet to try it out. I'd like to see what Beem thinks of it.

[Richard]

You can usually get ulva from some of the macro suppliers in this thread.
http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=30846

Although they all seem be in the process of redoing their systems right now so they're not shipping. I've ordered from Gulf Coast Ecosystems (http://live-plants.com/). They have good prices but they're moving and won't be shipping again until june.

ORA also sells it sometimes so you can ask your LFS to keep an eye out for some if they order from ORA.

[Richard]

Oh, Sachs (http://www.aquaculturestore.com/swinverts.html) and LiveBrineShrimp (http://www.livebrineshrimp.com/) both have ulva. Sachs is also a good source for starter pod cultures (a mix of different species).

[zcatzmeow]

Looks like some of the smaller pods on the glass are munnid isopods. Great critters and good food for mandarins. They are herbivores and ulva is one of the best foods for them, good for amphipods to. So you'll need to buy more ulva from time to time. It takes awhile but they will eventually eat it all.

What about this isopod? Maybe too big? :innocent2:


http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2006/07/060710164527.jpg

:lauging: :lmao2: :rofl:

[zcatzmeow]

Oh, Sachs (http://www.aquaculturestore.com/swinverts.html) and LiveBrineShrimp (http://www.livebrineshrimp.com/) both have ulva. Sachs is also a good source for starter pod cultures (a mix of different species).

Wonderful links! Thank you! :)

[Rychek]

What about this isopod? Maybe too big? :innocent2:


http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2006/07/060710164527.jpg

:lauging: :lmao2: :rofl:

I'd like to see a mandarin big enough to eat that sucker! :eek: :D

[longhorna95]

this article is great! I am getting a nano 24 gallon, down sizing from a 75, and putting a fuge with it to help out my mandarin! Its my favorite fish and i was worried how he would do but after all this I feel ok to try and keep him! I do see him eat some frozen mysis shirmp so that also gives me hope!

[ErikH]

Let's not get crazy here, don't go putting mandarins in too small of a tank. 29 is alright, 24, meh, no smaller IMO. Any smaller would probably make them feel like they were in jail. My tiny mandy is ALL OVER my 75. :) Not the police, but it's better to be able to keep one successfully without praying for it to eat frozen. PLEASE know that you may end up buying live foods for these animals, and the above mentioned advice is great, but unless you follow the advice given, you'll just end up killing fish. :)

Sorry, I have a thing for mandarins...

[crabman]

for people interested in the group orders, there has been one started in the group order section! go sign up!

[longhorna95]

scorpino, I understand what you are saying, I hate loosing fish exspecially when it the owners fualt, I am adding a refuge to my nano so hopefuly myn will do ok. I have read other suggestions that every week swap out refuge rocks where copepods live and it will help make sure they have food. And I also understand that I will sometimes have to supplement live copepods until I can visibly see a "big" copepod population in my refuge.