Tigger Farm

[tebstan]

I'm going to try raising some tigger pods. I love these little red bugs! They're fun to watch and fun to feed. (Could I be a bigger nerd?)

I've got a fresh batch of live pods to start with. I've got an old 10 gallon with an eclipse hood, and an air pump. I'll fill the 10g halfway, but won't use the eclipse light or filter. Ambient light should be enough, I just want the lid on there to prevent evaporation.

I'll be feeding with DT's phyto, since I already have some. Of course Reef Nutrition recommends Phyto Feast. I can't yet find an unbiased source to say the DT's acceptable. But the tigger pods need mostly brown micro, and can digest some green micro. DT's does contain some brown, but not as much as Phyto Feast.

I'll see how it goes with the DT's for a few weeks. I might have to look into getting some Phyto Feast, but I'd rather not add yet another reef food into the fridge if I don't have to.

If anyone has tried this or has any ideas, let me know.

[ErikH]

Just watch those levels in that small of a tank! :)

Yeah, we're all nerds, don't feel bad. :D

[tebstan]

I thought 10g (well, 5) was generous. At LMAR, someone (Randy Reed?) mentioned growing them in a deep baking pan. That seemed a little extreme, and too open to kitten visitors.

[ErikH]

haha, that's a tad too volatile for my liking! So this is a species only tank? :p

[loans_n_fishes]

You could add some seahorses for 2 species--but it would be a species only tank again in a few hours. :) Hey, if you are able to raise the guys, keep us updated. I would love to do this. A while back, I was considering drilling a few holes in one of those plexiglass containers that hang on the side of the tank. (A lot of fish stores use them to plop new fish in). Then, I would add some algae for them to hide in. I was hoping they would breed and some of them would explore the outside world delighting my seahorses/fish at their arrival. Just in time for dinner!

BTW: I affectionately refer to MAAST as my "fish nerd group". You are among friends! LOL

[loans_n_fishes]

The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is they're the only one!!! (That is: red and really cool to watch)

[tebstan]

The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is they're the only one!!! (That is: red and really cool to watch)

haha... I think that in my head all the time. :D They're mesmerizing. I love what Reef Nutrition has on their website:


They swim upwards with a stimulating, jerky swimming motion which is attractive to both fish and people.

[tebstan]

I was going to post pics, but it just looks like a half empty tank.

The tank is in an unused room (where all the exercise equipment is...) but I keep finding myself in there with my nose against the glass. I'm a little concerned about the temperature, its only 74. Tigger-Pods.com doesn't have a recommended temperature, and I just don't trust those heaters that claim to be rated for 5 gallons.

I'm considering getting them a fake plant to crawl around on after seeing them this morning. They were all converged in the corners, and I panicked thinking they hadn't survived the night. But they seem fine. Possibly avoiding the current? I've got two air diffusers being held down with pvc bits, they were on the opposite side from those.

I'm unsure about feeding as well. The recommendation is to tint the water green. And the pics they showed at LMAR definitely had very green water. But I poured in quite a bit and it doesn't look green... I'm afraid to foul the water with it. I'll be getting some Phyto Feast this weekend, maybe that will make a difference.

[tebstan]

Update...

I was afraid it was a failed attempt for a while there. Nothing seemed to be happening.

Reef Nutrition sells the live pods as a food source, not necessarily as a culture to start a tigger farm. Most of the pods were adults, and died off quickly. The few babies that were left to repopulate didn't look like much in the vast empty space of 5 gallons.

Finally, it looks like some breeding and growing is happening in there. Every two or three days I siphon and replace 1 to 2 quarts, using an airline tube. The last few cleanings, its become impossible to avoid sucking out some pods along with dirty water. I hate to sacrifice some when the population is just budding, but it's a good sign that they're dense enough for it to happen. It's still far from crowded in there, so I'm a long way from feeding tiggers to the main tank.

I expected it to happen faster. Maybe I was too optimistic. Maybe starting with green instead of brown algae stunted the pace. Maybe the cool temperature lowers the survival rate. I'm just grateful there's stuff alive and swimming.

[SoLiD]

Any news.... Have you been successful???

[tebstan]

There is marginal success. I'm waiting a while to make the call. It may still fail, if I'm not diligent. Cleanliness is the issue. If I slack on cleaning they'll all croak, but there's no way to filter the tank. It's just small cleanings every other day.

I put a heater on today. It was a little chilly at 68... I'm actually surprised they survived that cold spell we just had. The numbers have increased, so they're troopers. Hopefully the warmer water will speed things up for me. I brought home some pod eaters today, it will be nice to have a source of food growing in the next room. :)

[tebstan]

I came home last night to a pod massacre. I was heartbroken. It was that stray emotion between sadness and anger. What did I do wrong?

They had just started to breed, the numbers were increasing, the water was staying clean but green. All was good. And then, mass death. Little pod bodies floating about, mocking my efforts. :(

The only change was the heater. I was worried about the low temperature, so added a small heater to the tank. I made a horrible rookie mistake... I didn't clean it first. I clean all my own equipment before storage, but this wasn't mine. Long story short, I put bug killing stuff in my bug breeding tank. :(

I'm discouraged, for sure. But I'll try again. It was just getting good. I'll clean the tank this weekend, and the heater, and prepare to start fresh.

[Europhyllia]

Sorry. The thing I heard about Tigger pods is that they are not tropical so they generally don't do as well in reef tanks as other kinds of pods because reef tanks may be too hot for them long term (kind of like Margarita snails)
Maybe they would do better without a heater -cleaned or not?