What are the shrimp-like creatures living in my filters???

s121n85

New Member
I have a 100 Gal. Fish-Only Tank. I have a Penguin 300 and an Emporer as my filtration. I check my filters every two weeks to see if they need changing. I have notice a shrimp-like creature (Many of them) living only in the filter. I have not lost any fish and have had the tank for 2 years.
I would like to know
1) What are they? and 2) What should I do about them? If anything.
Thanks
 

the rock

Member
the rock says...
shrimp like creatures? could you give a better description of color, size, what they really look like etc. thanks
 

jess

Member
most lickly they are COPA PODS. They are all over your tank. At night when the lights are out, shine a flash light on different spots of your gravel bed and you should see them every. If anything. these little guys a beneficial and will eat tiny bits of waste. They should only get a few millimeters long which makes them almost invisable in the day time. If you have fish that tend to stay at the bottom of the tank like Mandarins they will use them as food. Hope that answers your question.
 

s121n85

New Member
Thanks...Also, I want to build a reef tank. Will my current Filtration devices be able to handle this. Also, I have two 48in. strip lights. How much more will I need?
Thanks for the help.
 

jess

Member
I would recommed getting a really good wet/dry. I have an Eheim 2229, which is a wet/dry and canister put together. Thats would I would use. Also a BERLIN protein skimmer, its one of the best and can be used in a tank as big as 250g For lighting you will need a MARINE-GLO and a POWER-GLO.
[This message has been edited by Jess (edited 02-01-2000).]
 

s121n85

New Member
Thanks...Are you saying that I need two more additional lights, (Marine & Power Glo)? or will the two I have suffice. Everybody keeps telling me more light?
 

damsel

New Member
to keep corals with success you must have 2-5 watts per gallon of water. a deeper tank needs the high end , a shallow would require the low. i don't have coral as i don't have enough light yet but i have been reading, reading, reading. i just checked out "a practical guide to corals for the reef aquarium" by Ed Putterbaugh and Eric Borneman from the library. it is a wonderful resourse. for each coral it has a chart listing lighting needs, water flow, aggressiveness, and difficulty of care. i would highly reccomend it. amazon.com might have it too. good luck.
 

the rock

Member
the rock says....
first question: copepods, second question, yes you will need more than two strip lights to keep any of the LPS or SPS corals. although you will be able to keep mushrooms, colts, leathers, button polyps, star polyps, etc. go with power compacts if you are serious about lots of corals.
 
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