Breeding Copepods

dlux4life

dlux4life

Member
Hi guys-
You might have noticed my other thread I started recenetly regarding my new infatuation with a manderin dragonet. My questions in this thread are really going to be pertaining to the creation and overall continuation of a healthy and productive copepod population. The dream would be to create a population that is self sufficient and could produce enough to feed a manderin dragonet.
As in with anything in this hobby, I am sure that it is not as simple as purchasing these guys and emptying that bottle into the tank. From what I have read, they tend to thive in refugiums (which i do not have set up, nor do I have the desire to establish one simply for the purpose of supporting these little buggas). Is this the only case in which they will thrive? My plan was to slowly introduce a colony into the tank each night (so my two clowns dont immediately see them and eat themselves stupid).
What else would be involved with this process?
I have about 60 lbs of live rock in a 48" long 55 gallon tank. The rock is very pourus and should provide ample room for plenty of sweet copepod on copepod action.
What do they eat? Mainly algea / filter feeders?
Specifics to watch for in water parameters?
Any information on these guys would be very helpful,
Thanks again-
 
xcali1985

xcali1985

Active Member
Truthfully i just dumped 2 bottles into my tank and let them go. You don't have to introduce them slowly. The more at once the better actually because they will start breeding. The more places they have to hide and breed the better.
I have 2 clowns and they dont seem to go after them at all. They are very very small > 1mm long most of the time. Mine are all over the back wall of my tank as its the only one i dont clean. If you don't have anything that strickly eats pods you should be fine breeding them in the tank for a while first.
Ive seen people use filter sponges behind their rocks as a place for them to populate i guess anything with places where they can't be reached is fine. Google "Marco Rocks" thats what I use in my DT and they are thriving in mine with a 3-4" MD.
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
First welcome aboard. If you don't have anything in the tank rightnow that would only make a meal of the pods, it would be O.K. just to dump them in your tank. but after you add the dragonet you need to watch and make sure it is getting enough to eat. Remember for the most part that is all it will eat. So it may not be a bad idea to plan on adding a bottle every few months or so.
 
troy989

troy989

Active Member
i want some info on this also i want a dragonet in the future. i have the biocube i am workin on fuge in the back gona put in some chaeto can i just put them in there?
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by troy989
http:///forum/post/3126579
i want some info on this also i want a dragonet in the future. i have the biocube i am workin on fuge in the back gona put in some chaeto can i just put them in there?
Pod populations flourish when they can breed without fear of predators. So a fuge is the safest place to raise them. Then every now and then you can fish some out and add them to your display tank.
 
xcali1985

xcali1985

Active Member
Originally Posted by troy989
http:///forum/post/3126675
this may sound kind of dumb but when i fish them out how big are they
about 1mm in length. They look like tiny white dots. If you have a black back on your tank you can see them sliding across the glass. Looks like extremely small maggots. Well at least the kind I have do. You don't necessarily need to scoop them up to get them into the DT. They will pass through the return pump unharmed. And into the DT. If you got a fuge I would add them and forget about it.
 
dlux4life

dlux4life

Member
would it be a bad idea to try and raise some in a sump? I know they need porus rock (or some kind of porus material) in order to reproduce. If i were to get some small pourus looking LR pieces to put into my sump, do you feel this could be adiquiate. My sump will only have roughly a gallon of water in it at any point.
And to make sure i understand correctly, they will not be harmed if sucked up through a return pump?
Thanks for all of the help
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Rock rubble would do fine. What type of pods were you looking to get? There are some for sale that are more appropriate for one time target feeding and others that are more suited to seeding refugiums and what not.
The ones we buy for our tanks feed on film and microalgaes such as phytoplankton and diatoms.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Hmmm... it doesn't say what types they are. (but ya better remove the link ... they're not allowed on this forum)
Their will be film algae and bacteria in your sump on the rubble and what not. They also eat any detritus that makes its way down there. You won't get optimal growth this way. You could buy or culture phytoplankton for your tank which would boost your populations tremendously.
Is there a sandbed in your sump? Is it an option to do so?
Do you have any pictures of your setup?
 
dlux4life

dlux4life

Member
I do not have any sand in my sump. I feel as if it could be an option to put some live sand into the sump. I will get pictures of my set up on this thread tonight. I read through the site, and i came to pretty much the same conclusion where it didn't really specify what type of copepods they were.
Would you happen to have any kind of specific reccomendations on brands?
 
dlux4life

dlux4life

Member






Here are a few pictures of my set up including sump. I also have a Coralife Super Skmimmer rated for 125 gallons on the back of the tank right now. No room for that beast inside my sump.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Hmm... ya... I see your limitations.
Is there room in the pump bay for a small plastic container that you could drill little holes in and put some rubble and cheato in?
The "brand" doesn't matter. Just get Tisbe or Pseudocyclops spp.
Try to stay away from Tigriopus califoricus to seed a fuge, we sell them more for target feeding than seeding because they reproduce better at colder temps.
 
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