How to control the amphipods population

[vt4lifecuf]

Hi Everyone,
My display tank has high amphipods population

. At night whenever i put on my flash light i see these critters all over the place, is there any fish or shrimp that will keep their population in check?
Thanks
V.

 

[markeo99]

depending how big a tank you have mandarins are a awsome fish but they will eradicate all the pods in a short time and then starve in a small tank
55 gal with lots of live rock is about right

 

[vincent6396]

Have the same problem, so I just got a mandarin dragonet. I read that they eat them and the mandarin looks cool too.

 

[vt4lifecuf]

i got 90 gallon tank and i bought mandarin dragonet two days ago but i dont think he is eating the pods...please help

 

[reefforbrains]

All uneaten pods will self regulate in numbers. No harm will come from an temp elevated population.

 

[renogaw]

but a harm can occur by adding a mandarin to take care of a short term pod population increase...if you cant longterm take care of the mandarin, you're sentensing it to death. a 55 gallon is a tad small IMO. especially since they don't eat amphipods, just copepods
you would be better off to add a 6line or something.

 

[vt4lifecuf]

thanks for the advices, i guess i will return the mandarin and get 6 line wrasses or something. Would amphipods harm soft corals? mushroom or polyps?

 

[mr_x]

pods are good for your tank. you should not look at them as pests. they are a great cleanup crew and a great food source for the tank.
copepods and amphipods will not harm corals.

 

[vt4lifecuf]

thats great thanks for the tips. Everytime i clean my filter some of them half of half size of a penny. Plus my tank is over populated by the snails that grow out of rocks, it look like shape of a cone and it release little web. So consider my tank is in good shape?

 

[calaxa]

I've never heard of anyone complaining about pod population. Scoop some out and pass along to friends. The population will regulate themselves out over time. You could try adding a nocturnal predator if you really want to control them. I wish I had your problems.

 

[bojik]

If you have an attached refuge with a high pod population you can keep a dragonet in almost any size a tank much easier. Having lots of LR in a pile for a 'pod farm' also helps. People have kept dragonets in the larger nano cubes for extended periods of time. But, it is still a difficult task even if you can get them to start eating enriched frozen foods and/or mysis.