Increasing iso/amphi/copepod population

S

Shilpan

Member
Hey guys!
400L system, 1 blue sided fairy wrasse, 2 occelaris clowns and 1 bangaii cardinal. Live rock, 2 soft coral, macroalgae refugium with 23.5hr lighting.

After adding my fairy wrasse my pod population is only enough to sustain him and the bangaii. I definitely wouldn't have enough pods to maintain further fish.

How do you increase the population for things like mandarins in future? Is the fact that I feed 1/8 cube of frozen a day limiting my pod population?
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
you need to take your time with the pods they will multiply if you feed them. explain please about the 1/8 cube of frozen food
 
S

Shilpan

Member
I see, so just wait till the population grows.

I feed 1/8 of a cube of frozen each day, and I syringe feed a few drops at a time so the fish eat most of it (95% or so). I was wondering if I fed more food say 1/4 a day, the excess food would mean more pods in my tank? Or is it more likely that if I increased feeding I wouldn't see increased pods because it's not a limiting factor for them in the Reef aquarium?
 
S

Shilpan

Member
Speeding up isn't a concern, I'm more concerned with will they ever increase at all if I don't increase feeding?

But as you suggested they'll increase over time so I can just wait for that to happen.

Thanks Joe
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
IMO the issue is not if you are feeding the copepods enough they eat the detritus floating algae particles, feces, and other nasty junk organically produced in your tank not to mention if you are dosing phytoplankton. The issue is when the demand for them as food outweighs the speed at which they reproduce. That is why we have to let them populate our thanks in numbers that will offset what is eaten daily
 
S

Shilpan

Member
Understood, so it's like a natural population,

They didn't have many predators before so they reproduced to a certain amount. But now I have predators, but they still have a sufficiently good food source because the tank is full of detritus, given some time their population will grow to meet the new limiting factor due to predation.

As always appreciate the expertise
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
exactly my friend, as long as the predators don't decimate the population to the point where there is not being enough food on a daily basis to sustain something like a dargonet . Which brings us back to populating your tank sufficiently BEFORE adding a dragonet
 
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