IOTM: Copepods, Amphipods, Isopods

celacanthr

Active Member
Look in that thread that I linked in the article, it has all types, inluding some of the bad, althought he best way to know if they are bad, and if they are bad, you will notice, otherwise it is just a hard long job to take tem out of your tank, just because it MAY be a bad one. Although, I do suggest taking out anything that looks like the cirolanoid isopods.
 

speg

Active Member
How quickly do they reproduce? How long does a female hold the eggs before they hatch. Is it a constant cycle of >blank< amount of days similiar to how clownfish breed? A lot of people end up buying mandarins even though their tank cannot handle them.. their pod population ends up taking a dive bomb and they are curious how long it may take to repopulate their tank.
 

celacanthr

Active Member
lets see, time span from egg to adult is anywhere from 1-6 weeks (sometimes a few months) for copepods. The adult life span is 1-3 months.
So for one generation to mature, and produce offspring and die, the maximum would be 6 months at the most, and 1 month and one week, and on average, about 3.5 months, give or take.
The brood is anywhere from 10-50 eggs per pregnancy, we will go 30, on average.
So on average, if every copepod survived, then from just two copepods (1 male and 1 female), then in 6 months you could have 30^30-x , and in a year, like 30^90-x copepods.
x=number of copepod deaths since the beginning
Sorry for the math problems, LOL Algebra exam today!
 

speg

Active Member
So assuming none died and you start with 2 and you're looking at a 6 month time span.. how many would you have if each female laid 30 eggs every ? <-- you didnt mention how often they can reproduce.
 

celacanthr

Active Member
Well, to tell you the truth, I do not know, but the female carries the eggs....so iit could be between a day and a week, and then in theory they could breed again...in theory...
 
L

lockemup

Guest
I have some copepods in my fuge, but Don't they die off when passing through the UV sterilizer on their way up to the display tank?
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
yeah... the uv sterilizer kills everything... which is why i don't have one...
 
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