Pods have TAKEN OVER my tank. HELP!!!

theclemsonkid

theclemsonkid

Member
Alright, as of this writing there are about 486,349,563,945 copeopods in my tank. they are in the sand, on the rock, on the glass, swimming around... they are EVERYWHERE.
My tank is a 55 gallon, with nothing in at at the moment except two small coral frags, about 75lbs of LR, chocolate chip startfish, and a CUC.
Obviously getting rid of these would help if I had a goby, but I don't. And even if I got one today, it would be three weeks before it got through my QT.
Is there anything I can do to get rid of these guys? Or do I even want to?
I'm not exactly sure what my next course of action should be.
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
send them to me.

theyre good, why do you want to get rid of them, just because theyre ugly? the population fluctuates, in a week you might not be able to find a single pod. just give it time.
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
no, they arent. if you keep it well fed though, you might be OK. its hit or miss. theyre oportunistic feeders.
 
theclemsonkid

theclemsonkid

Member
I dont care so much that they are ugly... I was just a little startled because every day there are more and more and more...
I kinda figured there would be a point when they stopped.
If they aren't going to harm anything, than I don't really care!
And as for the CC starfish. From what I have read, yes they are NOT reef safe. But we have had him for almost a year, and he has left the glass a grand total of once since we have owned him. So for the time being, we are gonna take our chances...
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
you are going to put thousands of dollars in corals in a tank along with a known coral eater?
 
theclemsonkid

theclemsonkid

Member
Well not really.
At this point I have exactly $4.99 invested in my corals.
And come on, you think Im the first person to put a known coral eater in a reef tank?
I agree with an earlier poster. As long as he is well fed, he won't be eating corals... especially since the ONE time he has been off the glass, it was when my wife accidentally knocked him off with the MagFloat.
If he starts randomly heading for the corals and starting to chow, he'll be gone, don't you worry...
 
cracker4418

cracker4418

Member
Don't worry. copeopods are good for your tank,they eat waste. by doing that they help keep your system in check (less waste to break down in your system). There numbers match the amount of waste there is to consume.
 
mkzimms

mkzimms

Member
if you want to bottle a few and send them my way that would be awesome. how much would you want for like a little bottle worth? my seahorses would love to get a good pod meal and some to seed my other tank.
if your up to it PM me.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Copepods are beneficial at best and benign at worst.
Their numbers are controlled by the presence of natural predators. Fish are one of the biggest. They aren't going to hurt anything by your fish taking time to get through QT.
 
tarball

tarball

Member
Buy a mandarin dragonet, they will love the pods. No need to QT them either. Sounds like a perfect fit for the tank.
 
globaldesigns

globaldesigns

Member
I wish had had that many, I don't have many now, trying to get my LFS to get some in. They are good, and once you get fish, they will eat them. Don't worry about it.
 
lesleybird

lesleybird

Active Member
Originally Posted by Tarball
http:///forum/post/2555112
Buy a mandarin dragonet, they will love the pods. No need to QT them either. Sounds like a perfect fit for the tank.
Bad idea as in a 55 gallon tank the mandarin will run out of pods in a week or two. No matter how many you have now they will not reproduce fast enough to provide a sustainable population for a mandarin in such a small tank. Lesley
 
rune

rune

Member
Originally Posted by MX#28
http:///forum/post/2555273
Are they copepods or amphipods? I ask because many people get them confused.
Is there an easy way to tell?
Congrats on your pods! I had always heard it was a great thing to have. :)
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Guess I'll chime in here too...
Mandarin's and Scooter Blenny's aren't the only fish that eat copepods, though they are commonly attributed to it because it's their sole source of food. Any omnivore or carnivore will start working on them as soon as they get in the tank. Clownfish, wrasses, and basslets (to name a few) all love copepods.
 
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