ecomaker101
New Member
I know that mandarin dragonets eat copepods but will any other fish eat them?
which fish will eat copepods?
- Thread starter ecomaker101
- Start date
rebelprettyboy
Active Member
been wanting to say this since i watch Knocked up last night
they go ape 5hit for them!
they go ape 5hit for them!
mr.clownfish
Active Member
mandarin gobies will. they are beautiful too!!!
niskyvaulter
Member
almost all fish eat them. like you said, dragonettes and scooter blennies are known for this because they eat them almost exclusively. most fish will eat one if they see it, but not go hunting for them.
aquaknight
Active Member
I'll ask the question...
Why? I hope not for the sake of just getting rid of them? Copepods are only beneficial to your system, eating detritus, nuisance algae, etc.
Why? I hope not for the sake of just getting rid of them? Copepods are only beneficial to your system, eating detritus, nuisance algae, etc.
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2658587
I'll ask the question...
Why? I hope not for the sake of just getting rid of them? Copepods are only beneficial to your system, eating detritus, nuisance algae, etc.
Yep, they are a beneficial part of any healthy system. Why are you asking?
http:///forum/post/2658587
I'll ask the question...
Why? I hope not for the sake of just getting rid of them? Copepods are only beneficial to your system, eating detritus, nuisance algae, etc.
Yep, they are a beneficial part of any healthy system. Why are you asking?
payton 350
Member
my clowns eat them, so does the tang, blenny, and cleaner shrimps......
ecomaker101
New Member
Well, I'm asking because I was wondering if it would be possible to keep a tank completely on the diet of copepods.
payton 350
Member
Originally Posted by ecomaker101
http:///forum/post/2659100
Well, I'm asking because I was wondering if it would be possible to keep a tank completely on the diet of copepods.
no but this is why feeding every other day is not bad and they won't starve....or being away for the weekend and not being able to feed them that they'll be okay... they always have algae and pods to nibble on.
http:///forum/post/2659100
Well, I'm asking because I was wondering if it would be possible to keep a tank completely on the diet of copepods.
no but this is why feeding every other day is not bad and they won't starve....or being away for the weekend and not being able to feed them that they'll be okay... they always have algae and pods to nibble on.
fishygurl
Active Member
Originally Posted by ecomaker101
http:///forum/post/2659100
Well, I'm asking because I was wondering if it would be possible to keep a tank completely on the diet of copepods.
yes but thats like saying its ok to not feed a kid because they can munch on a bag of chips that is laying around or something lol.. ok maybe thats a stretch but idk imo they will starve to death if u never feed your fish except for pods.. unless its a mandarin dragonet, or scooter blenny (which is really part of the dragonet family) or any other fish that eats just pods.. fish that do not just eat pods will starve however if they just eat pods, since they will be missing the nutrients they need, and to be able to swim in the water all the time they would have to eat TONS and TONS of pods in order to keep up their activeness i honestly dont think it would work with these type of fish.. if feeding is really that hard to do you could just purchase fish that are fine with flake food all the time and get an auto feeder and just have to put food in the slots every week or 2 weeks depending on how big of one u get.. or are u just wondering if it would be possible to keep fish with not feeding just on pods? if so how are you going to get the pods in their so they dont diminish? a HUGE fuge??
http:///forum/post/2659100
Well, I'm asking because I was wondering if it would be possible to keep a tank completely on the diet of copepods.
yes but thats like saying its ok to not feed a kid because they can munch on a bag of chips that is laying around or something lol.. ok maybe thats a stretch but idk imo they will starve to death if u never feed your fish except for pods.. unless its a mandarin dragonet, or scooter blenny (which is really part of the dragonet family) or any other fish that eats just pods.. fish that do not just eat pods will starve however if they just eat pods, since they will be missing the nutrients they need, and to be able to swim in the water all the time they would have to eat TONS and TONS of pods in order to keep up their activeness i honestly dont think it would work with these type of fish.. if feeding is really that hard to do you could just purchase fish that are fine with flake food all the time and get an auto feeder and just have to put food in the slots every week or 2 weeks depending on how big of one u get.. or are u just wondering if it would be possible to keep fish with not feeding just on pods? if so how are you going to get the pods in their so they dont diminish? a HUGE fuge??
ecomaker101
New Member
I understand, now, that feeding fish (besides the dragonets) only copepods is a bad idea. How about copepods and brine or just brine? I am asking these questions because I am trying to get a tank where I can feed the fish a diet of live foods but I do not want a predatory/aggressive tank.
fishygurl
Active Member
brine shrimp is not very nutritional... i really do not think you will be able to let your fish just eat live foods all the time... this is because you would need a lot of time and money to keep them in your tank, a lot of fish eat algae, but this too usually needs to be added like nori sheets.. i am unsure of what fish eat live foods all the time.. other than dragonets
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by ecomaker101
http:///forum/post/2661204
I understand, now, that feeding fish (besides the dragonets) only copepods is a bad idea. How about copepods and brine or just brine? I am asking these questions because I am trying to get a tank where I can feed the fish a diet of live foods but I do not want a predatory/aggressive tank.
As mentioned, pods alone will not suffice for many fish. Brine is not nutritional enough. Is there a reason that you are looking to do this? The issue is that most fish do not just live off of one food source. They need a variety of foods to be healthy.
http:///forum/post/2661204
I understand, now, that feeding fish (besides the dragonets) only copepods is a bad idea. How about copepods and brine or just brine? I am asking these questions because I am trying to get a tank where I can feed the fish a diet of live foods but I do not want a predatory/aggressive tank.
As mentioned, pods alone will not suffice for many fish. Brine is not nutritional enough. Is there a reason that you are looking to do this? The issue is that most fish do not just live off of one food source. They need a variety of foods to be healthy.
ecomaker101
New Member
Well I was thinking about getting a very large aquarium that would sustain itself in every way except heating and lighting. I would like a more natural aquarium where there would be only live food and no equipment other than a thermometer and lights. I think it would be awesome if it worked but it sounds like it wouldn't from what everyone has said. But if variety is the problem, what about a good amount of breeding pods, brine, mysid, grass shrimp, and anything else that is alive? With many live organisms plus algae there would have to be variety in the livestocks' diet.
hlcroghan
Active Member
okay. i think what you are talking about sounds like a cool idea but the problem is that most nonaggressive fish don't eat live foods only. a lot of them are herbivores or require vegetable matter. You would have to be stocking constantly with new plant sources and unless you owned a tank that was enormous then the plants could never grow back fast enough that the fish wouldn't eat them (it would also severely limit your fish choices). If you had a large tank and a large fuge then you could probably get a mandarin by itself and it could live without supplementation but that tank would kind of suck IMO. you would hardly ever see the mandarin and you would not be able to have much of a cuc because there would be nothing to clean up unless algae grew out of control, and also what would these other creatures live on? Pods eat detritus among other things and with so few fish in the tank there would not be hardly any nutrients in the tank for the food sources.
so prolly in this instance, this is one idea that is not feasible because you could never supply the right amount of nutrients that the fish need in an enclosed environment.
so prolly in this instance, this is one idea that is not feasible because you could never supply the right amount of nutrients that the fish need in an enclosed environment.
ecomaker101
New Member
I guess you're all right. Well thanks for all your input.
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by hlcroghan
http:///forum/post/2662345
okay. i think what you are talking about sounds like a cool idea but the problem is that most nonaggressive fish don't eat live foods only. a lot of them are herbivores or require vegetable matter. You would have to be stocking constantly with new plant sources and unless you owned a tank that was enormous then the plants could never grow back fast enough that the fish wouldn't eat them (it would also severely limit your fish choices). If you had a large tank and a large fuge then you could probably get a mandarin by itself and it could live without supplementation but that tank would kind of suck IMO. you would hardly ever see the mandarin and you would not be able to have much of a cuc because there would be nothing to clean up unless algae grew out of control, and also what would these other creatures live on? Pods eat detritus among other things and with so few fish in the tank there would not be hardly any nutrients in the tank for the food sources.
so prolly in this instance, this is one idea that is not feasible because you could never supply the right amount of nutrients that the fish need in an enclosed environment.
I agree here. Your idea is great. It isn't feasible though unless you have a very large tank that can support the dietary needs of all of your fish. You also have to think about how quickly those food sources regenerate in comparison to how quickly they are eaten.
http:///forum/post/2662345
okay. i think what you are talking about sounds like a cool idea but the problem is that most nonaggressive fish don't eat live foods only. a lot of them are herbivores or require vegetable matter. You would have to be stocking constantly with new plant sources and unless you owned a tank that was enormous then the plants could never grow back fast enough that the fish wouldn't eat them (it would also severely limit your fish choices). If you had a large tank and a large fuge then you could probably get a mandarin by itself and it could live without supplementation but that tank would kind of suck IMO. you would hardly ever see the mandarin and you would not be able to have much of a cuc because there would be nothing to clean up unless algae grew out of control, and also what would these other creatures live on? Pods eat detritus among other things and with so few fish in the tank there would not be hardly any nutrients in the tank for the food sources.
so prolly in this instance, this is one idea that is not feasible because you could never supply the right amount of nutrients that the fish need in an enclosed environment.
I agree here. Your idea is great. It isn't feasible though unless you have a very large tank that can support the dietary needs of all of your fish. You also have to think about how quickly those food sources regenerate in comparison to how quickly they are eaten.