Pods

[Playdope]

How often should pods be added to the tank? Do they multiply fast enough in the tank population to keep the population up?

I will have a copperband and manderin in the tank, but not for a while. I just want to make sure I have a consistantly nice pod population. I don't have a separate fuge, but I have a section in my sump with macro (no sand).

Which pods are best to add? copepods? Do you add them to the main display?

I don't think I have space to breed/culture my own.

Any info would be great!
Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Lots of rubble rock piled together to give the pods good hiding places will help to keep the population up from what I understand. - Also having some form of macro for them to feed on / hide in helps too but that can be a real bear to keep up with in the main tank. (And caulerpas are ticking timebombs for the rest of your tank whether they're in the sump or wherever, probably wiser to go with something less risky..)

If it were me, I'd go with a couple/few good sized piles of rubble rock and try to get some gracillaria anchored down in the middle of it somehow and let that go for a few months and then take stock of how much pod activity you can see around them.

 

[ChrisV]

You shouldnt have a problem getting the pods to flourish, with sufficient rock and plant growth. Mine will sometimes annoy me with there gatherings on my viewing glass. I had a damsel, and six line to keep the population under control in a 54g, this tank is currently fishless now because my metallic mushrooms insist on eating small fish (thought you might want a pic)... Seems like I read somthing about pod overpopulation can cause low polyp extension and harm some coral, not sure if theres any truth to that though.

hope that helped some,
-CV

 

[Anonymous]

/seconds GratefulDiver's response.

Make a copepod city out of a pile of rubble rock. Stick the gracillaria in or on the pile too. Copepods may eat macro but they also breed in it. I used to have this one pod city in my big tank, you could see many many species each inhabiting a palce. There were the typical caverunner ones down in the depths of the rubble. Floating above it were some type of water flea like thing. They swarmed and hovered. Buzzing around the top were mysid shrimp type ones. And on the glass near the city were the bulldozer ones. It was awesome.

Then my mandarin ate 'em all up!

 

[HClH2OFish]

/seconds GratefulDiver's response.

Then my mandarin ate 'em all up!

LOL...I got an image of this Godzilla like Mandarin crashing through Tokyo eating up all the pods....man I need some lighter migraine meds! :lol: