Copepod question

[Anonymous]

I have a huge population of pods in my fuge, some of them are getting so large that I might catch them and cook them with garlic soon! :wink: I cannot find any trace of them in my display however. How do I go about getting some of them into my display and ensuring that they provide a sustainable food source for my fish? Or are they already there, and I just am looking in the wrong place for them? I have tried 'seeding' some LR in the fuge for a few weeks and then moving it back to the display. I am concerned that my skimmer is removing some on the way back to the display and the return pump is killing the rest...(?)

 

[Anonymous]

Copepods generally don't live in the rockwork. They'll tunnel under the rock into the sand or live in clumps of algae. Seeding your main tank with sand from the fuge may work better or even catching some pods and transfer them that way.
On the other hand you probably do have copepods in your main tank it's just that they have to compete against copepod predators such as fish, shrimp, etc. The fish, shrimp, etc. also compete for food and copepods will flourish were food is plentiful or the population will decline with the lack of food. Try looking into your main tank at night with the lights off with a red lens on a flashlight.
As far as your skimmer and return pump killing off copepods it's probably true to some extent.
How heavily do you feed you main tank?

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks David, I feed once a day and not heavily at all- mixed, varied diet between fresh and flake. I read somewhere about someone making a 'safe zone' with R fragments and sand enclosed in some form of mesh to allow them some chance to breed, have you ever heard of that? I will try and look after lights out tonight in the display.
(PS Nice to see you back, have missed you, especially in the sump!)

 

[dbsherwood]

Definitely check your tank at night to see if you've got critters running around. I think you'll be surprised at how many of them there are. From what I've seen is that they stay hidden during the day as they prefer not to be a food source.

Also, do you have any foam or mesh filters between your refugium and your tank? If so, that may be preventing any transfer from one to the other.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, will check tonight and revert tomorrow. Did you see my other post about system pics of your 700ga tank db?