I believe this is what is readily available at my lfs for the in tank refugium, will it work? http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...phrULbtMoSw0QGfyIGQAQ&ved=0CCkQ9QEwAA&dur=459
Culturing Copepods
- Thread starter Cheesehead
- Start date
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I agree a bowl wouldn't produce enough. You won't believe how much they need to eat until you witness it.
Try http://www.reefcleaners.org, they always have bags of live copepods, and they usually also come in on their plants, especially the chaeto. Chaeto is great for pods. And they have cheap prices.
For just plants, this place is cheap and sends way more plant material than I ever expected. http://live-plants.com/
They send you a pint/quarter lb of chaeto for $10, and the bag I got was completely stuffed with it. Their stuff has pods on it too if you wanna get a colony going in a refugium.
Don't worry about shipping. You don't have to overnight plants or pods like with fish, so shipping is cheap.
Try http://www.reefcleaners.org, they always have bags of live copepods, and they usually also come in on their plants, especially the chaeto. Chaeto is great for pods. And they have cheap prices.
For just plants, this place is cheap and sends way more plant material than I ever expected. http://live-plants.com/
They send you a pint/quarter lb of chaeto for $10, and the bag I got was completely stuffed with it. Their stuff has pods on it too if you wanna get a colony going in a refugium.
Don't worry about shipping. You don't have to overnight plants or pods like with fish, so shipping is cheap.
So I could goto a hardware store and get some 19 or 20 mesh (maybe both?) and make my own? So I will get an in tank refugium with some sea lettuce, 2 2L bottles for culturing and the fish bowl. Will this work? How will I do water changes if the babies are don't get stuck in the sieve? Thanks!
You could, if you can find it. Though it would have to be stainless steel or fabric (polyester or nylon usually) as other metals can be toxic/iffy (aluminum "rusts" out in salt water... but mite be ok as well). Water changes in the bottles isnt always nessissary if there is enought live phytoplancton in the culture vessle, as they keep the water cleaner. But if you notice the water getting nasty (ammonia specifically, as nitrite/nitrates phosphates are ok at lower levels as phyto food), then you want to filter out the adult pods (and babies if you have a fine enough mesh) then put them into a new culture tank. You may want to place some kind of structure in the bottles... or have the bottles on the side (with air hole on opposite side), if your growing Triggers, as they are bottom (ish) dwellers, so they would likely be happier with stuff to stand on,.
Will it be enough pods, i cant guarantee that it will be, but at the very least will make you have to purchase far less. Oh btw 2 2L bottles is actually only a tiny bit more then a gallon, so 3-4 bottles mite be better.
You are talking about their pods+? So if i bought like 2 bags, drank 4 2L bottles of soda (ugh might actually not be fun lol) and a bag of the chaeto will that be enough? Thanks so much, as that sight gave me $40 moer bucks for corals!!!I agree a bowl wouldn't produce enough. You won't believe how much they need to eat until you witness it.
Try http://www.reefcleaners.org, they always have bags of live copepods, and they usually also come in on their plants, especially the chaeto. Chaeto is great for pods. And they have cheap prices.
For just plants, this place is cheap and sends way more plant material than I ever expected. http://live-plants.com/
They send you a pint/quarter lb of chaeto for $10, and the bag I got was completely stuffed with it. Their stuff has pods on it too if you wanna get a colony going in a refugium.
Don't worry about shipping. You don't have to overnight plants or pods like with fish, so shipping is cheap.
One thing I didn't think of, will the current be too strong for these guys with a Aqueon 55 on a 29? I mean I don't want all if my hard work (and theirs) sucked up in my filter lol.
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Well your going to lose alot of pods to your filter, there isnt much you can do about it, I've built all my systems specifically with phytoplacton and zooplanction (pods) survively in mind, in the sence of no artificial filtration (DSBs, algae scrubbers, fuges, etc). BUT on the upside, trigger pods spend a good chunk of time on the substraight and or rocks, cutting down on losses, if you where to get a calinoid, or cyclopoid veriety (spend most if not all time in the water column and not on the bottom) they would be more likely to get blended. Also pods don't always die in pumps/filters, some can pass through.
Pazzoman brine shrimp Nauplii (babies) are better, as they have a betterish fat to protien ratio, with a good mix of chemicals/minerals. But they are also tiny (may or may not be in the food size range for some adult fish), but even then, still not really an ideal, you can use brines as a supliment (newly hatched or adults) but they should never be a staple. they can be slightly better "gut loaded" in the sence of recently fed good qulaity phytoplancton.
Pazzoman brine shrimp Nauplii (babies) are better, as they have a betterish fat to protien ratio, with a good mix of chemicals/minerals. But they are also tiny (may or may not be in the food size range for some adult fish), but even then, still not really an ideal, you can use brines as a supliment (newly hatched or adults) but they should never be a staple. they can be slightly better "gut loaded" in the sence of recently fed good qulaity phytoplancton.
Ok, thanks for all of your help. I will be getting 3 bags of the pods from reefcleaners so there should be enough in there that will be hanging on the rocks and substrate right?
http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.p...category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=34 Can I culture these as it says they aren't like the normal culture pods. Could I just use phyto feast from reef nutrition to feed them? Now hopefully my final question, will zoas, frogspawns, and torches eat all of the pods, or so many of them the dragonet can't eat well?
