What are Copepods?
Copepods are relatively easy to care for and maintain. They
feed primarily on brown microalgae and can be fed products such
as Phyto-Feast. They can also feed on green algae such as Nannochloropsis and Tetraselmis,
however most of these algae will pass right through their digestive
tracts and not provide any nutrition.
Copepods can live in your main tank, your refugium, or in
a separate dedicated system. In your main tank they will be eaten
and depleted by your fish and corals. In your refugium they will
thrive since there are no predators. Pods from your refugium
can be periodically harvest and fed to your main tank.
Copepods like to hide so they will prefer an environment with
nooks and crannies. In your main tank they will hide in your
live rock and gravel. In your refugium they will hide in your
macroalgae and other plants.
Directions for Feeding while in the 6 oz bottle
If you are going to keep them in the bottles
for an extended period, remove the lid to increase oxygen in
the water and put them in a refrigerator between 34 and 40 F.
At this temperature they will go into hibernation and require
very little oxygen or food. Alternatively, store the bottle in
a cool place with the lid removed and feed them 3 drops of Phyto-Feast™
every 2-3 days
Directions for Feeding in a refugium
Add 5 drops of Phyto-Feast™ daily for
each gallon of water in your refugium. (i.e. a 25 gallon refugium
should get 125 drops. 1 teaspoon = 76 drops).
What you will need for Culturing in a Stand Alone Container
- Culture vessel. This can be anything such as a 5 or 10 gallon
aquarium, Tupperware container, etc. that holds water. Deep containers
or carboys are not suggested.
- Culture water. You will need some freshly mixed clean seawater,
or you can use a natural seawater product such as Catalina water.
Do not use water from an existing aquarium or culture as this
will contaminate your attempt to start a new culture of copepods.
A specific gravity of 1.020 to 1.025 for this strain of copepod
is suggested.
- Small air pump, air stone, and airline tubing.
- Cover to keep dust and contaminants out and evaporation down.
- A food source, such as Phyto-Feast
phytoplankton.
Directions for Culturing in a Stand Alone Container
Fill your container half to two-thirds full
with the clean seawater. Attach the airline and air stone to
the air pump. Put the air stone in the culture vessel, and plug
in the air pump. Make sure you use a drip loop and check valve
to keep water from getting into your pump and electrical outlet.
Add a small amount of Phyto-Feast to lightly color the culture
water. Do not add too much, or the water will foul. Add your
new copepod culture, put the lid on, and you are done!
Over the next few weeks, your copepods will
reproduce. It may seem at first that they aren't reproducing
as fast as you would like, but once they get to a certain population
level you will see an "explosion" of copepods in your
culture vessel. Feed with Phyto-Feast as necessary to keep the
water lightly tinted, and monitor water quality. Crashes from
overfeeding that leads to high ammonia and nitrite are possible,
water changes can help if the water quality declines too much.
To harvest your copepods, a plankton collector/strainer
of some sort is very helpful. You can siphon your copepods through
the collector, insuring that when you feed them to your aquarium
you are only adding copepods, not culture water. Make sure you
do not dip your strainer in the copepod culture, and then in
your aquarium, and then back in your culture vessel without cleaning
it first. Likewise, keep siphon tubing and other equipment you
use on your culture separate from equipment you use in your aquariums
or larval tanks to avoid contamination. While you can always
buy another batch of Tigger-Pods should your culture crash, you
can avoid that frustration by not sharing equipment between different
systems!
Receiving your Tigger Pods
Tigger Pods are wonderful little creatures,
full of energy, fun to watch, and great food for your reef tank.
When you receive your shipment, here are some
steps that will help ensure their health and survival.
Upon arrival you may notice the Tigger-Pods
aren't very active. This is normal when cold shipped or cold
stored. As the bottles warm up, the Tigger Pods(TM) will become
more active. It is not uncommon to have a few of the oldest copepods
to die from old age. We pack the bottle with all stages of life,
but only count the adults. On average, we pack at least 10% more
in every bottle to account for any DOA.
Personal Use
Upon arrival, open bottle cap and remove the
inside liner. Let stand at room temp for 2 hours to allow temperature
to rise. The Tigger Pods can be poured directly into your refugium
and/or main tank. They can live several weeks in the bottle,
as long as they are fed and the bottle is open to the air.
Tigger Pods feed on microalgae and we recommend feeding them
with Phyto-Feast. Phyto-Feast can be dosed directly into both
your refugium and main tank. The recommended feeding rate is
1 to 5 drops per gallon each day, depending on the bio-density
of your reef tank. |
