Don’t add copepods to saltwater reef aquarium before watching this.
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- In the video we talk about copepods in reef aquariums. What copepods do in a reef tank and how they seed and grow naturally in your aquarium. Most saltwater aquariums already have copepods and we give two tips to increase the amount of copepods in your aquarium in this video.
I would agree to a point. I am getting back into the hobby after 10 years absence. Years ago live rock was shipped in and tanks were cycled. Now aquariums are started with more sterile rock, bacterial vials, and hope. So I do think there is something to jump starting a tank with a diverse population of copepods. They are found naturally but so many of our tanks anymore are sterile and rank raised that I find it hard to believe they are not helpful.
I thought the same thing... maybe it don't help a mature tank but I would think adding to a new tank would have to be beneficial
This is what we need more of in the hobby… Someone with an actual scientific/biology background making these videos.
Agreed- too many gurus arguing over anecdotal evidence.
This is the kind a data & facts I’ve been looking for. Thank you. Subscribed 🙂
Found this page through another page, just subscribed. Saw the nature clip at the end and was like "Omg, that's brilliant" 😅 Love it, keep up the good work
Beautiful information. Thank you so much for this..
Can’t wait for the new video, I’ve been rely struggling with Dino’s/diatoms for a long time, and have tried it all. Been letting the tank sit, and stabilize but still cover the sand. Great video though about the copepods!
Thanks for watching! And sorry you’ve been battling a brown algae, they are frustrating.
I have purchased copepods on a few occasions when I first started the hobby a about three years ago and I agree it didn't really do much in the long run but cost me hundreds of dollars, and some peace of mind for a while after I had purchased a manderin. On the other hand, I restarted my refugium in my sump and within a few months ago and within a few weeks I had some of the biggest copepods I had ever seen living in there. My experience agrees with you, it's a m matter of tank maturity/biodiversity.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Great information.
I had to remove my fish from my display tank to a qt tank for meds treatment. While my display tank was empty the pod population exploded. There was pods everywhere, only reason I never saw them before was my wrasses eating them up. I've never dosed my tanks with pods but apparently they were everywhere. After 1 month qt, I added my fishes back and the pod population disappeared in about 3 days.
As always, great video. I think lack of bio diversity in tanks is a huge problem right now. With so many products to rid tanks of “problems” (and often killing diversity.) and sterile methodologies going around are the reason “copepods” is the current buzz word because it’s the lack of diversity that’s causing many of these problems. I’m no expert by any means I don’t even have a salt water tank right now! It’s just nice to hear somebody talking about the sterility of the hobby actually being a problem.
TBH in my opinion diversity is a double edged sword, but I also think the right type of diversity and in the right balance is very much important. I've tried both sterile and non-sterile tanks. Both have their benefits and set backs. Sterlized tanks, you don't have to worry about having the bacteria, copepod, etc, to "rid" your tank of things if you don't introduce them. Hair algy, cyanobacteria, etc., would have to be brought in on something before it could ever become an issue. So really, I had a lot more predictable and easy to fix issues with a sterilized tank. Fix the one issue with it's natural preditor to keep it in check, you are usually good. The issues comes in though, is you have to introduce things. You will want to add fish and corals and all the things to your tank, which brings whatever pests/aglae it has with it, and you can't really predict what type it will have. So you basically want a good balance of the important bacteria and known stuff, so that when the pest is introduced it can't take hold.
Where as with live rock that soaked in the ocean, it is basically introduced to a lot of the pests on day 1, and have all the things that are it's natural preditor day 1. So that is helpful, cause it takes the stress of "well is this livestock bringing something into my tank?" Liek no worries, you already have it, and you already have something to keep it in check. Though, the issue arises later. A lot of these natural preditors and pests will eventually die off if they don't have their natural food sources and the right environment to reproduce, and so eventually the diversity will die off with it.
And what you really hope is that the right balance of diversity is left or it can be an issue. If it doesn't a lot of people call it "old tank syndrome". Both types of tanks can get it, but I notice in ones that are bio-diverse it can happen and be a lot harder to fix. Cause sometimes it's just a really strange bacteria, something not good or bad, that we dont' know enough about, that is like "taking over" and it competes with known good bacteria and prevents it from ever getting a good foothold to prevent the known bad bacteria. Type of things.
Got a subscriber in me, all really valid points, i think algae barn got together with brs and showed they can help expedite new tank syndrome, but now people think its a cure all..
In future videos we will touch on that topic, new tank syndrome as it’s being redefined is probably just the natural normal and necessary maturation process in most cases. I wonder if we are approaching it the wrong way as a hobby. Thanks for your insight here!
I love having copepodes in my tank, it's like this beautiful natural life cycle happening and ecosystem in a clear box lol
It would be interesting after your study is complete to see correlation between algae type and which copepod strain works best at control/eradication. Of course such a study would have to be done with strict controls. Looking forward to the follow-up video.
Hi Mike, unfortunately I’m not convinced that this type of research would be meaningful and helpful for most hobbyists given that copepods can only have the population density that the aquariums carrying capacity allows. Also, the same species of algae may produce slightly different antifeedants based on environmental conditions. Meaning if copepods fed well on an algae in our controlled experiment that likely would not transfer to real world experiences in a reef aquarium.
Great video man, can you explain further in what you said about the EPa DHA food for copepods
You’ll likely find more in-depth info on google scholar and MBI (marine breeding initiative) forum. Much of what we know of this is information from fin fish aquaculture research. Different copepods have different mouth parts and life histories that could effect the suitability of algae species in improving fecundity on a reef aquarium.
Here is a sample paper I pulled up:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004484861630638X
Thanks for the vid. I add pods twice a year since i do see a declining population after 6 months at night. Do UV, filter socks, skimmer deplete pods population ? I tend to believe so…
I really love those pearly jawfish in this video
I'd love to hear your thoughts on them - yours look very happy.
I’ll try to get a spotlight on them soon!
Very well said. I agree with you for the most part. I don’t think copepods are a solution to algae. Will they help? Yes, but not enough to solve an algae outbreak. However there is one area where adding copepods regularly makes sense.
If you want to keep a finicky fish like mandarin dragonet or any copepod eating fish with a fast metabolism, adding copepods makes sense. First of all, reef tanks are becoming more and more “sterile”. We don’t use live rock and many of us try to limit anything getting into our tank without us knowing. For this reason, it makes sense to sort of “seed” your aquarium with copepods the same way we seed with bacteria. And yes, they will bloom and die off. However, I think if you have a fish like a dragonet, adding more every now and then makes sense until the population becomes more stable. Also, having a fish like a mandarin will ensure that their aren’t any blooms. In a regular sized aquarium, that fish eats so many copepods in one day, that there will be no bloom. For this reason, it makes sense to add the copepods every so often. Of course this is all my opinion and I could be wrong. This has just been my finding.
Interesting to note the way we seed bacteria to reef tanks may not be very beneficial as those Bactria in a bottle microbes don’t last in aquariums. They get overtaken eventually by strains of bacteria that are currently unculturable. So did we help the tank by adding those or just make it take longer for the correct strains of bacteria to seed the tank because now they need to fight those for space.
We just published a video on how to culture pods but I’m still not convinced that adding pods as a primary food source for fish makes sense. If pod populations are going to be low in the tank as a result of there predation it’s probably best to allow that balance to result in a healthy ecology than rely on periodic copepod introductions to disrupt the microbial community.
Thanks for watching and sharing your insight!
Amazing video, I actually just added copepods like 2 days but it was more for a different type of the one I already have known to help better with algae. But why do you feed live brine shrimp while quarantine is there a benefit to it? Definitely interested in it for my quarantine tank
Nice! We feed live brine to help finials eaters get used to prepared foods.
Can you do a study like BRS did with copepods in new tanks would be interesting to see your findings
I’m not convinced that this level of research is available to us yet. Too many unknowns even in the controlled setting. Once you further abstract this by trying to apply the findings to individual reef tank scenarios it gets messy. We will go more in depth in future videos.
Absolutely! They have been heavily marketing these to new reefers. Using all kinds of marketing strategies.
It works, lots of people think they need to purchase pods yet don’t even know they already have them in there aquarium in significantly higher numbers. Likely the identical strain to what they would be purchasing 🤣
@@tanknicians8839 ...I just showed an experiment 🥼🧪 where diatoms on one of my new tanks disappeared in one week on its own without me touching anything and showed the results. Yet people still think it's magic if they add pods and 2 weeks to a month later diatoms are gone. Then these companies tell them it was the pods and everyone needs to order them. I can get rid of diatoms faster than anything by not doing anything. Don't touch the freakin tank or sandbed. They will multiply like crazy and exhaust silicates fast.
I built my structures from dry rock and the sand is aragonite (not live sand), thus the only thing alive so far are the fish. Add pods?
For the same aquarium getting the same amount of food, one could search for ways of reducing the population of bristle worms while increasing the population of copepodes
BRS did a series about this a proved what you are saying wrong . You should watch it id like to see what you think.
How do you like Fritz RPM? I might buy a bunch of it.
Thanks
So far so good, has been testing well. We are also big fans of Red Sea blue box salt -that is the salt we have the most long term experience with.
Not sure how valid this info is now, as it is from May 2021: “BRS test: ESV B-Ionic Salt Mix Performance - Is it the Best? | BRStv Investigates” …. They rated B-Ionic #1 & Tropic Marin Pro Reef #2.
It's fine to add them for an extra food source..gobies..pipe fish etc ..
👍🏻👍🏻
Btw I have tested multiple times at home, at work and some of my clients tank, that if you have Dino it’s usually phosphate or nitrates are really low but adding reef roids actually gets rid of it.
70 percent of the time we’ve remedied a recent outbreak by raising nitrates and phosphates. We make solutions of each to dose but if detritus levels are low reef roids will definitely get the job done. Thanks for sharing good advice!
I have dinos and both my nitrates and phosphates are high. I don't believe it has anything to do with low nutrients its more about lack of biodiversity and the current trend of not using live rock to start tanks.
@@andycx2 your right not always it’s your nitrates and phosphate. There is times where your good batería can die off either by too high of a temperature surge or something else which can cause Dino with out being a nitrates or phosphate
Have you seen the research that Bulk Reef Supply has done regarding copepods and the impact on thier test tanks? What do you make of that research?
A sterile tank will benefit from pods weather you buy them from a store or just get a starter some other way. I’m a little wary of the overall claims being made about copepods and diversity in general. We will touch on related concepts in future videos I don’t want to necessarily be critical of anyone in particular in the industry- rather we want to add some nuance to the conversation.
What if you have Mandarins. Do you think I should add more pods?
Mandarins eat hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of pods a day if that is there only food source. So the couple dozen to few hundred that typically come in those bottles is like the snack they eat between breakfast and lunch. I wouldn’t rely on that- would get very expensive quick.
Best thing is to train them on to frozen. It’s not too hard if you use live brine and frozen brine together. We’ve seen 3/8 mandarins we ordered last Wednesday eating frozen. Within two weeks they should all be fully weened onto frozen.
Can feeding your copepods (Phytoplankton) help keep the population thriving? Or, do they already have everything they need as far as food?
The population should thrive regardless of phytoplankton additions. The phyto is one way to maybe increase the population size. Importantly Does not need to be live Phyto.
Thank you for your quick response. Keep up the good work!
What about a new tank set up? That is very sterile. Wouldn't it be a faster way to introduce them. I agree their no need to kept dosing them like you said.
Yes for new tanks you have to add copepods in some form. Whether it be a bottle or a piece of rock or snail or frag.
Where are y’all located at?
844 park ave, Lake park, Florida
I wish you had showed the equipment and the method to grow them
I did, it’s as simple as the video suggests. All you need is a container- here we used a tank, and very light aeration.
Any possibility that pods came from fish poops???? By nature, I think pods are meant to clean up the poops or dead fishes. If, this is true, then your theory is right about no need to add pods into a tank. What do you think???
How many of your mollies get eaten by other tank mates?
None because we moved them to an isolated system
The reason why you’re seeing a rise in pod interest is because Randy did a talk pretty recently basically advertising Algae Barn and saying you need pods.
I went and watched that after posting this video, interesting hypothesis but no claims can be made from what was really observation finding. What they do next could be valuable to hobbyists if done correctly- would require significantly reducing the amount of variables and focusing on replicability.
you have such great information but you should consider wearing the mic. sometimes it's almost impossible to hear you. sounds like the mic is in a different room. :(
We just received a pair of mics. Hopefully better audio in next video.
Cool video. Just let nature do it’s thing 😂
Copepods or amphipods or both?
In this video I was talking specifically about copepods, but many of these concepts would apply to amphipods.
I want some copepods can you send me some?
I add copepods once every y months or so to replenish them for my pipefish and dragonette. I see them in my fuge everywhere so when i notice i see less or that my pipefish seems to be hunting more than eating i replenish. I didnt even know people used them to fight algae. I see them being sokd on ebay and whatnot with astrea stars and stuff and im like man im flushing money down the drain if people buy these things
You might want to consider growing your own pods, it’s fairly easy. We just posted a video showing how.
Are you sure when your seeing less it’s not just a part of the pods natural growth cycle in the aquarium? Population might increase again without pod additions.
As soon as he said add a Copepod Hotel, he lost my attention. Copepods do not need a hotel. They thrive just fine in the rocks and other areas in the aquarium.
Feels like an odd hill to die on in the context of the video, am I missing something? What’s the difference between putting a big pile of rock rubble in your sump and putting a pile of rock rubble in a container so it saves space and is easier to keep clean?
@@tanknicians8839 so you think pods need a pod hotel to populate in a reef? 😅
@@Reefahholic what a strange comment and take. On the bright side seems
Like overwhelming people grasped the info he provide.
A pod hotel is a refugium that keeps pods from being eaten by a lot of fish. My 2 cents
Those red copepods can’t live in your aquarium. The tisbe pods are the ones you see in your reef tank. I also heard of apex pods but idk what those are. The red tigger pods can’t live in the warm water I tested it. I put them in a plastic box in the reef tank and they all died in 2 days. You can grow them outside and just use it for food. I don’t believe copepods do anything it’s just nice to have them for your mandarin goby.
Hopefully your mandarin has made the transition to frozen foods!
Ok, give me copepods , you said you would 🤷🏻♂️
Tank carrying capacity is irrelevant.
More food + more structure
Yeah you need to watch the video series that brs made. You’re giving conflicting info. Brs is one of the most hardest working contributors to the hobby. Visual evidence does it for me. Copepods DO eat diatoms. It’s no coincidence
What about those of us who want to raise copepod eating fish like dragonets, green mandarin specifically?
Keep in mind how many pods they eat verse how many pods come in a bottle and you’ll see it’s not a sustainable option.
I totally disagree, the addition of the copepods is as a food source for everything in the tank, we have a tendency to overstock our aquariums with livestock and the resident population of pods just cannot reproduce quickly enough.
The addition of a copepod population is undoubtedly a benefit for any system.
Feeding phytoplankton is also a great way to keep a healthy biome.
Disagree. Copepods have repeatedly wiped out diatoms in numerous tanks for me. It’s almost 100% reproducible for me. Sometimes I don’t have the strain to take out dino’s, but a majority of dino’s for me are easily knocked out by UV and good husbandry. I’ll never get into another reef tank project without copepods and UV ever again.
Agreed BRS did a great series on this. This guy is 100% wrong.
I don't like your ideas. Your video is not good.