What's the ONE thing you wish you knew when you started culturing copepods?

[beesnreefs]

I'm about to start a tigriopus copepod culture. After reading up and watching videos it seems fairly straightforward with this hardy species.

That said, it's my first time! So, those of you who have culture copepods, what's the ONE piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you started?

 

[JGT]

They are incredibly hardy. I grow mine in an unheated beverage dispenser. No filter or heater and just air pump to gently create some movement and a desk lamp that turns on/off every 10 hours. Dump some phyto in once a week and you’re set.

 

[PotatoPig]

1. You can’t underfeed them, only over feed and cause ammonia issues.
2. You can keep a “backup” container you rarely feed (maybe once a month) and won’t need airlines. Good for restarting.
3. They eat spirulina, which is much easier to procure and store than phyto.
4. They won’t colonize your tank no matter how many you add. These are direct feed only.
/yeah, that’s four pieces of info, but concise.

 

[beesnreefs]

1. You can’t underfeed them, only over feed and cause ammonia issues.
2. You can keep a “backup” container you rarely feed (maybe once a month) and won’t need airlines. Good for restarting.
3. They eat spirulina, which is much easier to procure and store than phyto.
4. They won’t colonize your tank no matter how many you add. These are direct feed only.
/yeah, that’s four pieces of info, but concise.

Haha - thanks for the 3 bonus tips!

We grow phyto so it's no problem having fresh live phyto to feed them. That said, any thoughts on if phyto or spirulina are "better"?

 

[PotatoPig]

Haha - thanks for the 3 bonus tips!

We grow phyto so it's no problem having fresh live phyto to feed them. That said, any thoughts on if phyto or spirulina are "better"?

Phyto is probably better if you have it on hand - you can keep it alive in the culture so you’re at lower risk of it going bad if you add a little too much at once.

The advantage of spirulina is for $10 you can buy enough powdered spirulina to last for years and it’ll keep indefinitely when stored in powder form in a sealed container. It’s just a lot of equipment and effort saved. If you’re culturing phyto anyway though then that advantage is less relevant.

 

[JGT]

Agree, live phyto less likely to turn the pod culture bad. And I have 2 jars going. 1 for phyto, 1 for pods so phyto cost is basically nil.

 

[Jay'sReefBugs]

Haha - thanks for the 3 bonus tips!

We grow phyto so it's no problem having fresh live phyto to feed them. That said, any thoughts on if phyto or spirulina are "better"?

Varying types of phyto are always going to be better . Each phyto strain contains different amounts of DHA, EPA , Carotenoids etc . You want to get the best mix possible for peak nutritional value

 

[beesnreefs]

Varying types of phyto are always going to be better . Each phyto strain contains different amounts of DHA, EPA , Carotenoids etc . You want to get the best mix possible for peak nutritional value

Thanks! We are growing nanno, tet, porph, and iso (though the iso is proving more difficult than the others to keep going)

Think that’s a good mix?

 

[Hawgpharm]

A nanno and tet combo is what I have used before. I remember seeing a graph showing that adding iso to the mix is superior, but I also know how hard it is to cultivate.

I'm just starting out again so I'll see how it goes with just the two. I want to get comfortable growing those again before I try iso.