• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

Copepod culture

DYIguy

NJRC Member
I just got 1 bottle of each- Tisbe, Apocyclops and Tigriopus pods in the mail and want to culture some. Can I mix them, is one better than the others for culturing- very dense btw from Reef and fins on ebay
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
So I saved some from each bottle and got two pretzel rod containers (3/4g?) put them in a bucket of heated water with a slow bubbler and some phyto- one came up empty, the other has pods in it- took a syringe out and there some large enough to see with my bad eyes. Do I run the water through a 50 micron sock? Do I let them continue, or take a syringe full and feed the tank-btw the water is still a bit green-help:)
 

erics210

Secretary
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
We are running parallel.
I was just about to order some more pods.
I have the phyto and rotifers roaring.
But no pods.
 

Salted

NJRC Member
You make sure you can repeat doing it correctly then you get a mandarin. Such neat moving fish. Like hummingbirds.
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
You make sure you can repeat doing it correctly then you get a mandarin. Such neat moving fish. Like hummingbirds.
If i were able to get a constant supply, I think I'd get another rainford first, I do like the look of mandarins though
 

Salted

NJRC Member
If i were able to get a constant supply, I think I'd get another rainford first, I do like the look of mandarins though
I want another myself. Too young a tank and too few pods is probably why I lost my first. Blue Zoo aquatics has them captive raised for $9.99. Their cousin, the Hectors, is said to be a very good algae cleaner and pretty good utility fish, but I think the rainfords looks better. Maybe one of each. They have a sleeper goby I want too. I could do the rainfords, the sleeper and a yellow corris wasse which gets me to $75. Free shipping at $140. Anything there interest you?
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
I want another myself. Too young a tank and too few pods is probably why I lost my first. Blue Zoo aquatics has them captive raised for $9.99. Their cousin, the Hectors, is said to be a very good algae cleaner and pretty good utility fish, but I think the rainfords looks better. Maybe one of each. They have a sleeper goby I want too. I could do the rainfords, the sleeper and a yellow corris wasse which gets me to $75. Free shipping at $140. Anything there interest you?
I want a coris myself, if I could rehome the pink spot, a diamond or orange spot, I've also thought about a hectors- I'll take a look and let you know
 

Salted

NJRC Member
I want a coris myself, if I could rehome the pink spot, a diamond or orange spot, I've also thought about a hectors- I'll take a look and let you know
Sure, this is the site; Buy Saltwater Fish & Coral - Marine Fish, Live Coral, Salt Water Aquarium Fish, and Tropical Fish from BlueZooAquatics. I got my kole tang from them, and a beautiful pink Hawaiian feather duster for my wife that my CBB made short work of. Sounds like we'd have no problem hitting free shipping. Lmk, no rush. Bonus all three I want are captive so I'd be comfortable not having to quarantine.
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
Sure, this is the site; Buy Saltwater Fish & Coral - Marine Fish, Live Coral, Salt Water Aquarium Fish, and Tropical Fish from BlueZooAquatics. I got my kole tang from them, and a beautiful pink Hawaiian feather duster for my wife that my CBB made short work of. Sounds like we'd have no problem hitting free shipping. Lmk, no rush. Bonus all three I want are captive so I'd be comfortable not having to quarantine.
Both the yellow and green coris are out of stock
 

erics210

Secretary
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
I just went through my little 2.5 gallon cheato tank that is in my refugium area.
Cleaned it a bit and found a.couple.dozen AMPHIPODS. THE LARGER SHRIMP-LIKE pods.
Added them with some phyto, air pump and a little cheato to hide.
Let the experiment begin!

So now I have live photo plankton, rotifers and amphipod cultures going.
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
My experiment seems to be working out so far. Two old pretzel buckets, added 1/4 of the bottles of tisbe, tiger and apocyclops to them, put both inside a 3 gal cleaning bucket wit some water in it, a small heater, light bubbles in the buckets with pods and enough live phyto to turn the water a light green- will start harvesting tonight:D
 

Salted

NJRC Member
So a question - why do this? I was under the impression that once pods were established in your tanks' rockwork and fuge, that they're self sustaining in the fuge and make their way to the tank via the return. If you have a tank full of fish that constantly knock the population down I'd understand that, or minimalist nsa scape. Right now I have an ok balance of enjoying viewing the tank vs the work required. I'm not adding the chore of culturing anything.
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
So a question - why do this? I was under the impression that once pods were established in your tanks' rockwork and fuge, that they're self sustaining in the fuge and make their way to the tank via the return. If you have a tank full of fish that constantly knock the population down I'd understand that, or minimalist nsa scape. Right now I have an ok balance of enjoying viewing the tank vs the work required. I'm not adding the chore of culturing anything.
I have a canary blenny who doesn't eat frozen or flake but picks and eats off the column all day long along with the chromis and damsels and a banded sleeper goby that is a sand vacuum. I see no pods at all. the only pods that seem to survive are the amphipods, and I don't see many of them. I thought the same thing when I had a Rainford's goby, my rocks were covered with pods at first, the fish eventually starved
 
Last edited:

DYIguy

NJRC Member
I got a new batch of apocyclops and saved some for culturing. I read that spirulina is better for them vs phyto- has anyone tried it
 
Top