Wow! Pods!

[dianeww]

I had seen some pods in my hang-on refugium, but I thought only a few, and didn't think about it too much.

Last night I looked late under the moonlights for the first time in a while, and WOW! The main tank was swarming with pods---it looked like a snowstorm in there! I don't see any at all in the daytime, except in the fuge. Strange?

Maybe this means I can get a mandarin dragonet? My tank is 75 gallons, 110 pounds live rock (plus the odds and ends from buying corals), and has been up and running for 15 months.

 

[austinsdad]

Yep. It's time!!!

Yippeee!

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

good for you!!!

 

[ntswift]

Thats awesome! I agree, time to get a mandarin!

 

[abnmojo]

who eats pods?

Here is my short list of known pod eaters, from my personal observations. You don't HAVE to just get a mandrin. Remember, you have to sustain that population to keep a mandrin alive. Same for a seahorse. If you have any of these fish, or get them, they will dent that population of pods to some extent.

seahorse - will hunt 90% of the time for them
mandrins - do nothing but hunt for them
pygmy angel - do nothing but hunt for them
long nose hawk - if they see one in the day time, it's gone
midas blenny - same as a hawk
shrimp goby - any pod that gets seen while these guys are in/arround their 'home' is history.
mini-gobys (neon, red-head, clown and probably all other gobies that are less than 1- 1.5 inches fully grown) will eat any pod they find in a heartbeat, if they can fit it in their mouth

I would suspect that pretty much all the dwarf angels will eat them too, if they find them while grazing the rock.

That is a very short list of what comes to mind that I have SEEN eating these pods, it is by no means complete.

 

[MT79]

The main tank was swarming with pods---it looked like a snowstorm in there! I don't see any at all in the daytime, except in the fuge. Strange?

That's quite common. Pods, generally, are vulnerable to predators and therefore emerge after dark. The LR in the main allows them plenty of space to hide during the daytime.

I had seen some pods in my hang-on refugium, but I thought only a few

HOB fuges, of decent size relative to the main tank, are pretty efficient at getting not only pods but their there offspring of all sizes into the main tank. If your seeing high numbers of pods-amphipods and copepods- in the main tank I'd say your system would be hospitable to a Mandarin. Good luck!

 

[dianeww]

seahorse - will hunt 90% of the time for them
mandrins - do nothing but hunt for them
pygmy angel - do nothing but hunt for them
long nose hawk - if they see one in the day time, it's gone
midas blenny - same as a hawk
shrimp goby - any pod that gets seen while these guys are in/arround their 'home' is history.
mini-gobys (neon, red-head, clown and probably all other gobies that are less than 1- 1.5 inches fully grown) will eat any pod they find in a heartbeat, if they can fit it in their mouth

I would suspect that pretty much all the dwarf angels will eat them too, if they find them while grazing the rock.

I don't own any of the above. What I currently own:
Two percula clowns
One yellow tang
Five blue-green chromis
One pink-spotted goby
I had a royal gramma, but one day recently he simply vanished into thin air (water?).

So if I should add only a mandarin, he would hopefully do OK? And in general, they're pretty hardy as long as they get enough to eat?
I'm pretty excited about this development!! Thanks to everyone for your enthusiasm!

 

[austinsdad]

he would hopefully do OK?

It'll do fine. Don't worry, I don't believe one can kill off the entire tank of pods. They'll multiply in those little nooks and crannies and live there to populate. Even with a mandarin, I think there's always gonna be pods to hunt when they come out.

I've had a mandarin for 4 years or so. Eats nothing but pods. Quite chubby too!

 

[ntswift]

Some wrasses also eat pods. So becareful when buying pod eaters so that you dont buy two things that eat pods if your tank can't support it. I still think you'd be fine with it. There are other things that you can get now that your tank has pods.

It'll do fine. Don't worry, I don't believe one can kill off the entire tank of pods. They'll multiply in those little nooks and crannies and live there to populate. Even with a mandarin, I think there's always gonna be pods to hunt when they come out.

I agree!

 

[angelscrx]

Get a Mandarin and do the cha-cha cause you're going to love it.