Are these pods?

[RnBMum]

I had just turned the lights on and these little guys were hanging out just above the sand bed in huge numbers. I did a bit of research and I think they are likely pods. They mostly retreated back into the sand and rock once the tank brightened.

They move reasonably quickly on the glass, and my fish are sure enjoying them.



Am I on the right track?


Allison
Freshwater fish-head for more than 20 years now, but salt water newbie.

 

[Sniperhank]

Looks like you have yourself a nice amount of pods, most likely amphipods. Keep pushing forward.

 

[melosu58]

You Can't Tell Your "Pods" Without A Program by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

 

[RnBMum]

Hank, thanks for the reassurance. I was hoping that some time in the way off future I might be able to host a dragonet of some type. As long as I keep my aquarium stable and "behave myself", perhaps it might become a reality.

I knew they weren't copepods simply because of the size - I have to find my loupe and take a closer look.




Allison
Freshwater fish-head for more than 20 years now, but salt water newbie.

 

[mr_X]

Those you see there will not support a dragonet. They are an early stage...they will die off as your tank settles in and won't be seen again. Munnid Isopods to be exact.

 

[RnBMum]

Excellent, thanks for the info.

Culturing copepods/arthropods in a refugium, how long would you recommend I do it before starting to think about a dragonet, 6-12 months? Do you have a source you would suggest as a reliable place to get my initial culture?

If nothing else, the fish I have in the tank currently sure seem to be enjoying their little impromptu snack


Allison
Freshwater fish-head for more than 20 years now, but salt water newbie.

 

[melosu58]

What size tank and how much LR do you have?

 

[RnBMum]

36 gallon tank, about 45 pounds of rock and the same amount of sand.


Allison
Freshwater fish-head for more than 20 years now, but salt water newbie.

 

[mr_X]

It's been done, but the odds are that a dragonet will not last for very long in a tank that size. It will eat that tank clean pretty quickly. It's helpful if they are eating prepared foods, but that's not common. People say they can be "trained" but I don't see how training has anything to it besides tossing in prepared foods and hoping for the best.
Some say 100 pounds of live rock per mandarin.

 

[PB_Smith]

It's been done, but the odds are that a dragonet will not last for very long in a tank that size. It will eat that tank clean pretty quickly. It's helpful if they are eating prepared foods, but that's not common. People say they can be "trained" but I don't see how training has anything to it besides tossing in prepared foods and hoping for the best.
Some say 100 pounds of live rock per mandarin.

But there are ways around that. Providing safe havens for the pods to live and reproduce is essential to maintaining a population.

Excellent, thanks for the info.

Culturing copepods/arthropods in a refugium, how long would you recommend I do it before starting to think about a dragonet, 6-12 months? Do you have a source you would suggest as a reliable place to get my initial culture?

If nothing else, the fish I have in the tank currently sure seem to be enjoying their little impromptu snack


Allison
Freshwater fish-head for more than 20 years now, but salt water newbie.

ReefsToGo has one of the better deals around if you catch one of their buy 1,000, get 1,000 for free, especially if there is free shipping.
They send a decent variety of critters, about 6 types, that will occupy different niches.
I have added about 3,000 pods that I have gotten from them and I also got some of Amazon; Poseidon's Feast Tigriopus & Tisbe pods, 3,000 count for $25 on sale.

From what I can see, all varieties are still alive and kicking in the fuge and they get swept into the display regularly.
sometimes I just take a handful of rubble from the fuge and shake it around in the display for a meal treat for the fish.

 

[mr_X]

As I said, it's been done, but tossing some store bought pods in a refugium and hoping enough reach the display to feed the extremely picky dragonet is not a "slam dunk". It may work, but then again, you may have to watch your fish slowly starve. It's not pleasant to witness. This happened to me with an approximate 3.5" copper banded butterfly in a 6 month old, 150 gallon tank with 55 gallon sump/refugium. The 150 pounds of rock wasn't able to keep up with the picky fish. You would be surprised how many pods a mandarin can eat in a day.

 

[RnBMum]

I saw a gent who has an absolutely stunning DT - seemingly textbook perfect in every way. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the thinnest, saddest looking dragonet I have ever seen come out of the rock work.

That is not my goal, and if that means I have to wait until I upgrade, and then some, so be it.


Allison
Freshwater fish-head for more than 20 years now, but salt water newbie.

 

[melosu58]

That`s the sign of a true aquarist when you can be reasonable and see limitations and do not put your livestock through difficult situations. Good luck with your tank.

 

[PB_Smith]

As I said, it's been done, but tossing some store bought pods in a refugium and hoping enough reach the display to feed the extremely picky dragonet is not a "slam dunk". It may work, but then again, you may have to watch your fish slowly starve. It's not pleasant to witness. This happened to me with an approximate 3.5" copper banded butterfly in a 6 month old, 150 gallon tank with 55 gallon sump/refugium. The 150 pounds of rock wasn't able to keep up with the picky fish. You would be surprised how many pods a mandarin can eat in a day.

Ok,
you notice that I said I seeded mine with multiple thousands of various types, and they are in an area designed specifically for them to flourish.
that is the only reason I am seeing any real success with them.
I'm certainly not able to sustain my fish with them by any means, but the occasional flush of pods into the tank helps.

For a copperband you really need to supply a lot more micro-fauna than just pods, especially varieties of worms as that is what their diet is mainly comprised of, so it is no surprise that you lost one even in the presence of a good pod population.
Please don't take that as any indictment of your experience, you obviously do know what you are doing.
I also have to tell myself "NO!" every time I see one that looks relatively healthy...LOL
Copperband Butterfly's are another animal that really shouldn't be generally offered because they are so finicky and it is nigh onto impossible to get the critters living in a tank that they really need.

 

[mr_X]

This copper banded only ate pods...no matter what type of live food I threw at him. Never ate an aptasia, or a worm of any kind. It's been my experience that here and there information on the net about what things do and don't eat is not necessarily 100% accurate. It's also been my experience that it's up to the fish- I've had "reef safe" tangs eat thousand dollar corals before my eyes, and predators live in harmony with their prey.

 

[PB_Smith]

This copper banded only ate pods...no matter what type of live food I threw at him. Never ate an aptasia, or a worm of any kind. It's been my experience that here and there information on the net about what things do and don't eat is not necessarily 100% accurate. It's also been my experience that it's up to the fish- I've had "reef safe" tangs eat thousand dollar corals before my eyes, and predators live in harmony with their prey.

true.
saw 3 beautiful big copperbands at the store today and kinda wept inside knowing that they had about a 10% chance of survival, especially from this store as they will sell almost anything to people, and one of them was already obviously in distress.

 

[mr_X]

10% is a stretch I'm afraid.