help id

[Aquaman29]

Anyone know what these little guys are

 

[OctoRob]

I have the same thing not sure what it is but my LFS says to not worry about that...

 

[imtcurveball]

Probably copepods.. Harmless. But annoying. Do a gravel vacuum to get rid of most of them. They feed off the fish waste so the cleaner your aquarium is... The less they will reproduce. If you want to get rid of them you can try a copper based Protozoa medicine. Unless you have other inverts in the tank.

 

[chenzo9999]

If they are copepods you want them. They are great for the aquarium, especially a reef. I am trying to find out where to get some to seed my tank.

 

[imtcurveball]

If they are copepods you want them. They are great for the aquarium, especially a reef. I am trying to find out where to get some to seed my tank.

I believe they sell them at liveaquaria.com you can look under live foods.

 

[LadyWise]

I believe mandarins eat them...

 

[Fishlover1601]

How do I post a thread?

 

[LadyWise]

Go to forum you want to start thread in. At top right corner you'll find a button with a square and an arrow. Click that and it will prompt you.

 

[Crystal A]

You absolutely do not want to get rid of them especially with copper based meds...... If you have any inverts or wish to have any copper is the last thing you want to add to a tank. Copper kills them and it never goes away. It leaches into the rock work and slowly releases back into the water colum making it impossible to keep inverts. They are Copepods or isopods or amphiapods. (Check spelling) free food for all life in you tank and a good sign that you tank is on the right track. no copper!!!

 

[imtcurveball]

You absolutely do not want to get rid of them especially with copper based meds...... If you have any inverts or wish to have any copper is the last thing you want to add to a tank. Copper kills them and it never goes away. It leaches into the rock work and slowly releases back into the water colum making it impossible to keep inverts. They are Copepods or isopods or amphiapods. (Check spelling) free food for all life in you tank and a good sign that you tank is on the right track. no copper!!!

I would never add copper to a reef tank because it would kill all my corals.. But in a FW tank It doesn't matter. I've never gotten FW copepods though.

 

[MacDracor]

Why in the world would anyone want copepods gone?? They're great! If I could find a reliable source for fw pods, I'd have pods in every tank I own!

 

[demotaz7]

If its trully an issue for ur visual perspective....get a mandarin goby. They are beautiful and pods are there source of nutrition....youll make a mandarin very happy....only problem is make sure u have enough rock work so the pods can continue to breed...its free food!!!! I have em breeding with cheato in my fuge for my mandarin

 

[MacDracor]

I believe the OP has a 40 gallon, which is not large enough to sustain Tw grazing habits of a mandarin, unless he could get it on prepared foods. That's really hit or miss. Any of the smaller wrasses will eat pods, as will most small fish. A mandarin would eat every last one in a few days, then begin to starve. Copepods provide live food, enrichment for the fish (hunting behavior breaks monotony), clean up waste, and increase the overall biodiversity. There are no substantial drawback that I know of. Visual appeal is very subjective, but once you know something is good, it becomes a lot easier to see it all the time.
If you want fewer pods, just feed less. But be aware that half the saltwater people on here would give their left leg to have that many pods in their tanks.