Cali Kid Corals

Copepods and brine shrimp LIVE

NelsonCh

NelsonCh

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I recently ordered some... can you guess?



. . . CORRECT. 5260 live copepods and 5000 live brine shrimp. Not sure how they reproduce specifically but I know if I dump 1000 into my sump, they should be sustainable?

Wanted to see if anyone who recently set up a new tank would like to get some to benefit their tanks natural shizaams if they dont have any already.

These are very high quality show copepods and brine shrimp like those hundred dollar shrooms sooo please try to keep them recycling.

They arrive friday or saturday 4/20-21 so I can send them on their tank journeys then.

PmPmPmmm. I miss posts sometimes.


BONUS:
If you are still reading, wouldnt it be great if we could ask someone who aquacultures these to become a sponsor? Will benefit new hobbyists tremendously. I would like to talk to whoever has the power to establish sponsorships and do a collab/joint-effort chat.
 
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For what it's worth, you have a 200 gallon system so 5000 copepods isn't very many especially if you have livestock that will start eating them. As to the brine shrimp you won't establish a breeding population in a fuge. Brine shrimp eggs (I believe) have to kept in suspension to hatch and you would need a separate tank set-up to keep cultivating them.
 
Brine shrimp cultivation would definitely need a different setup. Beyond keeping the eggs in suspension, you also get the egg shells which are leftover after they hatch. You'd want to use 2L bottles or something along those lines instead. I supplement/condition/acclimate hard to feed fish on bbs, as needed, initially and then wean them off afterwards.
 
Not to mention brine shrimp aren't very nutritious unless freshly hatched and enriched.
Chad from reef nutrition has done presentations for Us before on culturing pods and rotifers, and is a current sponsor.
 
The copepods should reproduce well in your tank if you have rubble and chaeto in your refugium. Also I would recommend not using the filter socks so they can recirculate and also so the detritus the socks would normally catch will accumulate in your refugium instead. I do put the socks back in when I’m cleaning the tank and stirring up extra junk from the sand bed and rockscape.

I used the AlgaeBarn 5280 3-pod mix and just put them directly in my refugium with return off for a while so they could settle in. I’ve noticed they are multiplying well and keeping my pod-eating critters happy.
 
The reason for diversity is pretty simple. Copepod species occupy different niches. Some species prefer to exist in rubble or rock. Others on the substrate orveven more in the water column. Populations also go through natural expansions and declines. By having multiple populations you ensure that there are enough to go around for the livestock that depend on them if a particular species goes through a collapse. I think three species is ideal for our Reef tanks.
 
Bruce Spiegelman said:
The reason for diversity is pretty simple. Copepod species occupy different niches. Some species prefer to exist in rubble or rock. Others on the substrate orveven more in the water column. Populations also go through natural expansions and declines. By having multiple populations you ensure that there are enough to go around for the livestock that depend on them if a particular species goes through a collapse. I think three species is ideal for our Reef tanks.
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Ooooh okay thanks!

I figure half the bag or 2500so copepods should be enough for me to get started. I already got some pms so Ill have to hold my original offer to give some. If I feel I need more, which I hopefully dont... I can just buy some from Chad or algaebarn again.


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NelsonCh said:
I got the 3 different copepods. Not sure what difference it will make versus one kind but diversity doesnt sound bad.

Going to try and breed brine shrimp.


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I’m not sure if people really “breed” brine shrimp. From what I’ve read, it seems that people collect the eggs and then sell them to us hobbyists, and then we hatch them. I would recommend decapsulating brine shrimp eggs if you are going to hatch some, the shrimp will be more nutritious because it uses less energy breaking out of the shell, and there won’t be a leftover shell to discard of
 
Fish Boss said:
I’m not sure if people really “breed” brine shrimp. From what I’ve read, it seems that people collect the eggs and then sell them to us hobbyists, and then we hatch them. I would recommend decapsulating brine shrimp eggs if you are going to hatch some, the shrimp will be more nutritious because it uses less energy breaking out of the shell, and there won’t be a leftover shell to discard of
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Will definitely spend time reading up on it. Going to be a fun weekend.


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NelsonCh said:
Ooooh okay thanks!

I figure half the bag or 2500so copepods should be enough for me to get started. I already got some pms so Ill have to hold my original offer to give some. If I feel I need more, which I hopefully dont... I can just buy some from Chad or algaebarn again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I usually throw three or four thousand extra in my refugium every month.
 
120 Gallons total volume. And yes -- it's full of Wrasses. However, I used to do the same in my other 120 every month that had a pair of Mandarins in it. Mandarins can wipe out a population quickly even in a large tank.
 
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