The Ultimate Galaxy Pack is our newest live feeding system designed to provide the most balanced nutritional profile. AlgaeBarn has put together an even wider range of food particle sizes, making it easier and cheaper to feed the reef tank system. The live phyto and bacterioplankton in this one-of-a-kind kit clean up as they grow up.
In this article, we are discussing how Galaxy Pods work in this pack. Spoiler alert: it’s the factor that plays an enormous role in reef nutrition – biodiversity! At the risk of sounding too repetitive, we won’t get into all the reasons we want to promote biodiversity in our reef tanks. With the Ultimate Galaxy Pack, we have not only increased the number of live foods by adding a fifth pod species, but we’ve added more types of food to the bundle.
So, let’s dive right in and talk about what makes Galaxy Pods so great!
Not your average pods
Copepods are among the most abundant organisms in the ocean and are crucial in the food web! As vital trophic moderators, they enable and direct the movement of nutrients and food energy throughout the food web. Many of the nutrients they ingest get passed on to the larger creatures that eat them.
Amphipods, isopods, and copepods are essential workers in just about every aquatic ecosystem on the planet. Pods are among the most abundant animal species in nature. They’re also on the hook for providing nutrients to a wide range of marine life. It is common to find many different pod species sharing space in tropical coral reefs. Although each species occupies its own unique biological niche. The reef tank system is similar, which is why Galaxy Pods is one of the most innovative live zooplankton products available.
Galaxy pods is a mixture of five copepod species. Each species was chosen based on its size, behavior, and nutritional profile. These pods work together as a clean-up crew to reduce film algae and detritus. They also provide superior nutrition to fish and corals. We ensure each jar of Galaxy Pods has pods in different stages of life cycles. AlgaeBarn takes this extra step to improve and maintain the pod population in your reef tank system.
Because of the variations in size and behavior of each type of pod, they meet different needs in the reef tank system. A balanced community of pods encourages the transfer of nutrients and food energy throughout the food web. Let’s briefly go over the Galaxy Pod lineup:
Tigriopus californicus – Tig Pods
Tig pods are high in amino and omega-3 fatty acids, making them a healthy food source for fish and coral. They will find their way into the water column on making a great snack for reef fishes. During their lifecycle, female Tig Pods can lay hundreds of eggs. Tig Pods eat detritus and nuisance alga in the reef tank, making them a great member of the cleanup crew.
Tisbe biminiensis – Tisbe Pods
Tisbe Pods are small but mighty! They prefer to live in the crevices of live rock and seagrass beds. Tisbe pods contribute to the reef tank’s clean-up crew by eating detritus, phyto, and nuisance algae.
Oithona colcarva – Oithona Pods
Oithona are extremely adaptive pods. They are a cyclopoid that spends most of its life cycle free-living in the water column. Oithona Pods feed on particulates as small as bacteria. They are nocturnal which helps to preserve strong populations.
Apocyclops panamensis – Apocalypse Pods
Apocalypse Pods are larger than Tisbe and smaller than Tig Pods. They round out the zooplankton size range in the reef tank quite nicely. Apocalypse Pods are a superfood with a high amino acid and protein content. They are resilient and fast-growing, adding a clutch of eggs every 4-6 days. Apocalypse Pods also eat film algae, helping to keep the substrate clean.
Euterpina acutifrons – Euterpina Pods
E. acutifrons is primarily a planktonic pod. This pod is a non-selective herbivore. They will feed on live phyto, smaller protozoans and ciliates. Euterpina pods are rich in proteins and amino acids which are ideal for reef tank nutrition.
The Galaxy Five
Each jar of Galaxy Pods includes five different species of pods. We selected two species of cyclopoid pods, Apocyclops and Oithona. We also picked three harpacticoid (Euterpina, Tigriopus and Tisbe) copepod species. They each fulfill a special role in the reef tank system.
Harpaticoids are miniscule creatures that rarely grow more than 2 millimeters in length. These pods have relatively short, forked antennae. They are free floating and can be found in places with a lot of sand or debris.
Tig pods are a robust kind of copepod. They have been found living in some of the most inhospitable intertidal zones. Tig pods are resistant to changes in pH, temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen levels. They are also known to contribute greatly to the clean-up crew population. During its life cycle, a single female Tig pod can deposit hundreds of eggs.
The Tisbe Pods are small critters, and they feel most at home in warm, tropical waters. They are also excellent breeders. Females can produce eggs within the first 10 days of their lives. The female Tisbe Pod can deposit eight or nine broods during her life cycle.
E. acutifrons feeds on live phyto and small protozoans like ciliates. Euterpina Pods have shown preference for algae like Isochrysis and Nannochloropsis. While it shares many of the good qualities of other harpacticoids, E. acutifrons gives to the ecological biodiversity of the reef tank system.
Cyclopoid pods have similar appearances. Their antennae are shorter than those of most of their relatives. Their antennae are about half the size of their bodies. These pods are usually free-floating during part of their life cycles. Adult cyclopoid pods stay close to the substrate rather than swimming up into the water column.
Oithona and Apocalypse Pods are some of the toughest pods on earth! They can even be found in high salinity water or estuaries. Oithona Pods are mostly a planktonic species that favors shallow, tropical waters. Apocyclops, on the other hand, can be found in both tropical and temperate seas. Apocyclops spends its larval stages as planktonic but benthic in its adult stages.
Best of all, the Galaxy Pods are the perfect size and nutritional profile for reef tank systems. Their larva is a valuable source of food for corals, while the adults are devoured by small reef fishes like mandarin gobies.
Conclusion
The Ultimate Galaxy Pack has a carefully selected assortment of live foods designed to provide a balanced nutritional profile. The live phyto and bacterioplankton in this bundle start to clean up immediately. PNS ProBio & YelloSno improve water quality with each feed. While the pods reduce detritus and film algae.
Galaxy Pods are a mixture of five copepod species. Each species was chosen based on its size, behavior, and nutritional profile. They are high in amino and omega-3 fatty acids, making them a healthy food source for fish and coral.
The Ultimate Galaxy Pack is our newest live feeding system designed to provide the most balanced nutritional profile. A balanced community of pods encourages the transfer of nutrients and food energy throughout the food web. This diverse range of food particle sizes makes it easier and less expensive to feed the reef tank!
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