Copepods make up the crustacean arthropod subclass Copepoda. It is one of the most ecologically important groups of animals on the planet. This isn’t just because they are the most abundant animal species, nor just because they collectively make up the most biomass (which they do!). Rather, it is because most all freshwater and marine food chains ultimately lead back to them; this is because they are primary consumers, heavily grazing algae both from open waters and seafloors. In so doing, copepods transfer nutrients and biomass created by primary producers to predators higher up in the food chain. Just as these activities are so essential to the wellbeing of natural marine ecosystems, they are important in one’s saltwater aquarium.
Copepods benefit marine aquaria of all kinds in all sorts of ways. Most species, for example, make a great foundation for the clean-up crew. Their capacity for controlling detritus and nuisance algae is certainly impressive. As they grow and multiply, they become a highly nutritious live food source for an astoundingly broad range of aquarium animals. For example, as benthic types grow to adults, they are picked off of the bottom by small fishes such as green mandarins, six-line wrasses, etc. Larger planktonic types get picked off by zooplanktivores such as anthias. Tiny copepod larvae, which are almost universally free-living in the water column, serve as an excellent food source for many types of corals.
In this section, you will learn which type of copepod best suits your needs, how to add “pods” to your tank and how to keep a resident pod population flourishing indefinitely.
It’s both strange and unfortunate that some of the most widely occurring copepod species on Earth remain rare in the aquarium trade–particularly those that are hardy, ecologically distinct and useful in captive systems. Euterpina acutifrons is an excellent example of this. Thankfully, these things don’t escape notice at AlgaeBarn, who have introduced this highly valuable …
A Closer Look at the Harpacticoid Copepod Euterpina acutifrons Read More »
Mesozooplankton (e.g. copepods) are characterized as planktonic animals in the size range of 0.2-20 mm. They may be divided into distinct functional groups by their feeding strategies (grazers, predators or detritivores/suspension feeders). Mesozooplankton are an important food source for reef fish and benthic planktivores (including corals). Research suggests that bacteria and detritus–rather than phytoplankton–are the …
Photosynthetic corals dominate natural, shallow tropical coral reefs. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that they are so prevalent in the reef aquarium hobby. But as some aquarists master the husbandry of more delicate/demanding stony corals types, and successfully keep them for long periods of time, they start to look to other …
If you have even worked at the retail or wholesale end of the aquarium fish industry–even for just a week–you are probably keenly aware of the threats posed by viral, bacterial, and especially parasitic diseases. Between fish collectors, breeders, distributors, stores, etc., your new fish may have crossed paths with hundreds or even thousands of …
For a lot of people, a refugium is an opportunity to keep an “extra” tank. This doesn’t necessarily mean more of the same; in fact, the refugium typically houses stuff that you cannot keep in the “main” tank, like Refugium Fish. Generally, this consists of macroalgae. The idea is that in the refugium, macros (1) …
Pods. Phyto. At AlgaeBarn, these are the bread and butter of the reef aquarium diet. And for sure, these two items form the base of most freshwater and marine food chains. Just consider OceanMagik, which is a blend of four distinctly different species of phytoplankton. Or EcoPods, which is a mixed-species (four, to be exact) …
You might be setting up a brand-new reef tank. Maybe you’re doing some upgrades to an existing aquarium. Either way, you’ll have a lot of individual concerns to address. First and foremost, “Is this system capable of managing a large(r) bioload?” And then, “How will I deal with all of the nitrate that my biofilter …
Upgrading to the ULTIMATE Refugium Starter Pack Read More »
It’s hard to say for sure which came first for reef aquarists–the emergence of high-quality coral foods, or the realization that corals actually, really, truly do eat them. Though aquarists are generally a skeptical bunch, the initial apprehension to feeding corals is pretty understandable; in all fairness, many such foods sold in the recent past …
There was once a time when zooxanthellate corals (especially SPS corals) were considered impossible to keep in captivity. Then advancements in aquarium lighting technology changed all that. It’s hard to imagine that there so recently was a day when marine aquarists abandoned the possibility of ever keeping Acropora–one of the most abundant genera of stony …
Natural Water Quality Management for Non-Photosynthetic Reef Aquaria Read More »
Marine aquarists are blessed with a gigantic selection of beautiful fish species to keep. Among these, only some are peaceful, reef-safe and relatively easy for beginners to keep. Even fewer are small enough at full size to be suited for nano aquaria. The firefishes are exceptional in that they hit all of these marks. Still, …
Whether scouting for your first aquarium, or “graduating” from a freshwater aquarium, there is something about a saltwater aquarium that is mesmerizing. For many lifelong aquarists, that feeling of captivating awe never goes away. Thankfully, the intimidating task of learning how to actually build and maintain a saltwater aquarium system does go away. In fact, …
Copepods (pods) are essentially required for any reef aquarium. They perform three important ecological tasks: (1) Graze on benthic microalgae, (2) scavenge detritus, and (3) serve as food for diverse zooplanktivores. They are so ubiquitous in nature, and even in captivity, that they commonly invade new tanks as hitchhikers on live rock, corals, etc. While …
Why Larval Pods are Better for Seeding (Even If You Can’t See Them) Read More »
Marine aquarists have always had access to temperate species. In fact, in the days before improved packaging/shipping procedures allowed for the massive import of tropical species that we enjoy today, most saltwater aquarium livestock originated from temperate waters. Catalina gobies, waratah anemones, garibaldi damsels… At least half of the seahorses… The coolest boxfishes… Anyone who …
Back in “the day,” to acquire a seed culture of copepods, aquarists would typically have to resort to scooping a couple cups of gravel from the bottom of a fellow aquarist’s tank. In these cases, you could only hope to have nabbed a few viable pods–and not any pests (like juvenile aiptasia anemones)! If you …
We’ve come a long, long way in advancing natural marine aquarium keeping. Those of us who started out in the 80’s with barren “aquascapes” dead coral skeletons and crushed coral bottoms might look back with amazement at how so much has changed so fast. Just recall how many developments have taken place over the last …
Corals in a Box of Water: Creating a Natural Reef Tank Read More »
In the sense that very, very few animals specialize to eat only one thing, all animals are omnivores, and prefer live foods. For example, when herbivores graze on turf algae, they’re not just eating algae but rather the entire “epilithic algal matrix” which includes those bacteria, protists, etc. that live on the algae. Similarly, in …
Earth is a planet of pods. Wherever there is water, there are amphipods, isopods, branchiopods, and so on. Pods are an integral part of pretty much every freshwater, brackish and marine ecosystem. But even among all these big players, the tiny copepod is a giant; in terms of both biomass and sheer number, copepods (subclass …
Why EcoPods are the Best Live Copepod Product Ever Read More »
So many marine aquarium fishes can be exciting to watch; some are big and belligerent, some are beefy and bullish, some are lightning fast, some are deadly venomous and others are armed with sharp teeth or spines. Even many of the fish we keep in the conventional reef tank can be downright predatory or aggressive, …
AlgaeBarn is hardly the only aquarium hobby-centered business to produce phytoplankton and macroalgae. But we like to think that we’re pretty darn good at it–if not the best! Consider our highly-acclaimed premium live phyto blend OceanMagik in various kits or our standard-setting CleanMacro series. If it needs to be stated, algae is kind of the …
The Whole Package: Integrating AlgaeBarn’s Kits & Combos Read More »
Considering that aquarium keeping is a mere nerdy pastime, it can be surprising that there are so many contentious issues amongst hobbyists. One such big “controversy” centers around the impact of mechanical filtration (especially filter socks) on zooplankton (especially copepods). Naturally, as one of the world’s largest commercial producers of copepods, we have a couple …
Pod vs Sock: Do Mechanical Filters Kill Copepods? Read More »
