In terms of both numbers and biomass, the copepods (Subclass Copepoda) dominate the zooplankton oceanwide. These minute crustaceans are of immense value ecologically because they play a central role in the linear trophic transfer of nutrients and food energy as intermediaries between primary producers (e.g. phytoplankton) and higher animals such as fish. But it’s usually …
Copepods
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.
Copepods: The Ocean’s Cornucopia
In 1905, an engineering mishap caused the Colorado River to flood a shallow basin over the San Andreas Fault in California. With evaporation rates that exceeded rates of inflow, the massive lake began to increase in salinity; Salton Lake was born. Soon, this artificially (and indeed accidentally) made inland sea would develop its own rich …
Gorgonians in the Marine Aquarium
It should go without saying that the hermatypic, stony, reef-building corals will dominate most reef aquaria. Thankfully, so long as (1) key water parameters are monitored, (2) the appropriate light conditions are provided and (3) nutritious planktonic foods are present, these beautiful plant-animal symbiotic combos easily flourish even in the care of novice hobbyists. Especially …
Eliminating Detritus in the Refugium
Ever feel like no matter how much time you spend cleaning your tank, it can never really ever get clean? Detritus build-ups can be especially frustrating as they seem to come from nowhere and seriously compromise the healthy and natural appearance of an otherwise beautiful exhibit. One solution is to construct the system in such …
Copepods
Imagine for a second how food energy from grass, a primary producer, is transferred to a bluebird. The bluebirds don’t eat grass. Rather, they consume grasshoppers—which certainly do eat grass. In this way every secondary consumer obtains life-giving energy and biomass from primary producers through an intermediate, primary consumer. So it is across the ocean, …
Tig Pods: A Food for Many
The reef aquarium hobby continues to reach new heights. This is most evident by the extraordinarily beautiful systems we see on display in public places, in images on social media, in advertisements, and even in some homes. These advancements have come about not only through improved technologies and supplements, but also through a better understanding …
Kickstarting Your New Refugium
Whether it’s just been installed as part of a bone-dry, newly set up aquarium system or as an add-on to a well-established, heavily stocked reef tank, you’ll probably want your new refugium to be operating at its peak performance from the onset. Seeding the right beneficial organisms in the right amount at the right time …
A Copepod Cornucopia: How to Maintain a Continuous Live Food Source in Your Reef Aquarium
Some of us aquarists are satisfied just to find a pod or two in our systems—just to know that they’re still there! Then again, some of us are always reaching for that endless bumper crop. Those who push for ever higher copepod yields might indeed be on to something really big. Let Them Eat Pods …
Amphipods and/or Copepods: Can They Peacefully Coexist?
Detritus and algal films compromise the aesthetic appearance and environmental quality of any saltwater aquarium. For sure, they present some of the most serious (and frustrating) issues for an aquarist to contend with. The easiest and least expensive way to deal with these issues is through biological control. This typically involves the use of a …
Amphipods and/or Copepods: Can They Peacefully Coexist? Read More »
Stocking a Refugium
Marine aquaria have a peculiar way of growing (in terms of both size and complexity) over time. These “add-ons,” be they filtration units, reactors, or whatever, grow from the so-called main tank in an almost organic manner. But, no matter how elaborate an aquarium set-up becomes, the sum of all the parts can always be …
The Refugium: A Home for Your Pods
It just isn’t enough to say that a refugium is “a tank on a tank” or “a sump with some macroalgae in it.” When used to their full potential, refugia make for a far more dynamic—yet more stable—captive ecosystem. Though they are typically smaller in size than the main tank, refugia play a major role …
From Detritus to Delicacy: Using Harpacticoid Copepods for Natural Nutrient Cycling
Pretty much nobody wants their marine aquarium to be covered with filth and green slime. Yet, mulm and benthic microalgae show up (at least in some amount) in just about every system. This is normal to some degree. However, anything more than a patch here or there can be seen as a symptom of problems …
From Detritus to Delicacy: Using Harpacticoid Copepods for Natural Nutrient Cycling Read More »
How to Seed Your Reef Tank
Seeding (and Re-Seeding) Copepods in the Marine Aquarium It’s understandable—totally natural, even—to want to see what we’re buying when we are trying to seed copepods. In the case of live copepod products, however, the most important constituent (if present) cannot be clearly observed with the naked eye. Some products might contain lots of visible pods. …
Are There Copepods in Your Reef?
Are There Pods in Your Reef? Considering that they are an integral component of pretty much all natural marine ecosystems, it is likely that a large, stable population of copepods could benefit any reef aquarium. The surest means of establishing a lasting supply of copepods in your reef is to seed the aquarium system with …
Pod Size Matters: Feeding and Seeding with Copepod Cultures of All Life Stages
No matter how or when you do it, adding live copepod cultures to a reef aquarium has numerous benefits and absolutely no drawbacks. These tiny crustaceans provide an extremely nutritious, natural food source for a wide variety of reef animals ranging from gorgonians to mandarin fish. Additionally, if conditions allow for it, seeding can lead …
Pod Size Matters: Feeding and Seeding with Copepod Cultures of All Life Stages Read More »
Feeding the Mandarin Fish
For so many aquarists, the green mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) is a must-have species. Its endearing personality, exquisite finnage and intense coloration rarely fail to impress. Given these highly desirable traits, it has for long been among the most popular marine aquarium fishes. Thus, many thousands of specimens of this species are sold in the ornamental …
Pods In Your Reef: Seeding a Marine Aquarium with Copepods
Benefits of Pods In Your Reef: Microcrustaceans (or “pods”) in general, and copepods in particular, are an integral component of aquatic food webs. This is so in virtually every marine environment including coral reef habitats. Therefore, pods in your reef are a healthful addition to any reef aquarium. Lucky, a handful of useful copepod species …
Pods In Your Reef: Seeding a Marine Aquarium with Copepods Read More »
Mandarin Goby Fish Care | Using Copepods to keep a Mandarin Dragonet
Mandarin Goby Fish Care 101: Foods and feeding are the foremost concern for any aquarist wishing to keep a marine mandarin fish (Synchiropus splendidus). Most critical in the diet of a mandarin is (1) constant availability of feeding opportunities and (2) food sources that are varied but primarily consist of enriched pods. If you get …
Mandarin Goby Fish Care | Using Copepods to keep a Mandarin Dragonet Read More »
Getting Your Greens: The Benefits of Feeding Live Nannochloropsis
Most of us want—and should want—our aquarium systems to more or less function ecologically in a way that resembles natural marine environments. Probably the most critical aspect of this is establishing a naturalistic food web. Unicellular, free-living, perpetually suspended algae (i.e. phytoplankton) account for a great deal of primary productivity in areas over or close …
Getting Your Greens: The Benefits of Feeding Live Nannochloropsis Read More »
Feeding Your Hungry Pods
Marine aquarists are really attempting to accomplish several goals when introducing copepods to their systems. These undoubtedly include elimination of detritus, controlling nuisance algae and providing excellent nutrition for countless reef fish and invertebrate species. But the general aim, of course, is to create a more dynamic and balanced captive ecosystem. After all, copepods are …