Another question on pods

[Blindrage]

I have now added pods to my tank multiple times, and I am still not seeing these guys around. I check my fuge using a flashlight on both the rocks and in the algae. I also check my rocks in the main tank with no luck. I am sure they are there, but I want them in numbers enough to cloud the waters with Mandarin foodstuff goodness (exaggeration, but enough to be seen when I am specifically looking for them).

I have now added two bottles of the Algae Barn pod mix, and still have a small culture of them going on the counter. I also added two bag of the reefs2go pods mix, and that is where I am concerned that I may have goofed. The R2G mix had a heavy dose of amphipods in the bags, and I am seeing these guys all over in my fuge and even in the sponge material in the sump to help control microbubbles. I know the amphipods are too big to act as a food source for dragonettes (2 planned for the tank) and the pipe fish and small goby that eat pods in my wife's tank. I am also worried that they may be using the copepods as a food source instead of letting them get into the main tank for the fish to eat.

Do amphipods eat copepods, or can they completely outbreed them taking up all the available food sources? Am I overreacting and just somehow missing all signs of a healthy copepod population?

The option I am starting to pursue to make sure I have enough food for all the pod eaters is culturing phyto and pods at home for my own use.

 

[kmcmurtry]

Following along as I did the same and would like to hear the feedback. I think the amphipods are crushing the pods i really needed. Or the reefs2go mix and algaebarn stuff just need time to grow? I'm almost thinking of setting up a pod grow tank offline.

 

[FishTV]

Amphipods do eat copepods, and so does just about everything in your tank, including tangs, snails, crabs, etc. Besides the active hunters, anything that is picking at your substrait is sucking up pods too!! Copepods do multiply like crazy, but they are small, and not as visable as amphipods, the only time I actually can see mine is when their on the glass, and even then you have to study prety hard to spot them ( grain of salt on that last statement, I dont need reading glasses, just longer arms ). To keep a helthy population of them, you do need to feed em'. Feed your tank Phyto, and more than just your coral will be happy.

 

[Blindrage]

Well I went searching after dark tonight (just finished) trying to find a decent pop of pods. What I found was a bit eye opening.

I knew I had a couple of pineapple sponges, but I found hundreds of them tonight. They are in the crevices of the rock, under the rock, etc. I then checked the sump and they are growing on pretty much every surface down there. Glad these things are harmless, and they should be self limiting given time.

I have amphipods everywhere... and I mean everywhere. I found them all over in the skimmer chamber. The fuge is packed. And the space between the skimmer and fuge chamber where the water dumps into the return has one of those heavy open weave black filter material blocks to prevent bubbles, and that block is crawling with the things. I also found what looks like a full grown brine or ghost shrimp in that chamber that is too big to every get out of there. And then I saw IT! I have a couple of aiptasia growing in the block that I can see, and that means there are more that I can not see of course.

Well then I went looking for these dang things. I found one growing in broad daylight at the bottom of the return chamber. I have found two in the DT on the backside of frags. Looks like my weekend just got filled with a search and destroy mission while there are still only a few. I can just take the foam blocks out and do a hot tap water dip on them. The ones in other spots will need a solution to kill them in place that does not risk those frags.