• How can I grow more pods in my tank?

    Hi Marc,
    My name is Dennis and I am still kinda new to this. I have a 90gal RR tank with a 35 gal refugium. I have a mandarin and want to be sure he is getting copepods. I can see them in the first stage of my [sump] (where the overflow and my skimmer are) - they are everywhere swimming around. But when I look in the middle section (where the cheatomorpha and Miracle Mud are) I am not seeing them as much, maybe a glimpse of one or two. The same with the return pump section, I see one or two but not like in the overflow section. Do you think I need to trying use a pump to transfer some over to the return pump section or into a container and then straight to the main tank? Will they make it back to the main tank eventually? I just want to be sure the mandarin gets what he needs. Also how much cheato should I have in the middle section before I trim it back? Right now it is wall-to-wall, and is there something I can do to shake the pods out of it when I do trim it so I don't lose what I have tried so hard to get growing for the mandarin? I hope you don't me asking you directly; this hobby can be overwhelming at the start and sometimes when you post a question there are so many different opinions thrown out there that a newbie doesn't know which [answers to believe].

    Hi Dennis. Mandarins need their food, that's a fact. You can also use various products to replenish that food, and there are proactive ways like my Mandarin Diner article explains. Have you read it yet? http://www.melevsreef.com/mandarin_diner.html

    The best way to grow more pods is to feed your tank phytoplankton regularly. If you don't do this now, pods will be less prominent. Shaking out the cheatomorpha is a good move, and yes your return pump can send them into the tank undamaged. They just get washed up in the flow. I'd suggest you do this after lights out so you don't have your other fish gobble them up on sight. The mandarin will spot them in the rockwork as it forages for food the next day.



    You can purchase bottled copepods from your local fish store or online. Adding more pods to your system twice a year is a good routine, something you should definitely consider doing. Make sure the bottle is at room temperature before adding it to your tank, because a big change in temperature (refrigerated water into 79F water) will be detrimental to the tiny bugs you are wanting to live and breed in your tank. Match up the temperature, turn off the pumps, and add them after lights out. Or pour them directly into the refugium any time you like, as that is a fish-free zone with no risk of predation.

    You can shake out the cheatomorpha in the return zone or even in the display tank, or in a bucket of tank water, then pour out the liquid back into the tank through a net, catching the larger bits of algae and other unwanted stuff. The pods will pass through the netting.

    You can remove 25% or more of the macro algae once a month, and share it with others in the club. I'd take some myself if the timing was right and we were meeting up at the meeting, for example. Pull apart what you still have, tugging gently to reduce how densely packed it was, and this will encourage more plant growth.

    Hope this helps.
    Comments 5 Comments
    1. Alaska_Phil's Avatar
      Alaska_Phil -
      Get a red flashlight (most simple marine organisms can't see red light and arn't disturbed by it) and look closely at your rockwork at night. I'm hard pressed to find a single pod in my tank with the lights on, but under the red flashlight the rocks are litterally crawling with them.

      Also, what other fish do you have? Wrasses will devistate pod populations very quickly, and even the little rainford's goby can put a significant dent in it.

      Phil
    1. Paul B's Avatar
      Paul B -
      You can also build this cheap, easy feeder and hatch baby brine shrimp every day such as I do. My tank is full of pods but I like watching the mandarins and other fish eat from a feeder. There is a screen on top that allows the shrimp to just about fit through. Mandarins soon learn to sit on the thing all day and suck out shrimp



    1. Floggin's Avatar
      Floggin -
      Really liked this article. Going to have to start doing some of these things so I can get a mandarin myself and he is plenty happy. Interesting about the red light too!
    1. bazzinga13's Avatar
      bazzinga13 -
      Guessing not a good idea having a multi colour wrasse and mandarin in same tank as wrasse will eat most of the pods
    1. Paul B's Avatar
      Paul B -
      Last week my mandarins spawned. There are plenty of pods in my tank but I suppliment them with live newborn brine shrimp that I put in a special feeder every day. I have no trouble keeping mandarins for years but if I want them to spawn, I increase their food with this feeder.
      This female was very skinny when I got her as you can see in the 2nd picture. The last 2 are video's