amphipods and coppepods

[jay2k2]

what eats these!

[Satchmo]

I do.

 

Do you want less of them? They're good for your tank.

[Metznreef]

manderins, scooter blennies, grammas, dotty backs, psuedos, damsels and a ton of other fish

[jay2k2]

i want a red scooter! and what do they exactly do?!

[polkadot]

red scooter is a good choice for your tank's size. it glides all day in your tank, on the sand, and climbs all over the rocks, looking for those little critters. its appetite is large, endless, i should say. it just looks for food all day as long as your lights are on.

 

its color is not so bright since its defense is to camouglage its body against the rocks and sand. but what it lacks in color, it makes up in personality. the scooter is like a happy puppy that wanders all over the garden all day.

[jay2k2]

i mean what do the anipods and copepads do?! LOL thanks for the blenny discritpion!

[Satchmo]

They run around at night eating detritis and little bits on your rock and sand. They also provide a natural and self-sustaining food source for your inhabitants. If you really want a kick, wait until an hour or so after lights out, then shine a little pen light into your tank. It's amazing to watch :cool:

[jay2k2]

i am gonna try that tonight!

[pulpsmack]

That's more the amphipods. Copepods in a macro perspective are somewhat of a pest. They can feast on decorative algaes and sometimes act as parasites on fish. This is very rarely cause for alarm in the types of tanks that we manage however. For our purposes the copepod is a valuable commodity as a food source for small fish on the reef like those metznreef mentioned.

[Sahin]

Over the last week or so the pod populations in my tank has boosted.

 

I rarely used to see more than a few of them behind each rock etc. But now when I shine the torch at night, I can see loads of then, all kinda milling about the various rocks. I even think my button polyps caught a few as they sometimes close up suddenly and I say one with an empty pod shell sticking out.

[Metznreef]

okay, you want somthing to get rid of copods, but don't want somthing with a diet as specific as a manderin? i have your answer: a bicolor psuedochromis (or royal dottyback). for the past few weeks, i have watched copods, amphipods, and various other little "bugs" take over my nano. on saturday i add the bicolor psuedo, and bam, no more micro fauna. one day the pop is booming, the next i see only a couple. all the fish does all day is go around his caves and rock and hunt. i suspect the ones he doesn't eat are forced to come out at night while he sleeps. o well, sucks for them. i never even knew copods could be pests.