Breeding ground for pods

[the_fish_man]

So I know pods breed well in cheato but I dont have a refugium so I don't have any cheato for them. I have thought about getting some and putting it in a hole in my liverock but I haven't done that. Well today I was looking at my tank and I saw a lot of pods on the glass in a corner of my tank. On the backwall rigt next to the corner there Is hair algae growing there. And I saw a ton of them in the hair algae. So I'm wondering if they are using that as a back up for cheato?

 

[chrislorentz]

They will breed in the rocks as well

 

[SteveT]

I have seen my copepods hanging out in my hair algae before, but since its a nuisance algae you don't really want to encourage its growth just for your pods. A lot of the types of Pods just like to be sitting on something, so its just a matter of having more surface area for them to hang out on. I would recommend just building a small pile of live rock rubble in the corner of your tank to serve as a Pod breeding ground.

 

[the_fish_man]

I have seen my copepods hanging out in my hair algae before, but since its a nuisance algae you don't really want to encourage its growth just for your pods. A lot of the types of Pods just like to be sitting on something, so its just a matter of having more surface area for them to hang out on. I would recommend just building a small pile of live rock rubble in the corner of your tank to serve as a Pod breeding ground.

Ya I wouldn't let the algae grow more if they liked it or not. Now what if I take your idea and got a filter sock and put some cheato and live rock rubble in it. Would that work?

 

[SteveT]

doesn't sound like the prettiest thing in the world but ya that would probably work as long as the chaeto gets a decent amount of light so it doesn't die.

 

[djkms]

I think you are way over thinking it fish man. Copepods only need 3 things to reproduce.

A place free from preditation (rock piles work)
Food - Detritus works but phytoplankton is better
A place of low flow (again rock pile works)

btw are you sure what you are seeing isnt amphipods? Copepods generally do not come out during the day and are not easily visible to the naked eye. I am not saying they are microscopic but they are really tiny and most people confuse amphipods with copepods.

 

[dvenson]

doesn't sound like the prettiest thing in the world but ya that would probably work as long as the chaeto gets a decent amount of light so it doesn't die.

i have had a ball of cheto in a 55 gallon tank for over 2 months with only surrounding room light and it has survived not grown but still there but the rock was in water with high nitrates.