[RyanG]

Who has pods in their tank? Any pictures of those guys?

[c-c]

We have amphipods in our tank but can't take a picture as our camera is not strong enough to zoom in on the little guys. They show up better when they crawl up the glass. We used an eyedropper to suck one off the glass and view it microscopically. I spent all my money getting my tank set up so can't afford a good camera.
c-c

[c-c]

Reefbuilders,
You inspired me to try and take a picture through the microscope lens of an amphipod isolated on a slide at 10X magnification and it amazingly worked out to a half decent view. It was still moving around on the slide.




Later...after much fidgeting... with the same camera on ZOOM through the viewing lens of microscope I got this:


Sorry, it's blurry, I was amazed I could do anything THAT clear as it was a cheapo camera ($130.00 K-mart special):rolleyes:

I shot a 30 second video of the little guy moving but haven't been able to upload it. Is that possible on this forum? Just wondering. :confused:
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[c-c]

www.National Resource Center for Cephalopods. I found this site which may be useful to someone.

[Krazy]

nice pics C-C !!!

[c-c]

Thanks Keith!

Interesting Link:about these "little bugs"
Bitty Bugs: Copepods in the Reef Aquarium by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

[chicago coral]

i found a university at researchassistantt.com that will ship through regular mail very cheap like 5 dollars and they sell live rotifers,copepods,amphipo ds and other things really cheap.i tried them and was happy with everything

[chicago coral]

the right website is ifscultures.com 1-662-236-4686

[wendyzim]

what is the benifit of the pods?

[chicago coral]

your fish eat them if you have starfish they will scavenge for them around the rocks and i believe they are high nutritionally for their diet.i had some seahorses and they would look for pods as they multiply quickly and everywhere,like in the filters sand rock,so when you clean your filters look closely or bang the sponge against a paper plate and you'll probably see a couple fall off.

[msbdiving]

I tried the web site and couldn't find them. Could you map it out orpm me and send the link directly.

[ry77]

some pods on my glass





there are a bunch floating around in my tank and resting on my glass

[Dan S]

i have a 10 Gal nano thats been up and running for 6 months now and last night i noticed the sand coming alive. I noticed about 8 clear "bugs" climbing in the sand against the glass. They are about 1/4" long and look like they have about 8-12 legs, kind of hard to tell because theyre so small and wiggle around. I was wondering if these are pods or baby shrimp or something that i should be worried about. I will try to post a pic if i can get a good one but theyre so small.

[ACE]

I know they are god for the tank so how do you keep them from over multiplying I was thanking of buying something that eats them so what eats them???

[ry77]

i know that manderins eat them( but you need lots and lots of them all the time)

[chicago coral]

Originally Posted by msbdiving

I tried the web site and couldn't find them. Could you map it out orpm me and send the link directly.

the website is L.F.S. CULTURES (www.lfscultures.com) phone#662-236-4687

[chicago coral]

you don't have to worry about them overpopulating, all of your fish will pretty much eat them.when i clean my filters i will throw any i find back in the tank and they never make it to the bottom because they are eaten.

[pogodzib]

ry77 - Those look like a type of flatworm on your glass. Tough to tell by the pic but you should check it out. Some flatworms like to munch on Acros (AEFW) and other types can overpopulate your tank. The ones in the pics don't appear to be nuscience kinds.

ACE - They only multiply when they have food to eat. If there isn't enough waste in the tank, they will slowly die off until their population equalizes. You don't need to worry about controlling them.

For those of you that haven't seen any pods in your tank or don't think that you have any of them, they usually only come out at night. Try taking a flashlight a couple hours after your lights go out and you'll probably see some crawling around on your rocks. Pretty much anyone that has boughten live rock should have them.

[michelle's ocean fantasy]

Question: Is it better to add the pods while you are beginning? Like when you are cycling the tank, and let them multiply before even adding any fish/inverts?

[Krazy]

Originally Posted by michelle's ocean fantasy

Question: Is it better to add the pods while you are beginning? Like when you are cycling the tank, and let them multiply before even adding any fish/inverts?

I dont think they'd survive the ammonia through the cycle, better to add them once the tank is cycled

[chicago coral]

krazy k is right, wait until the tank is done cycling before you add them.put some rocks close together so they have somewhere to multiply without getting eaten too soon.when they get bigger and venture out into the tank they will make a tasty treat.

[blind1993]

well i think i got some from my lr becasue i find hundreads of them on my glass and surface.

[c-c]

Another link about amphiPODS.

Amphipods by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

I haven't seen them on my tank glass for a long time. Either the chocolate chip star ate them all in the one agressive fish tank, or the manderin ate all of them in the coral reef tank.
The manderin is still healthy, even though I haven't seen visible signs of the pods for a long time....

[c-c]

Now you can just click on this link:

Amphipods by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

[emccullough1]

I got a cuple of the little guy's on my glass and maid a short 50sec video. Here it is if you care to look. To the eye thay are only 1/16 in specks moving
Video of Cephalopods - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting