+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 How many pods do y'all think make it from a downstream fuge back up to the display tank? I have a DIY overflow from my display tank that divides under the tank with part of the overflow water going to a dedicated 10g fuge and the rest going to a 20g sump (sump area, baffles and a return pump area). The 10g fuge has a smaller DIY overflow that feeds into the sump and thus all the overflow water is eventually returned to the tank. I've had my fuge set up for a couple weeks now and it is *crawling* with pods! I have chaeto, some dragon's breath algae and a little feather caulerpa (that isn't doing much, the chaeto is taking over) in the fuge along with some chunks of live rock. Otherwise it is barebottom. The pod explosion has been amazing, and now little white spiraling worms are growing on the glass and there are a couple little stars in the algae. Really neat to see it become so 'alive' in there! Anyway, I would really love to have a mandarin someday but I'm very worried about feeding it. I've seen pods scuttling around on the rock in my display tank, but I'm not sure how to tell if there are enough pods to feed a mandarin. I've only had my tank for a couple months now (standard 125 gallon), but I bought it as an established system that had been running for about 2 years. There's 100+ lbs of live rock in the tank and live crushed coral. Would I be better off starting a separate culture tank to culture pods for a mandarin, or with more time would my system alone be able to support one? How do you know when the pod population is 'mature' enough? I've considered getting a few anthias as well (probably lyretail), but I'm worried they will compete too heavily for the pods. Thoughts on that? I understand it can be challenging to get anthias eating 'dead' foods, though not as bad as mandarins. Thanks! Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 cut some of the chaeto and rinse it in the display tank after the lights have gone off so the fish dont eat tehm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Give the system time to mature. I would not put a mandarin in until a year or more. You can add copepods to the main tank to increase the population faster. The pods you see on your rocks and substrate are probably amphipods. They are much larger than copepods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 You can also siphon some pods out of the fuge and put into the display Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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