100000 Pods

i have one for about a year, did really well but my clown chased up onto the top of my cheato algae and it died. Make sre you have alot of space it can get away from meanies

 

Have you decided on what mandarin to get? I like the spotted mandarin because it isn't as common as the green or red mandarins.

 

I really like the spotted pattern over the red or green, but i like the green mandarin for the colors

 

I'm jealous of your pods. I've had my tank almost a year (4 years before that with previous owner) and I don't think I have any. To make matters worse, I picked up a rainbow colored mandarin without doing my research. He appears fine for now but I hope he doesn't starve to death. Wanna send me a cup of your pods?

btw, the tigger pods are a big waste of money. Apparently they are cold water species and they don't survive reef tanks. Most expensive meal I have ever bought anyone

 

Hi jdizzle707,

I'm sorry but you've been given some bad information about Tigger-Pods. Tigriopus californicus have been shown to naturally range in temperatures from 42 to 92 F. Here is a link from the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, posted on the Cambridge Journals website:

CJO - Abstract - Habitat characters of <em>Tigriopus californicus</em> (Copepoda: Harpacticoida), with notes on the dispersal of supralittoral fauna

Tigger-Pods is a specific brand name of live copepods produced by Reed Mariculture (my company) in California.

TC don't live in the ocean - they live in splash zone pools, up above the ocean. These pools are shallow and get quite warm during the day, some much warmer than reef systems. That's where they live, grow, and thrive.

TC range from the very cold waters of the Canadian border to the warm waters of Mexico so it’s a good assumption that ones from different locations locally adapt to grow best at those temperatures. Our broodstock came from tide pools in central California where it gets pretty hot so they thrive in warm water and can easily be cultured at standard reef temperatures.

We produce millions of them each month in greenhouses where temperatures range from 65 to 85 F. Our heaters kick on at around 70 F and there are no chillers so the tanks can creep upwards of 90 F on a hot day. We get our best production between 75-80 F. If they fall below 70 F production falls off dramatically.

 

seafarm, can you answer a question about tigger pods for me? It is my understanding that all newborn tigger pods in reef tanks are ALL male, which means that as soon as the original female tiggers die off, the reproduction cycle ends and you have to re-seed. Can you verify this?

Also, since they are bigger, won't they consume many of the copepods that come in on live rock and starve out these populations?

 

Hi gabbagabbawill,

I've never heard that rumor before about them all being males. I'll look into it and see if I can find any information. The life span of TC is about 100 days and they reach maturity in about 30 days, so even if they were all male, they would have ample opportunity to reproduce.

TC are not carnivores, they are herbavore/detritavors. They feed primarily on microalgae, bacteria, detritus, and possibly on macroalgae. The only way they would deplete the population of other copepods is if there is a shortage of food available and they were more aggresive feeds, so they starved the other population.

 

I checked with a friend that has a phD in marine biology and here is his reply:

There have been many studies of sex-ratios in wild populations, and there is normally no sex-switching happening (unlike some molluscs). The sex-ratios are approximately 50:50 at birth

 

I understand that it may be true in nature, but is this true in aquaria? I have heard that these tigger pods will not reproduce both sexes in an aquarium.

 

Could you provide some information on where you are getting this information? I've never heard anything like this. I can't imagine why the sex ratios would change - there is nothing I can think of that's materially different between a tide pool and an aquarium.