pod farm

do i need to acclimate my pods before i put them in my tank.

 

IMO no. These are cold water pods. They don't survive very well long term in the reef as compared to other varieties.

There are a few who would argue against that and like to point to some literature that says otherwise. Thing is, that literature is produced by the same folks that sell the tigger pods... Not exactly unbiased.

They're fine to use, don't get me wrong. But they won't really take a foot hold in the main tank. You'll want to keep your pod farm a bit cooler than your tank if you're using tigger pods.

EDIT: I've noticed it's all the LFS around me have to. You can order regular pods off the internets for pretty cheap. I think there's a link to it in my pod farm thread (linked to earlier)

 

I have heard that pods can survive huge salinity swings with no problem at all. I never acclimilate them and after i shake the sponges off in my fuge I can see them swimming around everywhere

I am interested in purchasing reef pods or whatever.. the ones that come shipped in phyto.. (shipped in green water) because I have heard that they do thrive better in reef systems.. but for now tigger pods will be a good start.. if anything the current pods in your tank could eat the tigger pods so maybe it will make the bigger white pods grow and reproduce faster. Maybe I will do another experiment with reef pods

 

yeah i just put them in i put half in my dt and half in my bucket i am using to try and farm them.

 

i am not sure how to tell if my pods are still alive in my pod bucket. i know it will take awhile for them to reproduce. how can i tell if the ones i put in thereare still alive. or should i just add more.

 

bump

 

you will be able to see that they are alive and moving around. just shine a light down in there and you will see.

 

thank you drew i am having a hard time seeing them since they are red and i am using a orange 5 gal bucket. so they kinda blend in.

 

Tigger-Pods will NOT grow well in your main display tank. They are too large to hide so they get eaten quickly, and they starve because there is not enough microalgae for them to feed on.

They are NOT cold water species. We've been culturing them at 75-90 F for many years.

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Tigriopus californicus don't live in the ocean - they live in the warm splash zone pools up above the ocean. These pools are shallow and get quite warm during the day, some much warmer than reef systems. The following published scientific study shows that they live in temperatures ranging from 42 to 92 F:
(Cambridge Journals).

In the tide pools where Tigger-Pods live there are no predators so they don't have the instincts to hide in the rocks when fish come by. Since they don't hide they get eaten pretty quickly in display tanks. We recommend they be cultured in a sump or refugium where there are no predators. They can also be easily cultured in a separate system like a 9x13 cake pan.

The population of copepods in a reef system is often food limited by the amount of natural microalgae that the reef system produces each day. If you supplement with microalgae you increase the amount of available food, and hence the population that can be supported. When additional pods are added the amount of food required immediately goes up, especially when feeding very large copepods like Tigger-Pods. Unfortunately many people don't add additional microalgae so both the Tigger-Pods and the existing copepod population end up with a food shortage and quickly starve.

 

I have to agree here! I have still have tigger-pods living in my fuge/frag tank. They have been there for at least 2 years. I have never seen them in my display tank which is full of wrasses and anthias. since my fuger is full of detritus and lit by a metal halide they seem to do well without much extra feeding. I sometimes add some phyto-feast when I have it.