What are these? Copepods?

[gdurban]

Can anyone help me identify these tinny creatures? They are about 2 mm long. I thought they were copepods but they do not look like the pictures I have found on line. The pictures are not the best and there is algea on the glass obstructing the view. Thanks for any help.

Dan

[angelcakes]

cant help with question but hello and welcome:19:

[Ryuu]

Same cant help but welcome and those things look cool lol

[kaybee]

Looks more like isopods (the beneficial detritus-eating kind).

[gdurban]

Thanks for the kind welcome posts and thanks for hint on Isopods. I will research them.

[sandy_n]

Hi Dan. Good luck on your research and welcome to AC. :c3:

[DragonGoby]

Hi and welcome here!
Looks like copepod for me, but from salt water, does your tank is a SW one?
tide pool - copepod (www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/2/lines)

[gdurban]

Yes, I have a SW tank. I think these creatures came in when I added a Refugium about 2 months ago and that's why I originall thought copepods.

55 G Display, 15 G Sump, 4 G Refugium

Invertibrates:
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 Pistol Shrimp
1 Mexican Turbo Snail
2 Pin Cushion Sea Urchins
20 Margarita Snails
20 Hermit Crabs (variety)

Fish:
1 Coral Beauty Pigmy Angel
1 Royal Gram
1 Firefile
1 6-line Wrasse
1 Cardinal Fish

Soft Corals:
1 Xenia
6 Mushrooms
4 Polyps

[DragonGoby]

wow!! have you some pics of your tank????

[unleashed]

they are copepods. very good food for all your critters. My cleaner shrimp went on a rampage once and you actually see the pods running away from the shrimp

[gdurban]

DragonGopy,

Yes, I do have some pics. Unfortunatley, they are on my home computer. I will post some later. It is a young tank, so most polyps and mushrooms are small but the tank is doing well after many lessons learned.

Dan

[gdurban]

they are copepods. very good food for all your critters. My cleaner shrimp went on a rampage once and you actually see the pods running away from the shrimp

Thanks. I wanted to get a Dragonet. I have been warned by many folks that they are hard to keep because they ONLY eat copepods. So, I want to see if I can keep a reasonable population so not to sentence a poor dragonet to starving to death.

[cocoa_pleco]

Thanks. I wanted to get a Dragonet. I have been warned by many folks that they are hard to keep because they ONLY eat copepods. So, I want to see if I can keep a reasonable population so not to sentence a poor dragonet to starving to death.

you can buy pods from some LFS, theyre sold on ebay too. i know a few people that have mandarins eating frozen food, but they for sure need pods

[gdurban]

you can buy pods from some LFS, theyre sold on ebay too. i know a few people that have mandarins eating frozen food, but they for sure need pods

Thanks for the input. I do see pods for sale on Dr. Foster's but have not looked on eBay.

[cocoa_pleco]

Thanks for the input. I do see pods for sale on Dr. Foster's but have not looked on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1000-amphipods-copepods-FOOD-FOR-SALTWATER-AQUARIUM_W0QQitemZ140240477210QQcmdZViewItem?hash= item140240477210&_trkparms=72%3A933%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[jimpierce]

those look a lot like the critters I spotted last night in my tank!!!

[unleashed]

Thanks. I wanted to get a Dragonet. I have been warned by many folks that they are hard to keep because they ONLY eat copepods. So, I want to see if I can keep a reasonable population so not to sentence a poor dragonet to starving to death.

Judging by your fish list in your sig you will not be able to keep a mandarin fish long term. Your sixline will out-compete it for pods.

[gdurban]

Judging by your fish list in your sig you will not be able to keep a mandarin fish long term. Your sixline will out-compete it for pods.

Oh, didn't know that. The wrasse eats everything else I give him, so didn't think he would be hunting for pods. I see the pods mostly at night when the wrasse is asleep. On the other hand, the cardinal is hunting all night and definately eating small animals in the water column. Have not seen him eat the pods.

[gdurban]

those look a lot like the critters I spotted last night in my tank!!!

Yep, that's when I see them, at night.

[unleashed]

Oh, didn't know that. The wrasse eats everything else I give him, so didn't think he would be hunting for pods. I see the pods mostly at night when the wrasse is asleep. On the other hand, the cardinal is hunting all night and definately eating small animals in the water column. Have not seen him eat the pods.
Unfortunately, sixlines, like all wrasses, are predators, preying on the same animals as mandarins. The sixline, being a much faster swimmer, has the natural advantage when it comes to hunting pods.

[gem]

copepods....isopods...= good critters to have.

[cocoa_pleco]

coolest thing was when i had my digital in-tank thermometer, you could see hundreds of copepods on it hiding from the fish. the thermometer fell somewhere in my LR now

my old 33g reef was messy, and had bubble algae allover, but i had MONSTER mutant pods, they were the size of a real life cricket. there were thousands of them, would have been a mandarins dream

ive wanted a mandarin for a while, and my 55g has 230lbs LR so one would probably work, but it would have to be big because of my lionfish

[gdurban]

Well, this photo by Marc Levenson looks just like what I have. The text below accompanied the photo:


"Pods are good" or "your tank needs pods." So what are they? They are tiny little bugs running around on your rockwork, on the glass and in micro / macro algae. Usually people see amphipods in their system, which are small and look a little like tiny shrimp. Even smaller are the above, which resemble opaque ants. This Isopod may be food to many fish, including wrasses. Usually these tiny guys hitchhike in on LR or corals, and in a predator-free zone they are quite interesting to observe. Reef-safe.