What are Pods? Benifits of Pods?

sean04 · 11/15/2006, 04:02 PM

1. What are pods?

2. How are they benificial to your tank? I think I know the answer to this...is it just food for gobies?

3. How do you grow them in a sump?

Andrew · 11/15/2006, 04:06 PM

Some fish love to eat them and if you have a fuge and keep micro-algae they will eat off of that and breed from there. You can find a picture of a pod here:

http://melevsreef.com/id/pods.html

demonsp · 11/15/2006, 06:02 PM

Pods are a food source for some fish. Also they eat fish and organic matter that collect in sand and rocks. The more the merryeir.

sean04 · 11/16/2006, 12:20 AM

How can you start it up in the fuge?

Also, do you have to transfer it from your fuge to the tank or is it just random pods that get sucked up through the return pump?

3rotorFD · 11/16/2006, 02:35 AM

pods are tiny crustaceans good fish food and they eat leftovers.

sarduci · 11/16/2006, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sean04
1. What are pods?

All the little critters that you have a hard time seeing in your tank. They live in and under the sand, in, under and around your rocks, and in broken pieces of shells.

Quote:

2. How are they benificial to your tank? I think I know the answer to this...is it just food for gobies?

They eat tiny pieces of food that escape your clean up crew and little scraps of plant matter and fish waste. They are food for a lot of different fish. Sand sifting gobies will destroy a population of 'pods in short order since they will clean their patch of sand of all life as they sift it over and over. Most small sand sifter gobies don't do well because most tanks can't replenish what they consume.

Quote:

3. How do you grow them in a sump?

Throw in a bunch of small rocks in there. If you have a light for it, throw in some macro algae for them. Then just ignore it except for when you prune your macro.

sarduci · 11/16/2006, 08:00 AM

Oh, forgot to say that you need to get them from somewhere, like a piece of rock or a scoop of sand.

Shagsbeard · 11/16/2006, 08:53 AM

You can harvest pods from the bay area, or there's a company in San Jose that aquacultures what the call "Tiger pods"... you can buy these comercially and they do great. They're some of the largest copepods in the world. If you see small tunnels being dug in the sand against your glass, there are already pods in your tank.

sean04 · 11/16/2006, 11:04 AM

If I start to harvest them in the sump, and I have some clean up crews in the sump, will they eat them? Or in other words, what type of clean up crews can I keep in the sump?

If they live in the sand/rocks how do they get transferred to the display tank? Do you have to this manually somehow?

11/15/2006, 04:02 PM	#1
sean04 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 262	What are Pods? Benifits of Pods? 1. What are pods? 2. How are they benificial to your tank? I think I know the answer to this...is it just food for gobies? 3. How do you grow them in a sump?

11/15/2006, 04:06 PM	#2
Andrew Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 13,640	Some fish love to eat them and if you have a fuge and keep micro-algae they will eat off of that and breed from there. You can find a picture of a pod here: http://melevsreef.com/id/pods.html

11/15/2006, 06:02 PM	#3
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	Pods are a food source for some fish. Also they eat fish and organic matter that collect in sand and rocks. The more the merryeir.

11/16/2006, 12:20 AM	#4
sean04 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 262	How can you start it up in the fuge? Also, do you have to transfer it from your fuge to the tank or is it just random pods that get sucked up through the return pump?

11/16/2006, 02:35 AM	#5
3rotorFD Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: federal way WA Posts: 330	pods are tiny crustaceans good fish food and they eat leftovers.

11/16/2006, 08:00 AM	#7
sarduci Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Wausau, Wisconsin Posts: 1,278	Oh, forgot to say that you need to get them from somewhere, like a piece of rock or a scoop of sand.

11/16/2006, 08:53 AM	#8
Shagsbeard Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Morro Bay, CA Posts: 2,143	You can harvest pods from the bay area, or there's a company in San Jose that aquacultures what the call "Tiger pods"... you can buy these comercially and they do great. They're some of the largest copepods in the world. If you see small tunnels being dug in the sand against your glass, there are already pods in your tank.

11/16/2006, 11:04 AM	#9
sean04 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 262	If I start to harvest them in the sump, and I have some clean up crews in the sump, will they eat them? Or in other words, what type of clean up crews can I keep in the sump? If they live in the sand/rocks how do they get transferred to the display tank? Do you have to this manually somehow?