How to Breed Copepods
Copepods are a tiny, transparent crustacean found in fresh and salt water. Copepods are bred in captivity to provide a live food source for saltwater reef fish and their newly hatched fry. Copepods are easy to breed, and there are several different ways to go about it. Some breed copepods directly in the reef tank, giving the tiny crustaceans a sheltered area to reproduce and a place for babies to mature to adults. This can be flawed as there is no guarantee copepods will make use of the area. Breeding copepods in a separate tank, although more work, guarantees a continuous population of copepods.
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Things You'll Need
- 10-gallon breeding tank
- Two aquarium air pumps
- Air hoses long enough to reach the bottom of the tank when attached to the pumps
- Tank lid with holes for the air hoses
- Phytoplankton
- Male and female copepods
Instructions
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Breeding copepods
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1
Place your 10 gallon tank in a warm room (68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit), out of direct sunlight.
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2
Attach your air hoses to the air pumps. Place one air hose/air pump combination at opposite ends of your tank.
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3
Dilute the phytoplankton according to package directions using water from the tank you will be feeding with the copepods. Fill the breeding tank using the diluted phytoplankton until it is one-half to two-thirds full. The water should be dark green.
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4
Place the tank lid on the breeding tank, and run the air hoses through the holes in the lid.
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5
Adjust the air flow rate until large bubbles are rising slowly (a bubble every second) from the air hoses.
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6
Add the copepods to the breeding tank. They will start breeding right away, with maturation from egg to adult taking 10 to 12 days.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Add more phytoplankton when the water turns from dark green to light green. Do not allow the water to become completely clear. You can remove copepods from the tank to feed reef fish every 14 days. Change the water completely once a month.
The salinity in the breeding tank should be the same as the salinity in the reef tank. Breeding and egg development will slow or stop if water temperatures fall below 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
