How to Raise Copepods for the Home Aquarium
Copepods are tiny crustaceans that form a significant part of the zooplankton in the oceans. Copepods also form an important food source for numerous fish and invertebrates, including many animals you might keep in a marine aquarium. Some saltwater animals, such as gobies and seahorses, eat little else. Breeding copepods at home saves you money on the cost of live food, which can add up quickly.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- 10-gallon or larger tank with light
- Gravel
- Air pump and stone
- Aquarium salt mix
- Bucket
- Copepod starter culture
- Live phytoplankton
- Plankton strainer
Instructions
-
-
1
Set up the tank with gravel and an air pump. The copepods don't need light, but their food -- algae -- does. A layer of gravel provides hiding and resting places for the copepods.
-
2
Add dechlorinated water made up to seawater strength with the salt mix. The easiest way to dechlorinate tap water is to fill a bucket and leave for 24 hours.
-
-
3
Let the tank settle for a few days.
-
4
Add the copepod starter culture and enough phytoplankton to turn the water slightly green. Phytoplankton is widely available from aquarium supply stores, and it may reproduce in the tank to some degree. Add more as required to keep the water slightly colored.
-
5
Harvest the copepods after a couple of weeks and as required to feed your fish. A plankton strainer makes collecting them straightforward; you simply sieve them out of the water.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Having two or more copepod tanks provides a backup food supply if one tank fails or you wish to restart the culture.
Raising your own phytoplankton for the copepods cuts costs further. You need 2-liter soda bottles, another air pump and tubing, a starter culture and a light source.
