[GaryZ]

As some of you know, I built a little pod motel to help the pod population multiply in anticipation of a future Mandarin and for overall diversity. The motel worked great, there are pods everywhere. The only thing that concernes me is, with no natural predators to control the pod population, the pods are getting big. Real big. I saw one that was about 1/4" long. That seems huge to me. Do I have to worry about the pods getting out of hand and causing damage?

[ricksreef]

nope, just getting out of hand and eating all your algae

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by ricksreef

nope, just getting out of hand and eating all your algae

Macro or Micro????

Anne

[ricksreef]

film algae and other Micro's mostly, a rare few are carniverous but aren't all that frequently seen compared to the good guys.

"Aquarium Behavior and Care

It is generally very easy to recognize the majority of amphipods in our aquaria; they lack the carapace, or shell, of crabs and shrimps, and tend to be laterally compressed. The appendages of the posterior thorax that extend laterally are also distinctive. Most aquarium species are small, seldom reaching more then a few millimeters in length. They normally vary little in gross structure from the illustration shown in Figure 2.

These bugs are also often referred to simply as gammarus shrimp, which is a misnomer as most of the species found in our tanks are not in Gammarus proper. Occasionally, as well, we hear various vernacular corruptions of Gammarus, such grampus or gramus, used to describe these animals. Most aquarists think that all amphipods are pretty much like the standard gammarid amphipod that they see in their tanks, and that all of these animals are herbivores or detritivores. Within the limited world of reef tanks, this is more-or-less true; however, not all gammaridean amphipods are herbivorous, some are very decidedly carnivorous.

Nonetheless, the most common amphipods found in aquaria are either herbivores or detritivores. They tend to eat either plant or algal material preferentially and either graze on algae or eat debris of plant or algal origin. Generally, they don't eat much in the way of animal flesh, although occasionally we do get some predatory amphipods in our systems. It is difficult to distinguish between any of these species without specific microscopic examination, so the only way most hobbyists have of differentiating between the two types (and keep in mind there are several hundred potential species in each type) is to watch them feed. In our aquaria amphipods are typically part of the cleanup crew. In addition, they are good food for whatever fish can catch them. Altogether they are a beneficial and interesting component of our systems' fauna.

from;
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rs/index.php

[GaryZ]

Thats cool. Thanks for the info rick. I was pretty excited to see such big pods. And they did resemble tiny shrimp. Cool stuff.

Originally Posted by Anne

Macro or Micro????

Looks like we share alot of the same questions.

[charlie]

Congrats Gary, keep them pods a-growin!!!! The more the merrier. The population will level out over time!!

[ricksreef]

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by GaryZ

Thats cool. Thanks for the info rick. I was pretty excited to see such big pods. And they did resemble tiny shrimp. Cool stuff.



Looks like we share alot of the same questions.

__________________________________________________ ____________

I have built and installed mine--just haven't gotten a picture of it yet. Also, haven't noticed much increase in the population of pods yet. I am still waiting as I am in no hurry. If nothing else I will order from GARF in a month or so. Right now I am dealing with ich--thus the reason for not being in too much of a hurry.

Anne

[Reefland]

Does GARF sell them? Haven't been to their site in ages...

[BubbaWPB]

Indo Pacific Sea Farms www.ipsf.com sells a "'Pod breeding kit". The kit got my pod population going in my 'fuge. The tang heaven macroalgae pack is hard to beat, too. Geraldo is VERY helpful. It was nice doing business with them.

[jeffkeith_us]

Originally Posted by My2heartboys

__________________________________________________ ____________

I have built and installed mine--just haven't gotten a picture of it yet. Also, haven't noticed much increase in the population of pods yet. I am still waiting as I am in no hurry. If nothing else I will order from GARF in a month or so. Right now I am dealing with ich--thus the reason for not being in too much of a hurry.

Anne

Anne
If you are putting copper in your tank you are never going to see a single Amphipod. They can't it at all. Long after the Amphipods and Copepods all die and their eggs die too, the copper will stay in the tank.

[charlie]

Originally Posted by jeffkeith_us

Anne
If you are putting copper in your tank you are never going to see a single Amphipod. They can't it at all. Long after the Amphipods and Copepods all die and their eggs die too, the copper will stay in the tank.

I believe she has a "Q" tank.