Aggressive Pods

ColdinCanada · 10-13-2001, 03:06 PM

I added a sea cucumber to my reef last night and it's being picked on by pods.
This morning when I shined a light on it there were 6-10 copedpods crawling all over it. Looks like they've chewed several holes in him.
Anyone ever heard of this? I always thought pods were good for a system. Right now I don't have any fish in the tank. Maybe I need to add one that could reduce the pod population a bit. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jay

organicreefer · 10-13-2001, 06:39 PM

how is the cucumber?i would guess that the cucmber is dead/or dieing,and releasing some kind os "chemical smell" that is attracting the pods .

**scubadude** · 10-13-2001, 06:55 PM

I hope its not dying!! some cukes are known to wipe out a whole tank from the toxins they release when they die....you might want to post this in Eric Bornemans section at reefcentral.com, I would think him or Dr. Shimek might be knowledgeable enough to answer the possible cause....and as far as what eats pods...thats simple....A mandarin, however I would find out if you have a prob. first and make sure you have LOTS of pods...cuz if the mandarin eats all the pods then he could very easily starve to death. HTH

ColdinCanada · 10-14-2001, 11:44 AM

I added a mandarin and a royal gramma to the reef last night. I don't think the mandarin could eat all of the pods. I have a separate algae/ecosystem tank for nutrient export that's teaming with them.
As for the cuke, he looks a little better today (less "shrinkage"). I will keep an eye on him.
Thanks to everyone for the help.
Jay

amcarrig · 10-17-2001, 02:42 PM

My 2 cents regarding the mandarin....it will quickly wipe out all of your pods then starve to death when the tank runs out. If you want to keep the mandarin, you'll have to eventually add more pods to replace the ones that have been eaten. This fish will not live on prepared foods....it eats them, but it will not live long if that's all it's eating. PLEASE, return the mandarin if you can since you don't like the pods in your tank and probably won't want to add more later. Good luck!

ColdinCanada · 10-17-2001, 11:42 PM

amcarrig, My system contains a 50Gallon refugium/Algae tank. The pods reproduce without predation in that tank and gravity feed into my reef. I am hoping this will keep a supply of pods available for the mandarin. If I see any sign of him starving I will return him to the LFS although I think he would probably be worse off there.
Thanks for the input,
Jay

amcarrig · 10-18-2001, 08:29 AM

Great ColdinCanada: Sorry if I sounded like a nag. I assumed from your post that you didn't like the pods and were specifically trying to rid your tank of them. Sadly, I had a mandarin die on me and I'm still a little bitter. Let me know how yours does and maybe give some pointers on how to succeed in keeping this fish happy.

ColdinCanada · 10-18-2001, 10:34 AM

Amcarrig, From what I've read the only way to keep a mandarin is in a very large system with lots of pods. My reef tank is only 75gal but the refugium is 50gal. I'm hoping the large refugium/algae tank will be able to keep up with the mandarins needs and provide for nutrient export in my (presently) skimmerless system. I am attempting my own variation of the "ecosystem method"with this setup. The pods I'm having problems with definitely "hunt" in packs. Every night I watched them swarm the serpent star. As soon as I shine a flashlight on them they scatter like cockroaches. Because of the refugium, I don't think the mandarin can ever wipe them out completely, but I hope he can reduce their numbers so they are not such a threat .
I'll keep you posted.
Jay

10-13-2001, 03:06 PM	#1
ColdinCanada Just Moved In Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 23	Aggressive Pods I added a sea cucumber to my reef last night and it's being picked on by pods. This morning when I shined a light on it there were 6-10 copedpods crawling all over it. Looks like they've chewed several holes in him. Anyone ever heard of this? I always thought pods were good for a system. Right now I don't have any fish in the tank. Maybe I need to add one that could reduce the pod population a bit. Any suggestions? Thanks, Jay

10-13-2001, 06:55 PM	#3
scubadude Moderator Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Wichita, Kansas Posts: 5,293	Hmmm very interesting I hope its not dying!! some cukes are known to wipe out a whole tank from the toxins they release when they die....you might want to post this in Eric Bornemans section at reefcentral.com, I would think him or Dr. Shimek might be knowledgeable enough to answer the possible cause....and as far as what eats pods...thats simple....A mandarin, however I would find out if you have a prob. first and make sure you have LOTS of pods...cuz if the mandarin eats all the pods then he could very easily starve to death. HTH __________________ Rocky

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10-13-2001, 06:39 PM	#2
organicreefer Governor Join Date: May 2001 Location: Northern CA Posts: 2,171	how is the cucumber?i would guess that the cucmber is dead/or dieing,and releasing some kind os "chemical smell" that is attracting the pods .

10-14-2001, 11:44 AM	#4
ColdinCanada Just Moved In Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 23	I added a mandarin and a royal gramma to the reef last night. I don't think the mandarin could eat all of the pods. I have a separate algae/ecosystem tank for nutrient export that's teaming with them. As for the cuke, he looks a little better today (less "shrinkage"). I will keep an eye on him. Thanks to everyone for the help. Jay

10-17-2001, 02:42 PM	#5
amcarrig Just Moved In Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 13	My 2 cents regarding the mandarin....it will quickly wipe out all of your pods then starve to death when the tank runs out. If you want to keep the mandarin, you'll have to eventually add more pods to replace the ones that have been eaten. This fish will not live on prepared foods....it eats them, but it will not live long if that's all it's eating. PLEASE, return the mandarin if you can since you don't like the pods in your tank and probably won't want to add more later. Good luck!

10-17-2001, 11:42 PM	#6
ColdinCanada Just Moved In Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 23	amcarrig, My system contains a 50Gallon refugium/Algae tank. The pods reproduce without predation in that tank and gravity feed into my reef. I am hoping this will keep a supply of pods available for the mandarin. If I see any sign of him starving I will return him to the LFS although I think he would probably be worse off there. Thanks for the input, Jay

10-18-2001, 08:29 AM	#7
amcarrig Just Moved In Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 13	Great ColdinCanada: Sorry if I sounded like a nag. I assumed from your post that you didn't like the pods and were specifically trying to rid your tank of them. Sadly, I had a mandarin die on me and I'm still a little bitter. Let me know how yours does and maybe give some pointers on how to succeed in keeping this fish happy.

10-18-2001, 10:34 AM	#8
ColdinCanada Just Moved In Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 23	Amcarrig, From what I've read the only way to keep a mandarin is in a very large system with lots of pods. My reef tank is only 75gal but the refugium is 50gal. I'm hoping the large refugium/algae tank will be able to keep up with the mandarins needs and provide for nutrient export in my (presently) skimmerless system. I am attempting my own variation of the "ecosystem method"with this setup. The pods I'm having problems with definitely "hunt" in packs. Every night I watched them swarm the serpent star. As soon as I shine a flashlight on them they scatter like cockroaches. Because of the refugium, I don't think the mandarin can ever wipe them out completely, but I hope he can reduce their numbers so they are not such a threat . I'll keep you posted. Jay

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