[Proud Texan]

I saw this thing on LiveAquaria: bottled copepods if i put those in my refugium will they reproduce and provide my fish a snack every now and then? would it be even worth it?

thx for help

Texan,

[leebca]

I haven't had a question like that for quite some time. In the process of setting up and getting a FOWLR system going, I addressed it in one of the steps. It indicates when to add such critters.

The home aquarium is a 'captive environment' which doesn't have the expanse and diversity of the ocean. When you seed a refugium with pods and other marine life, what happens is that the populations of some of them will 'come and go' as conditions in the maturing aquarium better suit one lifeform over another. That is, as the aquarium matures, conditions change, and each 'condition' may give a boost to the population of a select subset of those that you have added.

When the aquarium reaches maturity and settles in to a routine quality (hopefully your maintenance will be steady and frequent), the pod population will also reach equilibrium in diversity. Some of the pods added to the refugium will probably die off because the mature aquarium favors another species.

Whether or not the numbers of the pods will be enough to provide much of a meal, will depend upon the size of the refugium and the available nutrients to the pods. Still, some of the pods will find their way to the display tank unless you take measures to stop them, and provide extra foods for any marine lifeform that does in fact eat pods.

Is it worth it? Since you have not indicated the purpose or reason why you want to have a refugium, it is hard to give any definitive answer to this question.

I think it is if you are planning on having a planted refugium with a deep substrate, that is equal to or larger than 10% the size of your system, it would be worth it. Starting off with a diverse seeding will get things moving along quite well. However, if you just put good quality live rock in the refugium (I used good quality LR rubble that was too small to use in the display), that will also put pods into the refugium. In this case, like if you seeded them, the system's nutrients and Nature take over and will get the group of pods going that is favored by your system setup.

I would also use a pod source if your plan is not putting any LR in the deep substrate refugium. I would also include worms and other benthic animals in the refugium, IF that is the kind of refugium you have in mind. Some hobbyists just grow macro algae in their refugium -- without substrate and such. The value of putting pods in this kind of refugium would be very small.

[Proud Texan]

Thanks lee from what ive seen so far you are by FAR the most helpful member in the forums. your info is amazing quality, your responses are long and rich with great info and your very friendly!

thx for help

Texan,

[leebca]

Thanks! You're welcome.