Benefits of Live Copepods

Whether you are new to owning and running a reef tank or an expert reefer with decades of experience, Live Copepods bring a lot to the table and are highly beneficial to any marine reef aquarium.

What are Copepods?

Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly all freshwater and saltwater environments. Copepods are very tiny in size and fall very low on the food chain, coming in at number 2! Copepods are key components in the ‘classical’ food web, where they mainly function as herbivores, forming an important trophic link between phytoplankton as primary producers and higher trophic levels (Cushing 1989, Vargas et al. 2010). What does this mean to us? Simply put, they are extremely important and are a live food source for fish, corals, invertebrates and more. Adding live copepods to the tank adds biodiversity and can help establish a natural food source for just about anything above it in the food chain.

Do I Need Live Copepods?

We think the better question might be, “Do I want to have a reef tank with biodiversity and stabilization?” The answer is yes in our honest opinion. Let’s talk about it!

What are the benefits of Copepods?

Now this is a question we love to answer! As mentioned above, Copepods act as a primary food source for most fish and other living creatures in the aquarium, and if you do it just right, you can provide a constant food source of Live Copepods for all your fish and corals. Copepods can reproduce anywhere from 1-2 weeks and with enough live rock and hiding spaces, can become self-sustained in the reef tank. A self-sustained food source you ask? Yes! With the introduction of Live Phytoplankton, you can ensure your Copepods have a constant food source for themselves so they can thrive.

Copepods are highly nutritious and if you’re in to gut loaded live foods, then you are a step in the right direction. Because Copepods feed on left over food debris, detritus, and phytoplankton, they pack a punch with high nutrition, containing high protein content of nearly 50%. Copepods not only provide high protein content but are also high in fatty acids when fed the proper diet of Live Phytoplankton. As Copepods naturally graze on phytoplankton and bacteria, they are not only a perfect food source for your fish, they are also considered a member of your clean up crew.

How do I maintain a Copepod population?

After introducing Copepods to your tank, we recommend dosing Live Phytoplankton on a routine basis. Dosing Live Phytoplankton 3-4 times a week will ensure the Copepods have a solid food source, and will increase the chances of Copepod reproduction. We recommend having a decent amount of substrate and live rock for the Copepods to latch onto and hide in. Many of the Copepods will venture off into the water column and become a highly sought after food source for fish and corals, but with a good amount of hiding spots, you will increase their chances of survival for growth and reproduction.

Live vs Dead Copepods

Just like fishing, many animals prefer live foods because of their jerky swimming motions. Some fish will eat dead Copepods but most will prefer Live Copepods, such as Goby’s, Dragonets, and SeaHorses.

Where to buy Live Copepods?

Well, you’re in the right place for Live Copepods! We offer 3 species of Copepods, along with the Live Phytoplankton to keep them alive and nutritious. The most popular Copepod species are Tigriopus Californicus, Apocyclops Panamensis, and Tisbe Biminiensis. Shop our selection of Live Copepods and Phytoplankton today to get started!

Live Copepods | Live Phytoplankton | Copepod Starter Kit

We hope you’ve found this information helpful, and as always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

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