Pods in a bottle

[kjmst29]

Does anyone have experience with this....

http://www.oceanpods.com/

I have a new mandarin and just want to ensure I keep it healthy.

[Teremei]

AWESOME product. I wrote a thread about how amazed how many pods were actually in there when I checked my tank out later that night.

if you put some in your fuge and keep your fuge fed with finely pinched flake they will breed like crazy and then you can use a sponge or chaeto to transfer more to your main tank.

[kjmst29]

No fuge. Still worth purchasing?

[ledford1]

No fuge. Still worth purchasing?
You can still build a rock pile for the pods to live and reproduce in. Somewhere around here, someone posted a picture of an idea they had - turn a small strawberry carton upsidedown on the sand and cover it with rocks. That provides a safe-haven for the pods and keeps the fishes out.

[JmLee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6585512#post6585512 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ledford1
You can still build a rock pile for the pods to live and reproduce in. Somewhere around here, someone posted a picture of an idea they had - turn a small strawberry carton upsidedown on the sand and cover it with rocks. That provides a safe-haven for the pods and keeps the fishes out.

credit to bob fenner and WWM crew.

[Teremei]

Still worth it with no fuge. But you should dose phytoplankton 1-3 times a week. I haven't been keeping up with my dosing and notice I don't have much anymore. But then again, I also have a mandarin.

But I beleive they eat phytoplankton so dosing it will give their community enough to eat, and in turn, keep multiplying.

[dc]

Looks like a good deal to me. I have pod piles behind my main rocks, essentially it's just a bunch of very small rocks in a pile that other critters can't get in and eat them all giving them a chance to reproduce. I believe they will tell you to put them in at night to lessen the chance of getting ate before they hit bottom. If you have nocturnal fish you could dump them in by way of a lift tube right into the pile of rocks.

[DizziDezi2]

They gave some of those away at our last club meeting! they were really cool! you would really be surprised at how many are in there. :) If you missed the thread in the rd forum- someone buitl some little pod homes out of strawberry baskets and zip ties- they can live in there undisturbed and have pod babies and such. :)

[kjmst29]

I currently do not feed phytoplankton. sounds like i should start. I'll get a strawberry crate and some rock rubble. will one bottle of pods be good? Can I add, say, half the bottle at one time?

[Teremei]

You COULD add half bottle at a time and the rest would be ok in the bottle for a couple weeks, but why not just add them all at once so they can all find a hiding spot and start reproducing!

1 bottle is more than enough, trust me. If you have a 150g tank or more, then I would get 2.

[rich99rich]

How much is each bottle? The prices don't seem to be listed on the website.

[kjmst29]

Not cheap. I think it's $25/bottle, plus shipping.

[dc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6600182#post6600182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kjmst29
Not cheap. I think it's $25/bottle, plus shipping.

I know buying bugs seems like a lot, but your system will benifit from it. I bought a fauna kit from Inland Aquatics, and my husband said 'You paid what?' LOL When I do water changes in my small tanks, I siphon all the bugs off the walls and put in my main tank. Bugs everywhere, it's a good thing!:D

[Ironsheikh]

I have a whole population living in my superskimmer bubble box I never knew about until i tried rinsing it one day-- they live in the foam

they came in my macroalgae I bought

[ledford1]

credit to bob fenner and WWM crew.
I was wondering where I had seen that - thanks.

[mbunaman]

Phytoplanton is a waste of money to use just on pods. You would need to saturate the tank for them to acutually get a taste of it. I just have a refugium and I have pods galore. Have some rock piles and chaeto and there you go you have a colony in a little time. That is what the strawberry baskets are for that someone was talking about. It is for them to find refuge from predators. I find it hard to believe if you have liverock that you dont have any pods. Unless you dried the rock and put it back in or have a mandarin and he ate most of the colony and has no time to rebuild. If you really want to get your moneys worth from the bottle use it in a fuge to jump start it. Because one bottle is not going to keep a mandarin or dragonette type fish alive for more than a few days if poured in a tank. These are just my opinoins so no one take it to heart.

[kjmst29]

You didn't read the whole thread. Yes, I have a mandarin. No, I don't have a fuge. Yes, I'm going to use the basket method.

Thanks all for the tips.

[mbunaman]

Yes I did read it putting points out for other reasons to thankyou for pointing it out.

[kjmst29]

I was wondering if mandarins eat isopods? I have some in my tank, but they are MUCH bigger than copepods, and much faster too.

[bigdee65]

quick question, kind of off topic but I have FOWLR that I am trying to restart my pod population in. I have a nitrate level around 20-50 (changes from time to time) so would these pods die off due to the nitrate level? I am trying to establish my fuge but so far the cheato has been growing slowly :rolleyes:

Thanks for the help!

[dc]

No, I wouldn't have any if that were the case! :D