pods dieing or shedding/molting? good or bad?

[sir_dudeguy]

ok so just resently noticed a huge rise in pod population, but now i'm noticing a few big pods that are either dead, or just like a molting/shedding of a bigger pod...do they even molt? and if they're dead pods, y are they dieing? do they not live long? or would they die because fo bad water? theres no fish in the tank right now, and if there was, i wouldnt see them dead anyways cuz they'd be dead in the fish!lol

thanks
mike

[sir_dudeguy]

anyone?

[Paintbug]

all crustaceans molt. you will always see amphipods, and mysis shrimp(if you have these) molts floating around in the water. smaller pods like copepods are a little harder to see. but they are nothing to worry about.

[sir_dudeguy]

ok great!! thanks! they're the bigger ones that are floating around/sittng on the ground, and they do look empty, which is why i was hopin it was just a molt. I know i got amphipods so ya..its them. i got copepods too, but they're tiny and stay on the glass..i actually have to use the magfloat to get them off every day now...but i'd rather have it that way than have none at all!!

thanks again.

[Sk8r]

The pod population is eating the micro algae that grows on your glass: cheer them on [but move them when you need to: it doesn't hurt them]. They help reduce algae by eating it up when it's just about too tiny to notice. That's why, outside of keeping a mandarin, I really promote my pod population, feeding them phyto to sustain the little ones. I wondered if extreme phyto feeding would reduce their attack on my algae, but no, it doesn't seem to. I think the older ones go after the regular algae.

[Gluestick]

I was about to ask what I could do to encourage pod growth. Phyto - newbie question, what is that?

[sir_dudeguy]

k thanks.
gluestick...phyto is like, really really small food...i thnk its short for phyotplankton? anyways, its really small and good for them i think...i dont use the stuff yet, but eventually i will i think.

and ya, i know they eat the algae...they dont seem to make any dent in it on the glass tho, and they were adding to the "mess" on the glass too, because i have brown algae, and that was covered w/the pods..i figured i'd give them a few days to eat the stuff, but nothin...and i was getting kinda impatient w/the algae by now, so i just wiped them off...but the pods show up every day stil lol.

so the bigger ones like amphipods will actually eat the brown algae? like when its full grown and..wel, brown? hopefully they do..cuz theres plenty for them

[fsn77]

Phytoplankton are tiny "plants" -- like free floating micro algae. Phytoplankton is a good food source for zooplankton (tiny animals including copepods) and filter feeding organisms like clams, fan worms, certian corals, etc.

[sir_dudeguy]

exactly

[chocolates mom]

How much Phyto should I feed to promote pods? What do pods look like?

[sir_dudeguy]

they are tiny shrimp and stuff, but they'll look like tiny bugs...you wont be able to see them at all unless you get REALLY close..you kinda just have to stare at something, and wait for movement..thats the only way i can see them...other than the ones covering my glass, which i can see from quite a ways away because they're all gathered up right in one spot...

but they're silver/white also...kinda transperent.
as for how much to feed i have no idea as i dont use the stuff...oh, and some of the bigger ones like amphipods and i think iso pods...well i've seen amphipods in my tank that are the size of those big red ants so far..nothing bigger tho..but all the copepods are the tiny ones

[fsn77]

If you buy phytoplankton in a bottle, there should be directions. Depending on the amount of animals in your system that'll be eating it, you should adjust your dosing accordingly. You really do not want to overfeed phytoplankton to your tank. For example, you may want to feed at half the rate described on the bottle to start, then increase slowly as needed.

[sir_dudeguy]

agreed...thats what i do w/all additives/food..i never go by the instructions because they usually have u over doing it.