AlgaGen Pods Starter Package - Tisbe - Apocyclops

AlgaGen Pods Starter Package Includes TWO bags of Tisbe and ONE bag of Apocyclops.

We recommend 1 of these packages for every 40-50 gallons you have in your aquarium system.  This will ensure you get a population to start reproduction with the live pods. This package is great for any sized aquarium and perfect for seeding your aquarium for live pods.

ALL LIVE REEF PODS SHIP PRIORITY MAIL!  

AlgaGen ReefPods ApoCyclops 8oz

Apocyclops is a cyclopoid copepod that is found in tropical waters throughout the world. It is a very opportunistic, colonizing copepod that can reach very high densities. This cyclopoid behaves a lot like a harpacticoid copepod in that the adults spend most of time on the substrate. The adults provide excellent food for mandarins, dragonettes, pipefishes, seahorses, leopard wrasses and anything that hunts for its food or picks off the substrate. The juveniles or nauplii will move through the water column making them an ideal candidate for a refugium or organisms that feed from the water column. The nauplii are very small, making them an appropriate LIVE food for even SPS corals. This CopePOD is a detritivore and will consume waste making it a perfect addition as the micro part of your clean-up crew. Apocyclops truly feeds your entire reef!

Storage: This copepod will last 2-3 months in a bottle and can be stored in temperatures above 50F and below 85F with our recommendation to store at 75-80F.

Use: Add near the bottom of the tank or in refugium when the lights are out. 

Recommended dosage: One 8 oz. package per 2 feet of tank. For example, a 4’ long tank would need one 8 oz package on each end to allow for maximum colonization. 

ALGAGEN REEFPODS TISBE 8OZ

REEFPODS TISBE IS A LIVE CULTURE OF THE HARPACTICOID COPEPOD TISBE BIMINIENSIS.

Tisbe adult copepods live on bottom substrate such as live rock or sand and will eat detritus and microalage in the aquarium. They produce a small nauplii which is an excellent food for aquarium filter feeders and fish larvae. The adults are eaten by small bottom feeding fish such as gobies, dragonettes and blennies.

ReefPods Tisbe may be used as a starter culture to add to marine aquarium refugiums or the main tank. Once established they will reproduce quickly, growing from nauplii to adults in about nine days. They will thrive in a wide range of aquarium temperatures and a wide range of salinities. It is suggested they be added to the aquarium at night or to the refugium to avoid immediate fish predation.

ReefPods Tisbe may be cultured separately in a small tank by feeding PhycoPure™ CopePod Blend™. The nauplii are 55-140 micrometers wide, making them suitable for many fish larvae. Adults may be harvested for feeding juvenile seahorses and other small fish.

Reef Pods are the only truly tropical live copepod cultures available on the market today. It opens an exciting new area of feeding possibilities for the experimental marine aquarist. Look for many new species of copepod cultures to be available from the culture professionals at AlgaGen.

Tisbe biminiensis

• Small harpacticoid copepod
• Lives on surfaces and swims in water column
• Life stages: Egg (1), Nauplii (6), Copepodid (5), Adult (1)
• Reproduction: sexual
• Eggs are deposited in an egg sac attached to female genital segment
• 10-70 eggs per egg sac
• Nauplii width: 55-140 m wide
• Adult length:0.70 -1.0 mm
• Nauplii to egg producing age: 9-12 days
• Life span: 15-20 days
• Stocking densities: 0.25-1.5/mL
• Stock into refugium for tank hygiene control and for background live feeds
• Culture preferences
  • Lite to medium aeration
  • Temp 22-30C
  • Salinity 20-35ppt
  • Feed PhycoPure™ CopePod Blend™

Aquarium Applications

Tisbe is an excellent all purpose aquarium copepod owing to its role in the natural environment as a detritivore. An opportunist feeder, Tisbe can be used as a tank cleaner consuming uneaten food and wastes as well as phytoplankton in the tank and refugium. Tisbe is capable of producing many eggs during its adult life span that hatch into nauplii which will enter the water column as food for your filter feeding reef inhabitants and replenish the adult population vital to tank hygiene. Tisbe adults and juveniles may also enter the water column and be tasty and nutritious treats for your reef fish!

Culturing tips

Tisbe can be cultured in containers as small as one gallon. Tisbe are tolerant to a wide range of water quality, which requires culture containers to be cleaned no more than once per week when the copepods are not overfed. Tisbe can be cultured continuously for months in an ecologically established low-density culture similar to an aquarium refugium when small amounts of live microalgae are added periodically. When high densities and maximum egg production are desired, live microalgae should be fed at a rate sufficient to be “cleared” within 18-24 hours.

Acclimation upon receipt

Upon receipt of your Tisbe starter culture, open the bottle and smell the culture water. It will be normal to smell a sweet salt smell or even a slightly earthy smell. It will not be normal to smell rotten eggs. Do not use your copepods if a rotten odor is detected. Tisbe tolerates a wide range of temperatures and salinities and doesn’t usually require water-parameter acclimation. Healthy Tisbe can be added directly to the main aquarium, sump, refugium or culture containers.