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  #1  
Old 12/30/2007, 09:46 AM
fishorcutbait fishorcutbait is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Minnesota
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Too many pods?

I am seeing more and more of these little bug like creatures running around the sand and rocks in my tank. I assume they are some sort of "pods" - they are about 3 or 4 mm long, and run fast. They used to hide when the light came on, but now they are more fearless. I noticed today some running into my new zoas. The coral closed up when this happened. I am starting to worry that the pods are going to annoy the corals. Should I do something to try to deplete these little buggers? I only have one fish, a clown, and he does not seem interested in them.
  #2  
Old 12/30/2007, 09:57 AM
rickofco rickofco is offline
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I had the same problem untill I added a 6 line wras
  #3  
Old 12/30/2007, 10:07 AM
t5Nitro t5Nitro is offline
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If zoas are like a palythoa, they will close up and eat, right? Their mouth is in the middle? The zoa probably closed up and ate the pod. Pods are good things for the tank. A sign of a lot of pods is a good tank getting more mature. You don't need to get any fish to control the pod population. Just don't get stuck on a mandarin since you have a lot of pods, it will not survive in a 14g. It will whipe out the pod population in a day or two.
  #4  
Old 12/30/2007, 12:38 PM
Norward Norward is offline
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agree with above: you don't need a fish to control your pod population. here is some helpful info from the Ocean Pods website: "Over time, the population of the invertebrates (pods) from the live rock will naturally decline, as they are grazed by the corals, anemones, fish and shrimp in the tank." If you do get a fish, be sure it's a small one that also eats frozen/flake food. Here is a nano tank stock list for ideas to research: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...opic=74703&hl=
  #5  
Old 12/30/2007, 12:44 PM
virginiadiver69 virginiadiver69 is offline
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You'll see cycles of pod population expansion and decline. One day you will look in your tank and wonder where they all went and the over time see them come back. Not to worry.
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  #6  
Old 12/30/2007, 12:48 PM
Sk8r Sk8r is offline
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Pods eat algae, and are good in the largest possible numbers.
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  #7  
Old 12/30/2007, 12:52 PM
syrinx syrinx is offline
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Nothing out of balance is good- but as a previous poster said they will eventually regulate their population. I have had tanks that needed pod eaters because the pods became to the point they were always stiring up detritus- mainley their own shed exoskels.
  #8  
Old 12/30/2007, 06:15 PM
harryk harryk is offline
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you can never have enough pods. when their population declines and it will, you'll wish you had more. then when you least expect it their population will explode and grow

Harry
  #9  
Old 12/30/2007, 08:51 PM
navychief navychief is offline
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What exactly does a pod look like? Link please??
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  #10  
Old 12/30/2007, 09:01 PM
nmhs2 nmhs2 is offline
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I have a 55 and am getting a mandarin. How long will 200 pods last me?
  #11  
Old 12/30/2007, 11:59 PM
harryk harryk is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by nmhs2
I have a 55 and am getting a mandarin. How long will 200 pods last me?

Not very long my guess probably a week max, most likely less. Mandarins search for food constantly. unless you have a fuge it will probably starve and die

Harry
  #12  
Old 12/31/2007, 12:05 AM
Rustylugnuts Rustylugnuts is offline
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You could use that inital 200 to culture a steady supply of food for the mandarin. Good light, spare ten gallon or two, and a steady supply of phytoplankton is all you need to have for a pod factory.
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  #13  
Old 12/31/2007, 11:00 PM
Norward Norward is offline
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200 pods likely won't last long with a mandarin in the tank. Seed your fuge with pods if it doesn't have a population growing already, along with the phytoplankton source for the pods to feed on. Your LFS store should have both. Otherwise there are places on-line.
  #14  
Old 12/31/2007, 11:05 PM
Zestay Zestay is offline
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to many foxes eat all the rabbits. foxes multiply and run out of rabbits to eat. foxes starve to death. rabbits flourish, than the few foxes left have huge hunting grounds and eat all the excess rabbies etc etc etc they will balance them selfs out
  #15  
Old 12/31/2007, 11:16 PM
schigara schigara is offline
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If you put those 200 in the display, the Mandarin would devour them in much less than one day.

The hours per day that a Mandarin is actively searching for pods, he eats a pod roughly every 5 seconds. Watch him sometime and time his nibbles on pods. Figure 12 pods per minute, 720 pods per hour, 17, 280 pods per 24H period. Granted, they sleep part of the day but it's easy to see why it takes a large established tank with a buttload of pods to sustain even one Mandarin.
 

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