OK am I missing something new about copepods?

[Anonymous]

Hi folks. It appears that recently I have been receiving a rash of complaint that my customers critters (usually corals) were "infested" with copepods. 16 in one bag, 13 in another, some don't bother to count.

Normally I wouldn't think much about it, but with the increasing number of people complaining I am wondering who is the chicken little screaming about copepods?

From what they tell me when I ask them why they feel they need to be erradicated from their tank I am told because they spread disease and infection and are the demise of the natural reefs which have been plagued with decline and disease.

Someone pulling my leg?

 

[ReefLion]

I've never, ever heard anything bad about copepods, but if someone has some info I'm willing to listen.

Tim

 

[Mac1]

Could they be confusing the term copepod w/ the "red bugs" people have been wailing about on Acro's lately? My guess is you're just dealing w/ an ignorant batch of customers.
That would be like a gardner bitching the plants you sent him were covered in EarthWorms?

- Mac

 

[liquid]

Heck, one of Frank Marini's future columns for AAOLM is going to be on copepod culture. I have *never* heard that copepods are bad. Heck, send me some! rofl Maybe they're thinking of that parasitic isopod that attaches to fish or else Ron's saying something about copepods that I haven't heard before. Either way it's a bunch of horsepucky if you ask me.

Shane

 

[NaCl-H2O]

I've heard that some Iosopds are bad and that there are some bad Amphipods, but I've never heard of bad Copepods. It was my understanding after reading many articals on what corals eat that in nature, copepods are the primary food source for most corals and we sould have as many in our tanks as possible. I agree with Mac, those people must be refering to the red bugs infesting SPS that everyones been talking about lately.

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, it was definitely copepods.

 

[Anonymous]

Have you asked Marc Weiss?

 

[newkie]

Could they be confusing the term copepod w/ the "red bugs" people have been wailing about

That was exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Anonymous]

Uh oh. Should I?

 

[Anonymous]

First, I don't have the red bugs so it's not that. Second, they were all sent corals which were on rocks where copepods would naturally hide out during the day like mushrooms, polyps, etc etc.

I assure you, they were copepods as with one gentleman I went back and forth with.

 

[Mac1]

LOL! Then you've got some pretty gullible or stupid customers, I feel sorry for you

- Mac

 

[IBJJ]

Tell them you were glad they pointed that out and you were suppose to charge them more with the copepods. That will be $10 more please.:lol:

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think you are talking about copepods here?

I think what you mean are amphipods.

Copepods are pelagic and planktonic and don't really cling to rocks like amphipods do.

Unless you have discovered some new type of copepod? Perhaps you could post a picture to jog my memory a little?

By the way, the amphipods I think you are talking about are harmless, and good for the tank community.

Brian

 

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to clarify:

Copepods do show up in reef tanks, but it is somewhat rare. Amphipods are much more common, and easier to see, which is why I suggested them as the culprit.

Also, most people have no idea what distinguishes the two groups of crustaceans.

 

[Anonymous]

Have you asked Marc Weiss?

:lol:

 

[Chucker]

Just wanted to clarify:

Copepods do show up in reef tanks, but it is somewhat rare. Amphipods are much more common, and easier to see, which is why I suggested them as the culprit.

Also, most people have no idea what distinguishes the two groups of crustaceans.

I wouldn't call them rare at all. I've seen them in both of my tanks, and those of others in our club. Simply perusing a section of uncleaned glass with a handlens will open up a whole new world of critters that most people have never seen before.

That being said, I would agree that the customers in question likely are not correctly identifying the organisms they are seeing. Without a quality pic, it will be quite difficult to identify them.

 

[Louis Z]

Plankton Culture Manual says 4500 sp of copepods and does indicate some are parasitic in nature yet does not say which or which prey or give pictures. Most copepods consume microalgae or detritis. The microalgae can be what we normally culture to the diatoms and dinoflagellates. Each species probably has a preference to what they eat for some algae have defense mechanisms to limit predation. Usually there is an algal bloom and a subsequent copepod bloom which shows a predator prey relationship. Some copepods(harpacticoids) can be fed the algal pastes where as calanoid copepods usually have to have live microalgae. As for identification of the copepods one may be able to say which general order they come from. But for specific ID one would probably have to go to a copepodologist or have DNA analysis and comparison. Copepods can be benthic or pelagic so they can be in the water or attached to Live Rock/glass. Some are photophobic and others phototrophic. Some nauplii are benthic and pelagic compared to the adult stages. Some copepods produce resting eggs which hatch when the conditions are favorable( like our tanks). So when their prey diminishes or conditions worsen the eggs produced sink to the bottom and the nauplii reemerge the next year when cycle begins anew. So as to say that there are no bad copepods that will harm coral is impossible(exceptions to every rule) but more than likely they are not. I would point out that most are harmless and if you had seen problems with your coral frags before shipping then you wouldnt have sent them out and that you didnt notice any harm while in your holding tanks(that is if its true). Also tell them that if they reproduce in the tanks the nauplii could in turn be food for the corals and fish they have. Most wrasses/clownfish/genicanthus angels/anthias/gobies/draggonets/seahorses/pipefish/larval stage fish relish them. Mysid shrimp also prey upon them. Most aquarists are trying to culture them for this purpose and also for a first food for larval fish. If they have a sump or refugium most likely they are there already. If they dont they must like to keep a sterile tank or they skim/filter the heck out of it. Education is important for as many aquarists dont know much about them. Yet the aquaculture industry has been headed toward them for quite sometime. It just takes a while to trickle down. For more info and leads I have set up a thread on live foods on reefcentral. http://reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=97975

 

[Louis Z]

Silly me, I obviously dont know how to post a link here properly . But one can visit the Frank Marini's Captive Breeding forum at reefcentral and look under the thread "this is what I have found so far" that I started in July and recently added to.

 

[Mike02]

i see copepods in my tank all the time. and i have amphipods too. maybe those customers are calling flat worms, "pods" or maybe they're just ignorant.

 

[Anonymous]

not only good, some look awesome: