Copepods

[sherry]

<font color="119911"><font face="arial,helvetica"></font>Hi, I'm wondering what you can tell me about copepods. I have a tank with two firebelly newts I've had for years. More recently, my tank has been filling up with copepods. From what I've been able to learn, it seems they indicate a healthy tank and aren't a bad thing. HOWEVER, my newts seem to object. They seem happy when the tank is cleaned and swim around, but in a week or two it becomes infested with the pods and they just stay on the rock out of the water... I don't really understand why, but they won't go in the water. They just watch the pods all around the rock! Does anyone know... do newts eat copepods? (mine don't?) What can be done to get them under control? I can't seem to scoop them out easily either, but they're making me break down/clean the tank much more frequently because the newts just don't seem to like them in there. Help? Advice? Any ideas why I now have copepods all the time when I didn't used to? (or at least not so many they were noticeable?)</font>}

 

[aaron]

Not being overly knowledgeable concerning copepods, I can only offer limited advice.

First Option: Break down the tank, get new gravel, bleach any ornaments without porous surfaces, and disgard anything that is porous(rocks, driftwood, live plants).

Second Option: White cloud minnows are very easy to find in petshops and are safe with newts. These minnows would eat the "pods" and any other small critters that show their ugly heads.

Good Luck!!

~Aaron

 

[jennifer]

It's odd that copepods can repopulate a clean tank in a week or two. What kind of food are you using? And do you have much gravel in the tank? The copepods require some kind of nutrients to reproduce like that, what are they eating?

 

[sherry]

Thanks for the responses! Aaron, it sounds like a good idea... maybe if I change the gravel and clean things VERY thoroughly it will help some. I'm not sure the minnows would like my low water level in the tank, but maybe it would be OK(?)... I'll keep that in mind for a last resort! For Jennifer... yes, I find it odd too that I'm suddenly having so many pods... I don't get it. I feed the newts plankton, reptomin and bloodworms mostly. I've heard that pods love plankton, so perhaps that's helping them thrive... but my newts love plankton too, so... :/ I do have a small layer of gravel, or rather small stones, that have been used for quite awhile now. And two large rocks stacked up in the tank which is their island... same ones for years. Thank you both for your thoughts!

 

[mike]

Jenn,
Copepods consume smaller organisms ("infusoria") which themselves consume organic matter. Lots of copepods = a high organic load in the tank.

Regular waterchanges with gravel vacuming will reduce copepod populations. You'll never get rid of them entirely, but you don't need to.