Will I have a shortage of copepods with these fish?

[toi_ss]

Im planning a stocking list for my 6x3x1.2 foot aquarium but I would like to have multiple fish that love to eat cope pods. 1 finger dragonet, 1 yellow tail tamarin, 1 black spot leopard wrasse and a adorned halichoeres wrasse. My refugium will be around 30 gallons when full with water and im wondering if this will be too small to provide the necessary critters for these fish. Any help appreciated thanks

 

[slingfox]

I hope you get some input. I am in a similar situation with my 5 wrasse who are constantly picking at the rocks and glass. I am wary to get a dragonet since I am not sure there will be enough copepods for him!

 

[toi_ss]

I hope you get some input. I am in a similar situation with my 5 wrasse who are constantly picking at the rocks and glass. I am wary to get a dragonet since I am not sure there will be enough copepods for him!

Im hoping that with having a large ish refugium and lots of live rock as well as a large open area for grazing the sand bed i might be okay.

 

[Paul B]

=If the tank is old enough it will be no problem. I have a spawning pair of these Mandarins.



Spawning pair of these Ruby Reds.




Maybe 5 or 6 of these bleenies, mostly spawning.


5 of these Hectors gobies, spawning.


5 or 6 of these clown gobies.


2 of these Blue Stripped Pipefish along with 30 other fish in a 125. But the tank is old and natural and I don't have a refugium or sump.



One Scooter Dragonette.

 

[Doctorgori]

@Paul B
How many copepods do you buy each month?

 

[Paul B]

I never bought a copepod. But if I did, I would store them here.



All old healthy tanks that are not quarantined or medicated should be full of copepods.

 

[beamers]

my melanurus wrasse unfortunately ate every copepod in the tank in my 90gal. so much so that i had to rehome him before my dragonet starved. I did not have a refugium however so that will probably save you from a wrasse over eating everything.

 

[OrionN]

@Paul B
How many copepods do you buy each month?

Paul make specialized Mandarin feeder so he can feed the Mandarin. Plus Paul’s tank, if you read his thread, is really unique. So don’t go stocking your tank the way he does unless you are willing to do things like he does. Plus he did not keep any (or many) of the wrasses you mentioned.
All those wrasses are especially adept at hunting for life food. They do eat other food too but you just going to set it up and judge for yourself. I know that I have a 65 gal tank that set up with a great diversity, I had a fat mandarin in it until I added a pair of Flame Angels. The Flame Angels wipe out the pods population and I have to remove the Mandarin when I see that he starts to loose weight. This tank is much smaller that your tank and I just have 2 dwarf angels.
To answer your question, maybe you may not able to keep your mandarin unless you adjust your stocking. You need to wait and judge accordingly, As long as you know to keep an eye on thing, I am confident that you will make the right decision to go to plant B if needed.

 

[Paul B]

I have a few.

 

[i cant think]

Im planning a stocking list for my 6x3x1.2 foot aquarium but I would like to have multiple fish that love to eat cope pods. 1 finger dragonet, 1 yellow tail tamarin, 1 black spot leopard wrasse and a adorned halichoeres wrasse. My refugium will be around 30 gallons when full with water and im wondering if this will be too small to provide the necessary critters for these fish. Any help appreciated thanks

I have a mandarin and 3 wrasses plus 2-3 other pod eaters in a 3’x16”x1’ tank. And I have no refugium, I just add pods every week.

 

[OrionN]

From the reply of the two authorities on fish @Paul B and @i cant think, I think you may need to supplement feed them rather than rely all on tank raised pods in your tank.

 

[Formulator]

In a new tank I think you are going to have a really hard time UNLESS you get them eating frozen. All of my dragonets and wrasses eat frozen mysis no problem and I’ve never been overly concerned with pods, though I do have a decent population just as an artifact of having an 8 year old system.

Also suggest you check out @Paul B ’s baby brine shrimp auto feeder and his hatchery. Really neat DIY live food feeders for exactly your situation.

 

[toi_ss]

In a new tank I think you are going to have a really hard time UNLESS you get them eating frozen. All of my dragonets and wrasses eat frozen mysis no problem and I’ve never been overly concerned with pods, though I do have a decent population just as an artifact of having an 8 year old system.

Also suggest you check out @Paul B ’s baby brine shrimp auto feeder and his hatchery. Really neat DIY live food feeders for exactly your situation.

I've made a auto phyto doser, also I will be feeding 12x daily. I have decided to have more fish but a 320 display and an 80 gallon sump with a 40 gallon refugium, aqua excel ec-30 and a filter roller. Might consider the brine shrimp feeder but my food mix has dead artemia already as well as mysis, mussels, cyclops and sea veggies for tangs. I'm using the dbr_reef design of auto feeder. Edit: all pod eating fish will be added when tank is established

 

[toi_ss]

My current planned stocking for a 400 gallon tank is

3x Zebrasoma flavescens - Yellow Tang
1x Acanthurus blochii - Ringtail Tang
3x Heniochus acuminatus - Schooling Bannerfish
1x Siganus puellus - Decorated Rabbitfish
1x Pygoplites diacanthus - Regal Angelfish
1x Genicanthus lamarck - Lamrack Angelfish

1x Dactylopus dactylopus - Finger Dragonet
2x Doryrhampus janssi - Janss Pipefish
1x Pterapogon kauderni - Bangaii Cardinal
7x Chromis Viridis - Blue Green Chromis

1x Anampses meleagrides - Spotted Tamarin Wrasse
1x Anampses feminimius or twistii - Blue Striped or Yellow Breasted Tamarin Wrasse
1x Anampses neoguinaicus - China Wrasse
1x Halichoeres chrysus - Yellow Canary Wrasse
1x Halichoeres cosmetus - Adorned Wrasse
1x Macropharyngodon meleagris - Blackspotted Leopard Wrasse
1x Macropharyngodon ornatus - Ornate Leopard Wrasse
2x Stethojulis Bandanensis - Orange Axil Wrassex

2x Diadema antillarum - Longspine Urchin

 

[toi_ss]

From the reply of the two authorities on fish @Paul B and @i cant think, I think you may need to supplement feed them rather than rely all on tank raised pods in your tank.

I will dose phytoplankton but copepods aren't available for sale anywhere in new zealand. I may culture some though

 

[OrionN]

You may end up making a Mandarin feeder and feed them newly hatch brine shrimps like @Paul B