This listing is for freshly harvested Copepods (Tisbe Biminiensis & Tigriopus Californicus Mix, Apocyclops Mix) as well as High Quality Phytoplankton for feeding/dosing (not for reculturing as bottles contain multiple species) .
Live Copepods - Feeder/Dosing Phytoplankton - Combo Pack
Phytoplankton are small single cell organisms that are essential to the growth and sustainment of corals, copepods, and several other species of marine life. If you are looking for high quality Phytoplankton for your copepods, or if you want to culture your own Phytoplankton, you're in the right place!
Live Copepods are a fantastic way of adding biodiversity to your reef aquarium. They serve as members of your cleanup crew, eating detritus and improving water quality. In addition, their small size makes them excellent at getting into the tiniest crevices in your live rock and eating waste inaccessible to snails and crabs.
Pods are also the only food some picky fish will eat; examples include mandarins, pipefish, and some wrasses. These fish generally won't eat anything but live food, and copepods are their preferred menu item! Your corals also love to eat copepods, which helps them gain the nutrients they need to grow and maintain optimum health.
Tisbe are the smallest of the three types of copepods we stock. Tisbe pods are nocturnal, which helps protect them from predation (allowing them to build a robust, self-sustaining colony in your tank). Adults of this species prefer to live in your live rock and on your glass, eating detritus all night. Mandarins, in particular, love to eat Tisbe pods. Live copepods are a great natural reef aquarium food for your fish and corals.
Tigriopus are the largest type of copepod we offer. This live copepod species is a pelagic, or free-swimming, copepod. The large size and peculiar swimming motion of the Tigriopus make it easy to catch and are perfect for feeding your coral and fish. Other Names they are referred to but are not their scientific name is : Tig, Tigger, Tigrio. These are short names or other products and not to be confused with the actual species name of Tigriopus.
Apocylops are a little bit smaller and harder for fish to catch than Tigriopus. Combined with the fact that it is a prolific breeder, it is easier for Apocyclops to begin a self-sustaining colony in your tank. Young Apocyclops prefer to live in your rocks and eat detritus; as they grow into adults, they become free-swimming and make an excellent target for fish and corals. Apocyclops are prolific breeders and will quickly form a self-sustaining colony in your tank. Other Names they are referred to but are not their scientific name is : Apo , Apex. These are short names or other products and not to be confused with the actual species name of Apocyclops.Note: Phytoplankton should be refrigerated and lightly shaken daily to keep cells suspended. It can last a couple weeks refrigerated and still be live but it will start to die if not cultured again. We recommend using it within 2 weeks of delivery and keeping it refrigerated. It can still be used to feed zooplankton (copepods/rotifers) after the 2 week window as they eat both live an dead phytoplankton.
Also note, phytoplankton is green in nature (all spectrum's of green from light to dark) but if you receive any that is very light green or yellow in color then report it right away as could be DOA issue from shipping. Bad Phyto will look funny, clumpy and smell foul, so if its green and has not obvious foul smell your good to go!
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Label content will vary and change, please look for the checkbox on left of the label for actual contents of bottle. Care instructions for the item will be on the right side. Please refer to listing images, for example of bottle label and use.
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Live items cannot be returned as they are sensitive to shipping, so all sales are final.
Buyer agrees to check and report issues with any live item purchased within 1 hour of delivery (based on carrier delivery time).
*Florida Reef Labs will review any claim and upon approval, will credit buyers account for future purchases.
(DOA), please contact us and provide a photo AND video of the shipment, along with original packaging (bottle and shipping container) WITHIN 1 HOUR of carrier recorded delivery time.
We ship all copepods in an insulated bag with cold/heat packs to ensure alive arrival. Due to colder temperatures, the copepods may go into a hibernation state (not moving/or slowly moving). Please allow them to remain in room temperature for 1 hour before use.
There are approximately a 1 ounce air pocket in each bottle; we intentionally leave an air pocket so the animals can breathe in transit.
We ship in insulated bag with cold/heat packs to ensure live arrival.
We ship Monday - Wednesday ONLY - For any orders placed after Wednesday, you may receive notification of shipment, but that is just the generation of the shipping label. Shipping will proceed on that following Monday unless it's a holiday ***
If weather is a factor in shipping, cold/heat/hurricane, we will ship on next available Monday - Wednesday window to ensure live arrival.
Reviews
My order sat in my garage for three days because I was in the hospital. Thankful for moderate temperatures & great packaging, both bottles were in great condition when finally opened!
The pods and phyto were supposed to show up Thursday and didn't show up till Friday. The "cold" pack has become a heat pack. HOWEVER the pods, which there were a lot, were still swimming.
Fast shipping great price excellent products both my nano tanks are doing great since i started using phytoplankton and copepods from Florida reef labs.
10/10. Very abundant pods even in the 8oz size, high quality phyto, my tank is overrun by pods (which I love). Excellent customer service as well !
I am on a monthly subscription and I always receive my orders on time. Copepods are plentiful and Phyto is always of great quality.