Canada Copepods
Seahorses and Copepods
The syngnathids (a name which comes from the Greek for “fused jaws”) are a unique looking family of fish encompassing the well known, charismatic seahorses, as well as the pipefishes, pipehorses and seadragons. These fish are found in warm seas worldwide, usually in coastal waters.
How To Seed Your Tank With Live Copepods And Rotifers
Seed your tank with a live, self-sustaining food source today for a clean, low maintenance and healthy ecosystem. Find out more here!
Copepod Speed and Strength
Most people are familiar with the factoid that ants are able to perform herculean feats of strength, lifting many times their own body weight, but how many people know that copepods give ants a run for their money not only in the population game, but also in sheer athleticism?
Photosynthesis and Copepods
Photosynthesis, the process by which light is converted into chemical energy is usually thought to only take place in the realm of plants and algae, but some animals also make use of this life sustaining mechanism.
The Clownfish
Clownfish larvae’s small mouths limit the type of food that they can ingest, and many novice breeders have lost their hatches by not having the right food available. During the first two weeks of their lives, clownfish larvae will eat rotifers; typically measuring 90-160 µm, they are the perfect size to provide a meal.
The Longnose Hawkfish
Oxycirrhites typus aka the longnose hawkfish is a reef aquarium favourite. What’s not to love about this fish, with its red and white checkered patterning, elongated mouth and prominent dorsal fin?
Microplastics
Zooplankton, such as copepods, that come into contact with microplastics often mistake them for food, as they can be the same size as their natural food.
Copepod Morphology
The bodies of copepods can be extremely different during their different stages of life as they change from nauplius to copepodid to adult. The body structure of copepods also has large variation between species, but in general they share physical traits that unite them as a group and visually mark them as copepods.
Copepods: More Than Just Reef Food
So you know that copepods make a healthy meal for the inhabitants of your reef, but what else do they do? It turns out that copepods are more important to the planet than you might think, and have more use to people beyond their inclusion in aquariums.
What are Copepods and Rotifers?
Zooplankton are found near the bottom of the food chain. Feeding on phytoplankton (green water) and other small zooplankton, they in turn are the primary food source for the reef. The most abundant zooplankton found in the ocean reef are tiny, mic...