Copepods!

[eithan0693]

I've been trying to keep these little guys alive for some time now maybe 2 weeks.

Things seem to be doing very very well.

A C6 momma copepod big enough to see. She's about 0.7mm big, is swimming above the marimo ball.

In the middle is a copepod C1-C4 it has grown it's 4th segment and tail.

Adult copepods have 6 stages of life denoted by c1 through c6. The juvenile copepods are denoted by n1-n6. They have 12+1 stages of life. 12 metamorphosi and their breeding phase. In the microscopic picture the large c1-c4 copepod is about 0.2 mm large. There are smaller round n1-n6 copepods on the lower have of the picture.

Copepods!!: Copepods!! - YouTube

These two are fighting over a piece of phytoplankton aha

 

[NemJones]

I love copepods!
Such interesting little life forms.will be watching

 

[eithan0693]

Copepods!: Copepods! - YouTube

There's just so many lol, that bottle only holds 9ml of water and that is a marimo moss ball

 

[Clue]

Very cool! I used to have a large culture of copepods going in most of my Aldrovanda cultures, but eventually they completely disappear. Whatever species I have seem to require a dry diapause period.

 

[eithan0693]

Never heard of that? That's neat

 

[SubRosa]

Very cool! I used to have a large culture of copepods going in most of my Aldrovanda cultures, but eventually they completely disappear. Whatever species I have seem to require a dry diapause period.

Anytime you're working with cultures of crustaceans, you need to continuously start new cultures as older ones inevitably crash.

 

[eithan0693]

Oh okay yeah I cycle my water through... 7? Tanks so they should be good...

 

[Clue]

Anytime you're working with cultures of crustaceans, you need to continuously start new cultures as older ones inevitably crash.

Yeah, I used to keep several buckets outdoors that I'd periodically flood and dry to keep ostracods and copepods, but I've abandoned them in favor of more low maintenance long-term residents like Neocaridina shrimp.

 

[eithan0693]

My copepods lasted all year in a bucket outside, so I figure if I keep expanding the culture whilst feeding them to my plants and shrimps the colony should be indefinite. I find they are about as much hassle as my shrimps are which is next to none.

 

[Cruzzfish]

Whenever I have copepods they come from the pond, and there is usually a lot of pondwater and decaying plant material with them as well. I've never tried keeping them long term though.

 

[jimscott]

Whenever I have copepods they come from the pond, and there is usually a lot of pondwater and decaying plant material with them as well. I've never tried keeping them long term though.

That's what I do, too.

 

[eithan0693]

Mine are still kicking