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Presented by Charles & Linda Raabe
Mactan Island, The Philippines
© 2008 All Rights Reserved


Please see the zooplankton section within the Hitch Hikers Page for more details


  Although the majority of "bugs" first noticed within a new tank are one or another of the "pods" there are actualy many types of "bugs" that somehow find their way into our tanks. Most of them are a benefit to our tanks and usualy only get our attention when we see them for the first time and wonder what they are, or we get a mandarin fish and are told they need pods to survive.
  Trying to indentify a specific species is very hard to do unless you have a microscope and very good reference materials. These links and photos only serve to give you an idea of what could be in our tanks and a general view of why they should be encouraged to populate our tanks. Of course as with all species, there are always the one or two family members that dont belong in our tanks due to their parasitic or predatory natures. And we usualy dont know it untill we see our favorite fish swim by with some kind of alien stuck to the side of its head.


 

  Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
  Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
  Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
  Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe

  CopePod Production  -  Teakie Barber's excellent step by step guide on how to culture and raise your own copepods.

  Phytoplankton Cultivation  -  Teakie goes one step further and shows you how to grow the food that copepods need.

  Frequently Asked Questions about Copepods  -  Very informative site dealing with all aspects of copepods.




 Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
 Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
 Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe

   Just as copepods are generaly harmless, so it is with the amphipods species as well. While quite a bit larger than copepods, they also provide a great source of food for both fish and corals while acting as members of the clean up crew as well.

  Amphipod Article  -  A great online resource which goes into great detail about this family of crustaceons.



Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
  Makes food out of fish!   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe
  Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe   Photo by Charles Raabe

  This family of crustaceans contains members that are more likely to present problems within our systems than any other crustaceon group simply because the majority of them are predatory / parasitic.

  Sphaeromatidae family  -  The most commonly found isopods within our systems, which feed up algae matter, thankfully.






This mirror is being hosted with the permissions of the original content creator for preservation and educational purposes.