APEX-PODS™ (6oz.) - Reef Nutrition

Apex-Pods are an excellent food source that attracts finicky fish, such as mandarin dragonets, pipefish, Anthias sp. and wrasses.  This copepod can also be fed to invertebrates, such as SPS, LPS and NPS corals, as well as other filter feeders. Smaller than Reef Nutrition’s Tigger-Pods®, stage 1 nauplii are approximately 70 micron and adults are approximately 600 to 700 microns.

Note: Apex-Pods™ bottles contain approximately 2,000 juvenile and adult Apocyclops panamensis copepods. 

DO NOT REFRIGERATE! Pop the cap upon arrival and during acclimation. After acclimation to room temperature, Apex-Pods should be added to the tank or culture vessel within 24 hours of arrival or purchase from a store. Depending on predators and tank size, Apex-Pods may need to be replenished routinely. To help promote a population, it is recommended that you feed phytoplankton to the tank often. Phyto-Feast is an ideal food for these animals and will also provide nutrition for many other invertebrates in your reef aquarium.

Acclimation:

• With the cap popped open, let the bottle stand at room temp for about 2 hours to allow the temperature to rise.  
• Salinity acclimation is not necessary. 

Direct feed to fish and corals:

• Turn off wavemakers and your recirculating pump(s).
• Pour the animals in and watch the feeding frenzy.
• You can even use a target feeding device for this step.

Establish in a display:

• Turn off the lights, wavemakers and recirculating pump(s).
• Pour the animals in and wait for 30 minutes.
• Return the system to normal function.
• Remove filter socks and floss. Replace the next morning.

Since some of the copepods will cling to the side of the bottle after pouring, make sure to rinse the remainders out with clean saltwater so that you get every last animal.

Establish in a refugium (best method):

• Pour in the animals and watch them settle in.

Since some of the copepods will cling to the side of the bottle after pouring, make sure to rinse the remainders out with clean saltwater so that you get every last animal.

Culture in a separate container:

• No live algae required!  Reef Nutrition's RGcomplete™ or one of their other RotGrow products are perfect for this animal.
• For highly productive, small scale culture protocols, look here: apocyclops_panamensis information