Live Zooplankton

Zooplankton is a mixture of live copepods and live rotifers.

What Are Copepods?

Copepods are small crustaceans that can be used as live food for saltwater aquarium fishes, corals and other invertebrates.

Who Should Use Copepods?

Almost any marine aquarium will benefit from the addition of copepods, but tanks with mandarinfishes, anthias and seahorses may well require the regular addition of copepods for optimal results. Aquarists that maintain refugia as a part of their overall system should definitely add copepods directly to their refugium on a regular basis.

How To Use Copepods

We ship our zooplankton in a 60ml bottle. To add them to your system, simply pour the bottle directly into the Aquarium. If a refugium is present, it may be best to add at least some of the copepods to the refugium where they will not be eaten. If no refugium is present, the aquarist may add all of the copepods directly to the sump (consider shutting off the protein skimmer for a time if one is present). If the system does not have a refugium or a sump, consider adding at least some of the copepods when the aquarium lights are off.

Which Copepods Do You Stock?

We stock Harpacticoids copepods which are the most commonly available copepods on the market today. They are substrate-dwelling copepods (“benthic" copepods). They feed on microalgae, detritus and even flake fish food. Some harpacticoids are cannibalistic and will eat other copepods if no other food source is present in the aquarium.

Why Can't I See Copepods In My Aquarium?

Over time, the population of the copepods in your aquarium will decline as they are grazed by the corals, anemones, fish and shrimp in the tank.

How Do Copepods Help My Aquarium?

As well as being an excellent food source for finicky fish eaters, they are "detritivores", meaning they will scavenge leftover fish food, fish poop, and bacteria in the tank. They can help control the water quality by eating the unused food which can eventually lead to bacteria overload in your tank.

When you receive your copepods you don't have to use them straight away as they will store in your fridge for up to 6-8 weeks.

Do you want to culture your own copepods? try our copepod feed.  

What Are Rotifers?

Rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) are very tiny animals measuring between 130-200 micrometers. Rotifers are often raised as food for live corals and fish larvae. They are the ideal starter food for species of fish such as clownfish fry which have tiny larvae with very, very tiny mouths.

Who Should Use Rotifers?

Almost any marine aquarium will benefit from the addition of rotifers, Their size and excellent nutritional value (50% to 65% protein) make them the perfect live food for all (freshwater and marine) fry, anemones, sponges.

How To Feed Rotifers

To add them to your system, simply pour the bottle directly into the aquarium or use a sieve witch is available as an option above if you require one. Purchasing a sieve with your zooplankton is cheaper than if you purchased both items separately. Feed as little or as much as required. Rotifers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days if you do not want to feed them all at the same time. Rotifers are perfect for a reef's food source because they multiply very rapidly and they are just the right size for almost all filter feeders.

Which Rotifers Do You Stock?

We stock (Brachionus plicatilis) which is the "L" strain which range in size from 150-360 microns. Our rotifers cultured in saltwater with a specific gravity of 1.019. Our rotifer cultures are usually maintained at a population density of 50 to 200 rotifers per ml of water.