Getting rid of copepods

Some time ago I bought a really nice, big Jade Sword plant for about
$20. Soon after putting it in my tank, the leaves all died, and it
looked like the whole plant was a lost cause.

Since I'd paid $20 for it, I decided to experiment. I put what
remained of the plant in a one gallon container, with a layer of
regular potting soil covered by a layer of gravel. I carefully filled
the container with water and put it in the window sill where it gets
full sunlight part of the day.

After about two weeks it's actually starting to recover, with a number
of small but healthy looking new leaves. However, there are also lots
and lots of little critters, perhaps a half-millimeter in size,
zipping all over in the container. I believe they're copepods, which
would not normally concern me, but they're clearly reproducing out of
control since there is nothing to eat them, and they're unsightly.

So, I'm looking for ways to get rid of them. Ideally, some small
critter or fish that could cope with the conditions of this 'tank' -
about a half gallon of free swimming space, one struggling plant, mild
temperature fluctuations during direct sunlight.

So, what critters eat copepods? I could try putting in a single
peacock gudgeon I suppose.

Worst case, I'm willing to use chemicals but I'd prefer not to.

Any suggestions appreciated.



--
www.ericschreiber.com

"Eric Schreiber" wrote in message
...

So, what critters eat copepods? I could try putting in a single
peacock gudgeon I suppose.

Worst case, I'm willing to use chemicals but I'd prefer not to.

Any suggestions appreciated.


Seriously, though I understand the draw to find a 'natural' fix, a
quick,weak bleach bath like we'd use to kill snails on new plants would wipe
the vast majority of them out.

"Dinky" wrote:

Seriously, though I understand the draw to find a 'natural' fix, a
quick,weak bleach bath like we'd use to kill snails on new plants
would wipe the vast majority of them out.

True, but it would also involve the ungodly mess of pulling everything
out and starting over. While I'd probably have fun playing in the mud
and all, I hate to do this to the plant when it's showing signs of
recovery. No doubt the copepods are very well established not only in
the gravel, but also in the potting soil underneath.

I should have done a mild bleach bath when I first moved the plant. If
I had, I wouldn't have this problem now.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

"Eric Schreiber" wrote in message
...
"Dinky" wrote:


I should have done a mild bleach bath when I first moved the plant. If
I had, I wouldn't have this problem now.



Guppies? A small feeder goldie, perhaps.

"Dinky" wrote:

Guppies? A small feeder goldie, perhaps.

Maybe. They have the advantage of being cheap, anyway. But having
sworn up and down that I'll never keep guppies, I don't think I could
withstand the abuse my sister would heap on me

I just stumbled across a Usenet article that indicates that ghost
shrimp eat copepods. This also falls under the heading of 'cheap', and
fits in with my plans to get another dozen this weekend anyway. I seem
to run out a lot - someone in my main tank appears to have decided
that ghost shrimp are yummy. I haven't determined yet who the culprit
is.

A shrimp or two might be kind of neat scooting around in the
one-gallon.

--
www.ericschreiber.com

"Eric Schreiber" wrote in message
...


A shrimp or two might be kind of neat scooting around in the
one-gallon.



Agreed! Hope that works. Any loaches in the tank that loses shrimp? I've
heard tell that some loaches will eat them.

"Dinky" wrote:

Any loaches in the tank that loses shrimp? I've
heard tell that some loaches will eat them.

No loaches. There are several possible culprits (see list), but I
think Fundies are most likely. The SAEs are the biggest fish in the
tank and they seem fairly omnivorous, but they tend towards being
scavengers.

Peacock Gudgeon (9)
Fundulopanchax scheeli (3)
Red-Eyed Tetra (1)
Siamese Algae Eater (3)
Otocinclus Catfish (3)
Leopard Danio (1)



--
www.ericschreiber.com

I didn't know the name of the little white thread like things, but my
Zebra's had their number. Zebra Danio had a feast for a week.


On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 22:50:35 -0700, "Dinky"
wrote:


"Eric Schreiber" wrote in message
.. .

So, what critters eat copepods? I could try putting in a single
peacock gudgeon I suppose.

Worst case, I'm willing to use chemicals but I'd prefer not to.

Any suggestions appreciated.


Seriously, though I understand the draw to find a 'natural' fix, a
quick,weak bleach bath like we'd use to kill snails on new plants would wipe
the vast majority of them out.

Eric Schreiber wrote:

I just stumbled across a Usenet article that indicates that ghost
shrimp eat copepods. This also falls under the heading of 'cheap', and
fits in with my plans to get another dozen this weekend anyway.

On Saturday I put two ghost shrimp into the copepod infested
container. There were easily a hundred copepods in sight at any given
moment when I did this. Today, five days later, I'm hard pressed to
find even a dozen. It looks as though the ghost shrimp do indeed eat
copepods.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

What's a copepod?

--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv