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Marine Zooplankton : Munnid Isopod / Ostracod (Seed Shrimp) / Yaquina Bay Cyclops sp. (wild)


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After attending last year's Hatfield Marine Science Center trip I decided to collect some natural salt water from the bay. In doing so I  managed to isolate some copepods with the hope of rearing them as a live feed.

Well only one of the copepods was able to reproduce successfully in captivity and is thriving to this day. image.jpeg

 

It is a cyclops to be sure. For some reason the nauplii will not survive without constant phytoplankton suspension. The adults are excellent eaters and scavenge freely. Very tolerant of drastic changes in salinity. Small egg clutches, or I have a low success rate. 

In order to match the cold water in Yaquina Bay I cultured the initial generations in a fridge. As of now they tolerate swings into the lower 80s quite well. Anything higher and they seem unable to respire properly.

approximately 1000 micron

edible by reef inhabitants

 

 

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Munnid Isopods

 

Roughly the same size as an amphipod

Not predatory

Strictly herbivore

Capable of eating micro and macro algae. 

*naturally occuring in reefs with lots of plants matter. These were isolated from my refugium and have been cultured in separate containers. 

 

 

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Marine Ostracod (Seed Shrimp)

 

 

Common in the freshwater world but not commonly seen in saltwater due to them needing large amounts of particulate matter to feed upon. Some people have spawned them into their reef tank by way of natural sea water but it is very short lived. 

 

 

Very cool filter feeders, they eat anything in the water column that fits 

Preyed upon by everything in the food chain

***second most abundant prey item for fish after copepods***

spawn fills the role of microzooplankton 

ultimate scavengers yet they are incredibly needy of organic matter

 

Currently cultured in semi cryptic vessels, working on a standard SOP for expanding them. Honestly I am so proud of being able to maintain these little guys. Been working on this for 9 months and I didnt have success until 3 months ago that I began pursuing bacterioplankton. 

A couple people questioned my ability to procure and culture marine ostracods. I bet they will be first in line for them now. 

 

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  • Eatfrenchfries changed the title to Marine Zooplankton : Munnid Isopod / Ostracod (Seed Shrimp) / Yaquina Bay Cyclops sp. (wild)

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