Copepod & Amphipod Cultivation Guide | How to Self-Breed Live Food in a Refugium | ブリちょく
Coral| ✍️ BreederDirect Editorial
Copepod & Amphipod Cultivation Guide | How to Self-Breed Live Food in a Refugium
Complete guide to copepod and amphipod cultivation for strengthening the coral tank ecosystem and securing live food. This guide covers cultivation container setup procedures using phytoplankton, breeding cycles and harvesting methods, substrate and live rock management for amphipods, and methods to reduce the difficulty of keeping mandarin fish and similar species through refugium integration.
Key Takeaways
Complete guide to copepod and amphipod cultivation for strengthening the coral tank ecosystem and securing live food. This guide covers cultivation container setup procedures using phytoplankton, breeding cycles and harvesting methods, substrate and live rock management for amphipods, and methods to reduce the difficulty of keeping mandarin fish and similar species through refugium integration.
About Copepods & Amphipods
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Copepods and amphipods are extremely important microcrustaceans in the natural reef ecosystem. They serve as natural food for corals, fish, and invertebrates, and form the foundation of biodiversity in reef tanks.
Copepods: Microcrustaceans measuring approximately 0.5–2mm in body length. Many species, such as harpacticoid and cyclopoid copepods, serve as natural food for marine fish and soft corals.
Amphipods: Crustaceans measuring approximately 2–10mm in body length, slightly larger than copepods. Examples include talitrid and gammarus species. They are favorites of mandarin fish, dottybacks, and garnet dottybacks.
Benefits of Copepod Cultivation
Advantages as Live Food
Live copepods offer the following advantages over frozen alternatives:
Higher nutritional value: Active live food triggers natural feeding behavior
Solution for non-pelleted feeders: Mandarin fish, sponge-dwelling gobies (Pomacentrus dwarf types), and similar species
Additional nutrition for corals: Nutritional supplementation for mushroom corals, zoanthus, and LPS corals
Ecological Significance in Refugiums
A refugium divides a portion of the sump into a secondary tank where macroalgae, live rock, and livestock are managed separately. Copepods and amphipods breed within the refugium and naturally replenish the main tank. This achieves:
Algae absorbs nitrates and phosphates, maintaining low nutrient levels
Copepods function as herbivorous balancers
A natural food chain becomes established within the tank
Copepod Cultivation Methods
Required Materials
Cultivation container: 20–40L polyethylene bucket or dedicated cultivation vessel
Aeration: Air pump + air stone (low to moderate flow)
Light source (when combined with algae cultivation): Fluorescent or LED lighting (10–14 hours per day)
Copepod starter culture: Live copepod packs for initial introduction or refugium tank water
Food: Phytoplankton
Setup Procedure
1. Container Preparation
Fill a clean polyethylene bucket with tank water (or prepared artificial seawater with specific gravity 1.025). Place an air stone at the bottom to create gentle water movement. Maintain the cultivation container at 24–26°C, matching your tank temperature.
2. Introducing Copepods
Use commercial live copepod packs (such as Tigger Pods or Copepod POD Reactor). Alternatively, you can scoop substrate from an existing refugium tank and add it to the container. Even with a small initial population, copepod numbers double within 2–3 weeks.
3. Adding Phytoplankton
Add phytoplankton (such as Otomyia falcata or Tetraselmis) as food for copepods. Use commercial products (Phyto Feast, AlgaGen ReefPHYTO, etc.) or self-cultured phytoplankton.
Dosing guideline: 1–2mL of phytoplankton liquid per liter of copepod culture daily or every other day
Water color: If a light yellow-green to green color is maintained, the dose is appropriate. If the water becomes clear, increase phytoplankton supplementation.
4. Breeding Cycle
Copepods reach maturity in 2–4 weeks. Adult females carry egg sacs. Under favorable conditions, populations double or more within 2–3 weeks.
Cultivation Tips
Prevent overcrowding: Excessive populations lead to oxygen depletion and cannibalism. Harvest regularly 1–2 times per week
Water changes: Exchange 1/4 to 1/3 of the water every 1–2 weeks with tank water
Temperature maintenance: Around 25°C is optimal for breeding
Light management: Adjust light levels to prevent excessive algae overgrowth, or keep phytoplankton culture separate
Amphipod Cultivation
Amphipods are larger than copepods and serve as important food for mandarin fish, dottybacks, and other carnivorous species.
Setting Up the Cultivation Environment
Substrate is essential: Amphipods require 2–3cm of substrate as they live hidden in the sand
Add live rock fragments: These provide hiding places and increase breeding success
Aeration: Provide adequate water flow for oxygen supply
Amphipods also consume organic detritus, so retaining some sediment at the container bottom creates a natural breeding environment.
Harvesting Method
Place fine mesh screening (300–500μm) in the cultivation container to concentrate and harvest copepods and amphipods. The collected live food can be introduced directly into the tank or stored refrigerated for short periods.
Integration with Refugiums
Transfer copepods and amphipods cultivated in containers to the refugium to complete the natural resupply cycle to the main tank.
Ideal Flow
1. Mass-cultivate copepods and amphipods in the cultivation container
2. Regularly introduce them to the refugium
3. They breed and establish further in the refugium
4. Naturally migrate to the main tank during night hours (when water circulation is reduced)
Once copepods are well-established in the refugium, the difficulty of keeping live-food-dependent species like mandarin fish and dottybacks is significantly reduced.
Solution: Increase phytoplankton dosing, reduce aeration, stabilize cultivation water temperature
Cultivation Container Covered in Brown Sludge
Cause: Accumulation of detritus (organic matter)
Solution: Perform partial water changes every 1–2 weeks and siphon debris from the substrate
Amphipod Population Declining
Cause: Insufficient hiding places, introduction of predators, absence of substrate
Solution: Add substrate and live rock fragments, maintain containers separately
Summary
Self-cultivation of copepods and amphipods requires initial investment but reduces ongoing live food costs to nearly zero and enriches your tank's ecosystem. It is nearly essential for keeping high-difficulty species like mandarin fish. Combined with refugium integration, you achieve water quality management and live food supply simultaneously—a technique that intermediate to advanced reef aquarists should consider as part of their tank management practice.
