Poseidon's Feast :: Live Marine Copepods - 3000+ Tisbe & Tigriopus Pods for Mandarin & Finicky Fish (16oz)

Pods significantly helped the clarity and cycle of my reef tank. 1 day after adding them in they just went to town on the algae in the tank. Made the water super clear and added additional food in the tank for my fish and crustaceans.

I was worried these would arrive mostly dead, but they were packed well with a heat pack due to cold weather. They arrived at approx 79° and out of the thousands of visible pods, not a single one was dead on the bottom. I'm very satisfied and after only a few days, my copepod population has drastically increased and I couldn't be happier.

The media could not be loaded. I was a little worried about the advertised number of copepods in the shipment when I received my package, as since they come in so small you really can’t make out hardly any with the naked eye. However, less than a month later I have a thriving population in my tank- based on the number of mature specimen I can visibly see in every square inch of my display tank. (Great value for money compared to the small bottle I can buy at petco.) Granted, my tank is relatively new and I introduced my copepods at the beginning of a diatom outbreak- so my population was very well fed. Additionally, I now supplement their diet with phytoplankton that I dose weekly in the refugium. If I were planning to keep a mandarin goby or something I would probably invest in a second batch of copepods, but at this rate I think one jar is plenty for my 20 gallon reef.

I wrote a review about Algae Barn a few months ago but wanted to write a more detailed review for anyone concerned with your Mandarin purchase. If you are like me you purchased a Mandarin thinking your pod population would sustain your new fish friend(I have a 29 Biocube, year old, that had been fallow for months due to an Ich issue- the rocks looked like they were moving there was so many pods), Nope. Again, if you are like me you panicked wanting what would be best and found out that your local fish store sells a small bottle for $20.The small bottle will sustain a Mandarin for at most 2-3 days. I spent $100 the first two weeks. My Mandarin was bone thin and I didn't know what to do. I began purchasing Algae Barn pods a few months ago and begun purchasing every two weeks. I have easily purchased 10 + bags of pods from Algae Barn. That said I feel like I am qualified to give a review and the tips I have found- Both from trial and error as well as MACNA.1. I have always received pods within a week of ordering. They stated otherwise but my shipments have always shown up WAY ahead of time.2. When the bag arrives you can see the critters moving everywhere- more on this at other pointsThat said when I first received pods I did things that looking back didn't make sense. I added half the bag at a time. I forgot to turn off pump. I instantly put the pods in fridge then tossed them into the tank.I went to MACNA (super cool reefing/fish show that happened to be in San Diego where I live). I met with the Algae Barn reps who were the nicest most encouraging people I met throughout the event. I told them about my plight and they talked to me about best ways and also asked me if I was "feeding" the pods. Nope, never thought of it. They sell a product called Ocean Majic which they recommend dosing if you don't have fuge (I don't) and trying to sustain a Mandarin. I purchased and began dosing the tank. I saw a difference but my Mandarin was still a bit thin. When I was at my Local Fish Store I told them about my situation and they gave me a ball of seaweed. They told me to inject the pods and food into it so the pods could be more protected. I was dubious but did it. AMAZING results!!! New tips:3. When pods arrive I do not chill them further rather wait until end of night4. After lights are dim I turn off the pump and "inject" pods into the seaweed ball in the back of my tank as well as Ocean Majic5. Every day I inject more food into the seaweed ball!My Mandarin goes to the seaweed ball throughout the day and feeds from it as well as the wall behind it. She is slowly plumping up and is at over 6 months in my tank. One caveat is she has finally committed to a frozen food she will pick at during the night feeding. This feeding would not sustain her since it is just once a day.I can't thank Algae Barn enough for their dedication to helping reefers. Now that my Mandarin is eating and my "ball" is making more pods I am ordering every 3 weeks or so. With her beginning to eat frozen my goal is once per month. Keeping a Mandarin is not easy and I wish I would have known prior to bringing her into my tank. That said, it can be done and Algae Barn is the right resource!

I have purchased this item two times. The first time, the item arrived well packed with heat packs and the pods were healthy and lots of them. The second order was shipped in the summer months and arrived in my mail box. On opening the box, the jar lid was loose and half the water had leaked into the box. I used a magnifying glass and found most all of the pods were dead due to being in a hot box with insufficient water content. I will order this item one more time to see if the shipping is any better and will update this review. I am giving 3 stars for the shipping not the quality of the pods.

The jar was still almost full of the product. However the lid was broken and the cardboard box was wet.

Got this and could barely see any copods. Maybe a few hundred. No way there was 3,000. Wanted to return but it took so long to get here I couldn’t wait for a replacement. My mandarin needed the food. Will not buy or recommend this product again. I get smaller bottles from local store that have way more movement in them.

This product arrived just as advertised, the pods were alive and moving around the jar. Once added to the aquarium it didn't take long to notice them moving around the on the glass of the aquarium.