Class/mentoring group description
Monday, July 25, 2011 1:35 PM
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This mentoring group is intended as an introduction to basic culturing techniques for an easy pelagic copepod species, Apocyclops sp. (probably panamensis). Why culture pelagic copepods? Pelagic copepods are a mainstay in the diets of larval fish and invertebrates. They hold clear advantages over traditional early larval feeds (rotifers and brine shrimp nauplii) because they are much more nutritious. They also hold advantages over traditionally cultured benthic copepods because benthic copepods spend most, if not all, stages of their lives on or near some surface. Pelagic copepods spend all life stages suspended in the water column where each life stage is available to your larval fish. Why culture Apocyclops sp. ? Apocyclops seem to me to be a perfect copepod for the beginner to pelagic copepod culture. They are a good size (1st stage nauplii have been measured at 90 microns, far smaller than normal rotifers) and they are the easiest of the pelagics that I have tried. They have been successfully used to rear both shrimp and larval fish. Mentoring Group Structure This mentoring group will be limited to around 15 participants. If you want or need to receive shipments from me then you must be located in the continental United States. (Sorry to those who don't live here, but international shipments of live animals are beyond me.)
--Andy, the bucket man. "Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886
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