Live Tisbe Copepods - Reef Genetics

Tisbe biminiensis occupy the benthic zone—rockwork crevices, substrate, and macroalgae beds—where their cryptic lifestyle shields them from midwater predators and gives them a foothold that other copepod species often cannot maintain. Reef Genetics aquacultures these pods in controlled conditions and gut-loads them with phytoplankton before weekly harvest, so what arrives in the bottle is nutritionally primed and genuinely alive, not packed weeks in advance.

At 50–100μm as adults, Tisbe are among the smaller copepod species available to hobbyists. That size makes them accessible to SPS and LPS corals feeding on zooplankton, to larval and juvenile fish requiring appropriately scaled live food, and to small-polyp feeders that ignore larger amphipods or mysis. The nauplii included in each bottle extend that utility further, providing a food source even the pickiest nano fish or mandarin dragonet can process.

Beyond direct feeding value, Tisbe contribute to tank hygiene. They graze on film algae, detritus, and nuisance microorganisms in the substrate—functions that complement a traditional cleanup crew rather than duplicate it. In a mature refugium stocked with Chaetomorpha or similar macroalgae, they reproduce steadily and can establish a self-sustaining population with minimal ongoing input beyond periodic phytoplankton dosing.

For tanks already running midwater copepod species such as Tigriopus or Apocyclops, Tisbe fill a different niche rather than competing directly. Combining species gives the system a more complete zooplankton profile, which benefits both passive coral feeding and fish that hunt at different water column levels. The 8oz bottle format—seeding capacity up to 40 gallons—works for initial stocking or for supplementing an existing pod population that has thinned out. Add pods with pumps and skimmers off, dose at night, and follow up with phytoplankton two to three times per week to support establishment.