Live copepods are essential micro-crustaceans that provide natural nutrition for fish like mandarin dragonfish, improve coral health, and establish a thriving micro-ecosystem in your reef tank. They reproduce naturally and create a self-sustaining food source.

Choose based on your tank's needs: Tisbe copepods are benthic (bottom-dwelling) and perfect for mandarin dragonfish and other sand-sifters. Apocyclops are planktonic (water column) and ideal for coral feeding and juvenile fish. Tigriopus are larger, hardy pods great for training picky eaters.

We stand behind the live arrival of all copepod and phytoplankton orders delivered on the carrier’s first delivery attempt. If your cultures don’t arrive alive and thriving, we’ll replace them or issue a full refund.

To protect live organisms, orders are shipped in insulated packaging and sent Monday–Wednesday. While we take every precaution, carrier delays or extreme weather conditions beyond our control may impact transit times and are not covered under this guarantee.

We ship live copepods and phytoplankton Monday through Wednesday only to ensure they arrive during the week when you're available to acclimate them. Orders placed Thursday-Sunday ship the following Monday.

Gently acclimate by floating the sealed bag in your tank for 15-20 minutes to match temperature. Then slowly add small amounts of tank water to the bag over 30 minutes. Finally, pour the copepods into your tank near rockwork or refugium. They'll establish naturally within days.