copepods, aren't they parasitic?

[ymlin08]

my question pertains to copepods that are cultured for larval fish food.

as we know, several kinds of copepods are parasitic. however strangely enough they are added to larval fish cultures or even established fish tanks with no ill effect. why is this?

[Luis A M]

Welcome! Find some time to tell us about what you are raising or planning in Singapore...
Of course we wouldn´t introduce parasitic or predatory copepod species in our tanks,much less take the work of culturing them.We choose free living pelagic species which produce very small naups,suitable as larval 1st food.

[ymlin08]

Hi Luis!

My first plan is to breed the orange spot filefish, of which I have 6 healthy specimens that I have weaned onto my homemade food.

I have heard of collecting copepods during a full moon at high tide, however, that would not give much control over what species are caught which is what worries me.

[Luis A M]

Nice!. You can see our experiences with Oxy Files here.
you can collect any time as described in "about calanoids".And culture them,you might end up with some good pelagic species.