RegularSaltwater Smartsreaders often see references to them in Paul B’s posts. They arrive in our aquaria unbidden aboard chunks oflive rock, in live sand, or on coral specimens attached to rocks. At a glance, they look like little insects scurrying over the rocks or swarming on the glass.
我说的是“豆荚” - 不是Invasion of the Body Snatchers善良（尽管我们还没有完全与保罗·B（Paul B.
两亲脚
The first pods we’ll discuss—amphipods—are much larger than copepods and can be seen easily with the naked eye as they scramble among the rockwork, typically after lights out (they tend to make themselves scarce during daylight hours to avoid predation). These shrimp-like microcrustaceans, which are usually somewhere in the range of 1/8 to 1/4 inch in length with the occasional “whopper” making an appearance, look rather like commas with multiple segments and lots of legs. They’re somewhat laterally compressed (flattened side to side) and generally grayish to brownish in color.
Copepods
Copepods are much tinier than amphipods, reaching only around a millimeter or so in length. Thus, when viewed with the naked eye, they usually appear as tiny white specks swarming on the aquarium glass or in the water column. Observed under magnification, their bodies are vaguely teardrop-shaped with elongated antennae.
你应该怎么做？
小虫子蜂拥而至，您的活岩和水族馆玻璃？没有好的东西，对吗？毕竟，他们不会在您的珊瑚和/或鱼上流氓的几率？那么，您应该如何处理这种侵扰？杀死，粉碎，摧毁？打电话给“ Orkin Man”？用漂白剂将坦克核武器？
None of the above! Just leave them right where they are and be thankful you’ve got them. These “pods” are not only harmless, but actually beneficial in that many fish love to eat them. (Note: With respect to copepods, I’m referring to the common free-swimming types, not parasitic species such as the “red bugs” that afflictAcroporacorals.)
实际上，如果您想成功保持mandarinfishes, pipefishes, or other fish species that feed primarily or exclusively on live microcrustaceans, you’ll want to have as many pods in your tank as possible, which might mean actually purchasing pods (they’re available from various online sources) to replenish their population from time to time or culturing them in a储备connected to your aquarium.
Now, if only we can somehow prove that Paul B isn’t one of the “Pod People”!
