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WHAT'S THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CALANOID AND HARPACTICOID COPEPODS?Basic Information About Copepods
There are Three Main Free-Swimming
(Nonparasitic) Types:
Harpacticoid:
- important primary consumers and source of food for larval forage fish and filter-feeding invertebrates
- easy to grow in high densities in batch culture
- small size (< 1 mm as adults) <>some stages are more benthic, depending on the species (e.g. in Tisbe sp., the adult is benthic and in Nitokra sp., the nauplii is benthic)
Calanoid:
- generally the largest type of free-swimming copepod (adults reach 1 to 5 mm)
- primary consumers and predators of other copepods (can be cannabilistic)
- generally all life stages are pelagic
- can be grown in large volumes of water with slow aeration, because of delicate antennae
- More info from USGS about calanoid copepods
Cyclopoid:
- falls in the middle size range between calanoid and harpacticoid copepods (500 microns to 2 mm as adults)
- primary consumers and predators (also cannibalistic)
- can be grown in high densities
- benthic and pelagic life stages
- More info from USGS about cyclopoid copepods
Ask the Expert:
Dr. Adelaide Rhodes is a world recognized expert on copepods and will be happy to answer your questions about them. She can be contacted at adelaide@essentiallivefeeds.com. More information on other projects being developed by