Got the chaeto going, now for the pods?

[kyl]

Time for some new-ish questions regarding copepods.

I have a small tank that finished cycling about five months ago, and has been very stable as the stock list has been slowly growing (2 small clowns, Randals goby & some inverts). Over the last few weeks I've gotten a small refugium set-up, with a ball of chaeto that’s growing well and a small pile of rock rubble. There were a few random pods on the handful of chaeto when I got it a couple of weeks ago, but they've definitely been reduced to nothing at all visible since then.

Is there a preferred method to kick-start a colony of these guys, or is it simply a matter of seeking another ball of chaeto, but this time laden with pods? I’d like to keep my system as pest free as possible, which is always somewhat of an unknown when adding new chaeto. The other part of this, is it required to periodically add something like phyto-feast to keep that population going once established, or is the food and fish waste from the tank enough to keep them sustained?

Thanks for any advice.

[Craigdillman]

Sounds like your on the right track, the pods will come just wait for them most of the pod population is smaller than what we can see not just the big ones you see flipping around

Pods will come just keep keeping on dont need waste money buying pods

The food and poop from fish will be enough to feed them, you won't need to specifically feed them

[gobytron]

they will come.

You can expedite the process by buying some though.