Pod Population

I know that i have Pods in my tank, I can see them crawling around on the walls. Basically all i have in my tank right now is an eel and a brittle star, a bunch of various snails and hermits, so i don't think anything is eating them. Is it likely that they are reproducing and becoming self sustained? how do these things usually survive in captivity? How can I tell if i have a large or a small population of these things? I have been thinking about a Mandarin goby for some time now. I have been waiting because i know how difficult it is to keep these things and i want to make sure my system sufficient. The tank is seventy five gallons and has been set up for about 18 months with about fifty lbs of LR.

 

the pods will eat detritus and other decaying food and poop. they can breed very quickly and are a good thing for a tank. I have some that are so big my wrasse cannot eat them.

 

I find they come and go. Sometimes the populations are strong, then they die out. copepods for example primarily consume diatoms. However, diatoms tend to cycle quickly in our tanks as silicates are consumed very quickly once the tank matures. To keep them and other beneficial organisms going and to keep nutrient levels low by keeping the food chain going, I dose a small amount of sodium silicate. I have only been doing so for a few months, but so far, it seems to work well, I my pod population has exploded and not crashed yet.

If you go with a mandarin, I strongly recommend an ORA captive raised one. They are grossly over collected and do not have a good survival rate in our system do to their dependence on copepods.

Although I don't think it discusses pods specifically, silica dosing is discussed some here Feature Article: Silica In Reef Aquariums — Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine

 

I feed the pods in my fuge a few crab pellets. I see molts, giant pods, and babies in both the fuge & the DT. They're like ants in there, even though I know my 2 cardinals and at least one of my gobies eats them.

That said, I wouldn't house a mandarin with an eel.
Also, what kind of brittle star (color)?