aquapod copepod/amphipod breeding with chaeto

Ok, first off. I really want a red mandarin.

im running a 24 gallon aquapod with ~20lbs of live rock and about the same in live sand.

i just got the tank, but it is very well established (5 years running)

right now besides a small cuc, ~20 micro brittle stars, yellow watchman goby, and a cinnamon clown, not much is going on.

after im confident with my water i want a decent amount of corals (my main concern) and the red mandarin. I know a lot of people believe 100lbs of live rock/sand is needed to supply the mandarins food (copepods and amphipods).

My thing is this, i do not mind setting up a seperate aquarium or whatever i may end up doing to grow the copepods.

but my tank is literally infested with them, at night the amphipods come out and it is unbelievable how many are in there hiding all day, we are talking thousands of these things running around.
my water is also cloudy with what i assume to be copepods, the back of my tank and filter is also full of them.

to sum it up, i have a crazy amount of copepods/amphipods and i want to get them in check, or put them in use as food. ive been reading that they irritate some corals and even destroy others. I surely have an amount that would be harmful once i started adding coral.

so, between my two options that i have seen I could either set up a separate tank to grow them, or add some chaeto to the rear container in my tank for them to continue to grow and multiply, with the added benefit of better quality water when i add my corals.


what is the better/alternative to these methods? i honestly think i could sustain a mandarin with the volume of these creatures i have witnessed as long as i made sure the population would be sustainable.

thanks all!

 

Sounds like your trying to convince yourself that a 24g tank is proper for a fish that's has a max size of 4". Which you haven't even mentioned. That size of fish would clean your tank out of pods within a week. Plus your clown also reaches a max size of 4.5"
I'm sorry if I sound harsh. This is just my personal opinion with a little experience thrown in. Your tank is just to small to house either one of those two fish happily and healthy.

 

idk, my clown is supposedly 4-5 years old and he isnt very big. maybe 2 to 2.5 inches

I only plan to keep my goby, clown and the red mandarin as far as fish go. there is plenty of room for it to swim outside of and inside the rocks as i have a pretty efficient rockscape (imo)

I am ASKING for opinions before I jump into what im planning as well, so opinions are welcome..

 

Good I'm glad I didn't offend you

 

My mandarin is around 4" and I have a 54 gal tank and he still needs more room. He stays on the hunt all day and night. IMO it would just be better off to use your current tank as a pod farm and upgrade to a larger tank in the near future if you really want to keep a mandarin.