How do copepods grow?

[Titus07]

How do I get copepods to grow in my 125g tank? I want to have a mandrin fish or two some day.

 

[t5Nitro]

They will come on your live rock.... Get some chaeto from a nearby person with an established tank etc... Wait for at least 6 months before putting a mandarin in. Check at night with a flash light around the rocks and sand. If you can find a lot of pods, you can add a mandarin.

 

[Titus07]

Do other animals eat them as well? Say the crabs and snails?

 

[jda]

They are food for many organisms. Most fish will eat them if they can catch them.

You will need very good water conditions for best copepod growth.

 

[Chibils]

Dosing something like DT's or Marine Snow (or other good phyto) will also induce growth since they feed off of smaller planktons.