Cycling/copepods/confusion
 

Ok so I'm in the process of cycling my tank, it's been 3.5 weeks since it got set up. My levels are doing good, ammonia has spiked and has leveled off to 0-0.5 my nitrate is at 5 ppm. Lately I've noticed that the amount of copepods is increasing, they're everywhere. When is it too early to add something to gobble these guys up? I'd love a mandarin, but I think it might be to soon. Thoughts?

cocipods
 

they will run out of food and disappear-most other fish will eat them

Copepods are a sign of a healthy tank and the longer you can hold off getting fish the better. It gives the copepods time to properly colonize and established multiple generations..... to better withstand the grazing on them that fish do.

As stated by monocus, all fish will snack on pods

pods
 

ive seen my fair share in my tank so dont worry, its definately a good thing....before you know it, youll be staring at something else:lol: as long as your levels are good, go for it and put your first fish in.....

A mandarin will eat all of your pods in a day or 2 and starve to death. YOU need at least 70 lbs of liverock and a very well established tank, minimum of 6 months, unless the mandarin is accepting frozen food.

Any trace of ammonia is a no go for any fish. Even 0.5 will kill a fish in few hours to a day. At high PH any trace of ammonia is extremely toxic.

Also to have a thriving mandarin, you must not have other fish in the aquarium that compete with it for pods. Anything that eats pods will make your mandarin starve.

Mandarins are hard to keep, but not imposible. You can train them to eat frozen and they can do quite well . Ive got mine in a 15 gal ( no fuge /sump ) and she has been eating frozen blood worms since day 1 . They eat slow so you cant have agressive feeding fish , and competion for pods isnt good either.

Absolutely correct. A well established tank is essential to long term survival as is a constant supply of pods.

Toytech, your mandarin is doomed unless you are successful in switching her to marine food. Bloodworms are not marine food.

Umm why would say this? Do you have a source or reason to back it up?

Because it is not marine food and cannot sustain mandarins.
Tangs eat lettuce, broccoli and many land vegetable foods but require marine algae to sustain themselves.

Ok well I can see how you came to this conclusion, bloodworms don't exist in a marine environment and thus they are not suitable food for marine life. But the logic is flawed.. If we take this line of reasoning and extend it say to.. Our lights, salt in a bucket, electric heaters and recirculating water pumps which have no place in a traditional natural marine environment but do a rather good job of keeping our glass boxes of life alive.

My point is don't advise someone that bloodworms are not suitable marine food because they don't exist in the ocean. If you have a proper reason to eliminate what is a great source of live protein, minerals and nutrition to any animal willing to eat them I would like to hear it.