Detritus Trap = Pod Heaven

[VR28man]

So last week I cleared out a piece of my reef which was loaded with gummy detritus. Seperately, I also took out a lot of GHA and did a water change.

I'm regreting it now because I think maybe that was a place with a lot of pods that my fish could have eaten.

Is this a reasonable suspicion (ie. detritus traps are great for pods), or am I just over-thinking it?

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Probably both. Good place for pods and you're over thinking it!

 

[saltyhog]

My chaeto ball is a huge detritus trap but it's also a haven for an awful lot of life (baby snails, pods, bristle worms, brittle stars). I hate to harvest it sometimes but that's what it's there for. I agree with @Justfebreezeit . If it's that much of a nursery it will grow back.

 

[ca1ore]

I have mostly stopped removing detritus from my system as part of regular maintenance; though I do a major frag tank clean out every year or so that removes a bunch. I no longer think it's the major problem it was always cracked up to be (I think it's mostly inert by the time it settles out), and it is home to a wealth of benthic animals like microstars, bristle stars, bristle worms, and various pods. I would remove it from my display for aesthetic reasons, except I have so much flow that none of it settles out.