DIGITATE HYDROIDS MY NEW HYPOTHESIS!!! looking for feedback

[moz71]

So I am writing this to hopefully generate some discussion since a previous question of mine went pretty much unanswered. So my tank is overrun with digitate hydroids (NOT THE COLONY TYPE) I have been reading a lot with no concrete answers but developed MY hypothesis on the subject and possible solution. So I have read so many say need to starve though reduce feeding and nutrients. I now believe this is FALSE. Reason My tank is going fallow now for over 45 days and have not feed the tank at all and there are more than ever (thousands growing out of sand rock on snails everthing). I have read glue them etc; impossible because they are thousands. They are not bothering my corals as some have said as I see my zoas continue to grow over them so I don't think they are bothersome to corals. However, I do notice I do not see a lot of copepods /amphipods as I would expect in a fallow tank so my belief is that they are actually getting worse because they are eating on the copepods as there is nobody else there to compete. The last time I went fallow years ago it looked like my tank was infested with bugs. I have read to try a copperband butterfly or peppermint shrimp and i will probably try this but I am now thinking once I get fish back in tank I want to get fish that excessively eat copepods like manderins as I have read they will quickly deplete the population and then start to STARVE the digitate hydroids. Maybe this is why some people say they will just dissappear some day and is probably because they added something to tank that depleted the copepods. I am welcoming any feedback or discussion because this seems to be one of those areas that nobody really knows!!! btw, my tank is about a year old well balance and i would even consider low nutrient

 

[Alexreefer]

Could you just wait till all the copepods are gone then adding fish back. I dont think its right to use a mandarin to remove the pods because as you starve the hydroids you also starve the mandarin. Wait till you see a depletion then start the tank back up to full speed. At least my opinion