Copepod Culturing Question?

Hello, everyone! So I have a question. I am getting into breeding bettas. The first round from May didn't end up so awesomely and I only have one little survivor who will be 15 weeks on Thursday. That is besides the point- this next batch will do so much better, hopefully! I have some freshwater copepods coming and I was wondering if I could culture them directly in my 5.5 breeding tank, if I added some rocks for them to live in. I will have java moss soon to put in there and am considering turning it into a planted tank, though I haven't decided on that yet. The copepods would be here a few weeks before I breed again. I plan on breeding early to mid September and the copepods will be here probably around this Saturday. Would the adults eat all the pods during the few days they are in there? Would the fry eat all of the pods before they can move on to banana worms, vinegar eels, and microworms? I want to be able to keep some so I don't have to buy more the next time I breed. The fry will be moved to two 10 gallon tanks when they are probably 7 weeks or so, unless they grow too big for the 5.5 sooner, and I imagine they will be big enough to eat the nematodes after a week or two, so would they continue eating the copepods? There is a sponge filter in there already. Perhaps there is a set up with hiding places that fry would be less likely to get into? I need ideas on how I could make it work, and your ideas on whether I should try or just set up an individual tank for them. I am just starting on my second spawn, so it is not like I am a heavy breeder or anything right now, but I do not want to totally decimate the entire population before they can get the job done and have to buy more for the next spawn.