alemap65 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Just a bit ago I spotted another isopod. I went to get the net and I was not able to capture it. Becasue they are so fast, it makes catching them nearly impossible. As of now I only have rock in my tank. I would eventually like to add fish but cant as long as these things are in there. Since these things are parasitic, wont they eventually starve and die? Or are they like roaches, indestructable living off of anything and everything? This is a nightmare! HELP!!!! Link to comment
ravenmore7 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Not all isopods are bad. Link to comment
666 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 and not all isopods are good. Link to comment
Steve973 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Maybe I can be a bit more helpful than the others. If it's a parasitic isopod, it won't survive without a host. i'm not sure about the amount of time required for it (and all possible eggs and hatchlings, if they're aroundd) to die. Probably a couple of months (2) would be sufficient, I'd think. Steve Link to comment
alemap65 Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 It is deffitly a parasitic one... Here is the first one I caught last week. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...ighlight=isopod Link to comment
alemap65 Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 Steve973 I hope and pray so. I can manage without fish for now, as long as I know that these things will eventually die out without a host. Link to comment
alemap65 Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 I wonder if snail is enough to keep the lifecycle of these things going. Anyone know? Man this is a major bummer! Link to comment
viking1 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 I had ONE in my 30 gallon and it attached to my hand while I was cleaning the glass. I'd had alot of fish disappear and didn't know why until then. I read someone on reefcentral who uses large slow moving fish as prey. You put a large slow moving fish in your tank to allow the pods to attach and then because it's slow you can easily net it and remove the pods. Just place the fish back in the tank and keep doing the same process until the fish is no longer bothered by them. I didn't have to use this method but I have not seen any more of these pods and all my fish are doing very well. just an idea Link to comment
alemap65 Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 Would a damsel be the ideal fish for this? Link to comment
ODOG Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 No, to the Damsel Question, they are fast little buggers. You won't get it back out. Link to comment
Angel Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 I agree with Steve and would leave the tank empty of fish for about two-three months (to be on the safe side) so all would "probably" die from starvation. I have read about the large, slow moving fish and the other options were more drastic. Link to comment
ravenmore7 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Sorry, I was pressed for time earlier. Some fish are reported to eat them I think. One specific suggestion were hogfish. I even believe someone on RC used them successfully to get rid of a parasitic isopod problem in their tank. In the wild some hogfish provide a "cleaner" function esp. during their juvinile phase, plus they are definitely a pod predator, so this makes sense.... Link to comment
alemap65 Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 So many of them look so closely alike. I just signed up to RC and asked Dr.Ron. Hope to hear from him soon. Will be interesting to hear his thoughts on this as well. Link to comment
FishyIdea Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 If you scan the article linked to your last post, you'll quickly get the idea you have a fish eating monster in your tank. However, if you read it, you'll see that the type you have is not one you have to worry about. From Shimek... "Sphaeromatids are small bugs, generally less than a centimeter in length. They are common scavengers in many shallow marine environments, including coral reefs, and they are harmless to reef aquarium inhabitants." Link to comment
ravenmore7 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 I kind of wonder if it isn't a cirrolinid (sp?) isopod though. Plus the described behaviour of it clinging to the fingers isn't a good sign IMO. Dr. Ron can definitely give you some good info. You have a good pic - make sure to post that with your question. Link to comment
ravenmore7 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 check out this quote from Dr. Shimek: Hi, Thanks...I read that already. Well, then, reexamine the diagram(Figure 1) and photograph (Figure 3) showing the various types of isopods, and note the arrows showing the "tail fins" on the male sphaeromatid isopods. Note also that such "fins" are absent on the predatory cirolanids. Your images are blurry, but I can see said "tail fins" on your bugs. They are, therefore, sphaeromitids. They are harmless scavengers. Enjoy them for their biodiversity. Link to comment
ravenmore7 Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Its from this thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...ighlight=isopod Link to comment
alemap65 Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 Breathing a MAJOR MAJOR sigh of relief here. After reading the article posted above and I just got word from them too that this is a safe thing for my tank I feel better. All this time I thought I had the bad one. And from the looks of the back end of this thing, it does appear to be safe. Thanks a bunch all !!! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.