Amphipod?

CallMeChris · Jul 4, 2023

Found this cute critter on my heater. Guessing amphipod?

ISpeakForTheSeas · Jul 4, 2023

It’s an isopod, but I’m not sure if it’s the good or bad kind:

Lionfish Lair said:
CIROLANID VERSES SPHAEROMATID ISOPODS.

When you know what your looking for, telling the difference between a Cirolanid (bad) versus a Sphaeromatid (good) becomes a lot easier. It's all in the eyes.....
The eyes of the Cirolanid are generally closer together and towards the front of the head. They always look angry because of the slant of their eyes. Think of them as needing to look forward to "capture" it's prey.
The Sphaeromatid eyes are generally more to the side of the head. They always remind me of baby seals with their big black harmless looking eyes. Looking at the side by side pictures I've included of both isopods may help with this "visualization". smile emoticon
Sphaeromatids also have the common name "Roly Poly" as they, unlike the Cirolanid, roll up in a defensive position when they feel threatened. The Ciralonids cannot do this. Think of it like this: the Ciralonid is mean and will never back down from a fight. The innocent little Sphaeromatid rolls up in a tiny little ball saying "Please, don't hurt me!".
Where you find them may also help decipher which is which. If it's attached to your fish, it's probably pretty safe to say it's a Cirolanid. If there are a few scurrying around when you lift up a rock, lean towards it being a Sphaeromatid.

This is the Sphaeromatid, all curled up. Ciralanids can "curve", but they don't ball up like the Sphaeromatid.

I'm sorry about my big ole watermark on there. I had these pics posted on facebook and have had a lot of trouble with people snagging them. I'm going to make that a little smaller.

CallMeChris · Jul 4, 2023

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
It’s an isopod, but I’m not sure if it’s the good or bad kind:

Hmm, definitely looks like one of those kind based on Google. Unfortunately, the thread you quoted no longer has the pics

I went back to where I saw it and it was gone, so unable to poke it and see what happened

. If I see it again will give that a try.

No fish in tank, wonder if it will just die off at some point or if it has alternate food sources. Will have to research.

Nick711 · Jul 13, 2023

Unfortunately, it’s a Cirolanid. I’ve been dealing with the same from my shipment of TBS LR. 8 pounds of LR and I’ve caught well over 50 of varying sizes.

My most successful method to capture them is highly manual and time intensive - using a small net and small flashlight after lights out. I did not have much success w. the misc. shrimp trap methods. Turkey baster works too but not with the same accuracy rate imo.

They’re not great swimmers, so once they jump out in the open you can scoop them with a net. I’ve battled them for months and each time I think I may have finally eradicated them, I get a new wave.

If you have any questions or need any tips, just let me know. I’m definitely battle tested and have spent an ungodly number of hours hunting these buggers.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 13, 2023

CallMeChris said:
Found this cute critter on my heater. Guessing amphipod?

Isopod and suction it out with a 3/8" tube or net. Some are scavenger while some are parasitic and will latch onto fish or get into the gills for feeding. Hopefully only one and no eggs in the tank

Snoopdog · Jul 21, 2023

Nick711 said:
Unfortunately, it’s a Cirolanid. I’ve been dealing with the same from my shipment of TBS LR. 8 pounds of LR and I’ve caught well over 50 of varying sizes.

My most successful method to capture them is highly manual and time intensive - using a small net and small flashlight after lights out. I did not have much success w. the misc. shrimp trap methods. Turkey baster works too but not with the same accuracy rate imo.

They’re not great swimmers, so once they jump out in the open you can scoop them with a net. I’ve battled them for months and each time I think I may have finally eradicated them, I get a new wave.

If you have any questions or need any tips, just let me know. I’m definitely battle tested and have spent an ungodly number of hours hunting these buggers.

I likely have some too, I just got a Tampa Bay shipment in. I wonder if a trap like this would work? I have multiple of them in my supply drawer. If they will fit in the angled holes, they literally never find their way back out.

I also have some traps like this but I use them less often, they are smaller.

Nick711 · Jul 22, 2023

Snoopdog said:
I likely have some too, I just got a Tampa Bay shipment in. I wonder if a trap like this would work? I have multiple of them in my supply drawer. If they will fit in the angled holes, they literally never find their way back out.

I also have some traps like this but I use them less often, they are smaller.

I tried an inverted bottle trap with pieces of raw shrimp countless times and did not see great results compared to the other methods, but it’s certainly possible. Do you plan to bait the traps?

I typically tried to put the trap in after lights were out for a bit, and would leave it for up to 1 hour before removing (with pretty active monitoring throughout). I typically put the trap in the front corner of my tank where I noticed the isopods would frequent when active. On at least one occasion, I noticed increased activity around the trap but most did not find their way in

Snoopdog · Jul 22, 2023

Nick711 said:
I tried an inverted bottle trap with pieces of raw shrimp countless times and did not see great results compared to the other methods, but it’s certainly possible. Do you plan to bait the traps?

I typically tried to put the trap in after lights were out for a bit, and would leave it for up to 1 hour before removing (with pretty active monitoring throughout). I typically put the trap in the front corner of my tank where I noticed the isopods would frequent when active. On at least one occasion, I noticed increased activity around the trap but most did not find their way in

I put in three different traps last night. One on the left, one on the right and one on top of the rocks.

The one on the right has a ton in it this morning. I put a fresh piece of scallop in it an hour before the lights went out. I am not big on using shrimp, always had my best luck with scallop and we feed our inverts frozen scallop in the display tank. So it is easier to just use one type of meat.

Looks like maybe 10 or so in the right hand trap. One little guy was so fat he blocked a hole all night because he got stuck part of the way. I briefly cut the light on this morning and there were more hanging around the trap too dumb to find their way in. I will just put all the traps on the right side tonight and see what happens. Great first shot though, I think in a few weeks I may have them all trapped. There are a lot though because I saw eyes on the rock last night, eventually they get hungry and will all come out is my best guess.

Nick711 · Jul 22, 2023

Snoopdog said:
I put in three different traps last night. One on the left, one on the right and one on top of the rocks.

The one on the right has a ton in it this morning. I put a fresh piece of scallop in it an hour before the lights went out. I am not big on using shrimp, always had my best luck with scallop and we feed our inverts frozen scallop in the display tank. So it is easier to just use one type of meat.

Looks like maybe 10 or so in the right hand trap. One little guy was so fat he blocked a hole all night because he got stuck part of the way. I briefly cut the light on this morning and there were more hanging around the trap too dumb to find their way in. I will just put all the traps on the right side tonight and see what happens. Great first shot though, I think in a few weeks I may have them all trapped. There are a lot though because I saw eyes on the rock last night, eventually they get hungry and will all come out is my best guess.

Glad to hear you were so successful with those traps & the scallop. They do vary in size greatly. Initially I was catching smaller ones and was definitely shocked when I saw some of the bigger guys emerge. I think I had 1 cycle of reproduction too (or eggs that’s didn’t hatch for some time) because after thinking I was in the clear I had a new wave of smaller cirolanids reappear weeks later.

It seems they are unfortunately a pretty common hitchhiker. Good luck with the battle

Snoopdog · Jul 22, 2023

So here we go. 26 in the right hand trap, a single one in the left hand trap.

Snoopdog · Jul 22, 2023

Notice fatty there? He got stuck going through the hole and literally died there.

Nick711 · Jul 22, 2023

Snoopdog said:
Notice fatty there? He got stuck going through the hole and literally died there.

I bottled most that I caught to keep track… some of these big ones haunted me!

Nick711 · Jul 22, 2023

Hard to show scale, but you can see the larger ones compared to the smaller ones floating around. Crazy size differences

Snoopdog · Jul 22, 2023

I am going to make a custom trap tonight, I have ideas.

jabberwock · Jul 22, 2023

Useless but following...

Snoopdog · Jul 22, 2023

So this is what I find interesting. This is the first I even heard about Isopod's being a problem. I just happened to be looking at threads when I got this rock and thought, what if? I had a shipment of rock from kpaquatics over a year ago that absolutely had to have had these buggers in there. I only quarantined the rock for a few weeks, never baited anything. So did they just never cause an issue?