Amphipod?

Nick711 · Jul 22, 2023

Most will supposedly die off without the presence of fish in a few months, but it seems they are also scavengers and if there is any presence of food source in the tank they will live longer.

Honestly, there is not a tremendous amount of info on these out there. Other than pictures that people share of them latched onto their fish, etc.

This was one of the main sources I referenced when initially trying to research them: https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php

jabberwock · Jul 22, 2023

jabberwock said:
Nope, I just know my limitations.

I also have TBS live rock and thus far have not seen any of those nasty little things.

Snoopdog · Jul 22, 2023

Just thinking out loud here. Referring to my post #16, I think the reason I never had an issue before was because we have always had a 6-line, a really fat one. I know people do not like a 6-line, they say they are jerk fish but I doubt I own a tank without one, ever.

Snoopdog · Jul 22, 2023

jabberwock said:
I also have TBS live rock and thus far have not seen any of those nasty little things.

Try the baiting method. We never knew we had them, once you see one and see how they move and know the color, physical size then it is easier to train your eyes to spot one.

Nick711 · Jul 22, 2023

By the way, I once was struggling to remove one from a crevice of a rock and tried to instead crush it. I believe I was successful and within a minute or so, saw an amphipod enter the crevice and start picking on / eating the Cirolanid. Maybe the smaller ones just succumb to other tank inhabitants even tho I don’t think they have a clear natural predator.

There are stories of larger ones being eaten by fish and chewing through the fish to escape - who knows the validity behind it, but wild if true

Nick711 · Jul 22, 2023

Snoopdog said:
Try the baiting method. We never knew we had them, once you see one and see how they move and know the color, physical size then it is easier to train your eyes to spot one.

Big point here - definitely the way they move / jitter through the water is unique and makes them a bit easier to spot when they’re in the water column once you know of their presence

jabberwock · Jul 22, 2023

I have run a few traps for crabs in the past. No nasties (except gorilla crabs) yet. I feel like scallops might be the silver bullet here?

Snoopdog · Jul 22, 2023

jabberwock said:
I have run a few traps for crabs in the past. No nasties (except gorilla crabs) yet. I feel like scallops might be the silver bullet here?

Scallop is also how I always catch Polyclad Flatworms, very effective.

Snoopdog · Jul 28, 2023

My catch rate on the little amazon bought trap. I did not try trapping on 7/25/2023

7/21/2023	27
7/22/2023	5
7/23/2023	1
7/24/2023	2
7/25/2023	1
7/27/2023	11

Snoopdog · Jul 28, 2023

Nick711 said:
I bottled most that I caught to keep track… some of these big ones haunted me!

I just really looked closely at this picture, the size difference is insane.

Snoopdog · Jul 29, 2023

Okay so I had an idea. The glass trap I have has limitations, I do not think a large one could fit through the tubes. The design of the trap is great though and I am a big fan. So how to fix this? I was thinking that I had seen something before in the medical profession that would work. I came upon this, and it sure does work. I took an o2 water trap and cut the ends off of it and then sandpapered them smooth.

If you are looking for the one I bought, go on amazon and google "salter inline water trap". I bought a 5 pack since I was not sure if I would destroy one trying to alter it.

And bingo. I put both traps in last night, the glass one had one isopod in it and the o2 water trap had eight, some smaller than I had seen before and some much larger. I will keep baiting both but for tonight the o2 water trap wins.

jabberwock · Jul 29, 2023

Snoopdog said:
Okay so I had an idea. The glass trap I have has limitations, I do not think a large one could fit through the tubes. The design of the trap is great though and I am a big fan. So how to fix this? I was thinking that I had seen something before in the medical profession that would work. I came upon this, and it sure does work. I took an o2 water trap and cut the ends off of it and then sandpapered them smooth.

If you are looking for the one I bought, go on amazon and google "salter inline water trap". I bought a 5 pack since I was not sure if I would destroy one trying to alter it.

And bingo. I put both traps in last night, the glass one had one isopod in it and the o2 water trap had eight, some smaller than I had seen before and some much larger. I will keep baiting both but for tonight the o2 water trap wins.

A potenial variable. Were both traps in the same location?