Isopod

[cjbarb]

Hey guys, I briefly saw this guy in my tank the first week I set it up (6 weeks ago) then again this morning. Is this a bad iso? There hasn’t been anything in but CUC, I’m finishing up QT on a goby and would like to put him in.

 

[Rickybobby]

Looks like a pod to me. Good sign

 

[PghReef]

Hate to say but it does look like a bad isopod. There are literally 1000s of species, many which look alike and most are harmless. It does appear to be if the Cirolanidae family which contains the fish eaters.

 

[LOVEROCK]

i remember reading somehthing about the eyes determining the type of isopods, some of them latch on to fish

 

[cjbarb]

Hate to say but it does look like a bad isopod. There are literally 1000s of species, many which look alike and most are harmless. It does appear to be if the Cirolanidae family which contains the fish eaters.

If it was a fish eater would he survive two months with no host? I had a couple random crab and shrimp deaths but I figured it was another mantis.

 

[PghReef]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/index.php

The taxonomic Family Cirolanidae is huge, consisting of several dozen genera, and probably many hundreds of species. Many of them are generally benign animals that are obligatory carrion-feeding scavengers. Some of these scavengers have been found in aquaria, and appear to be very well adapted to being part of "the clean-up crew." Many of the rest appear to be capable of scavenging when such food is available, but they will occasionally swim up into the water and attack fish, fastening on and sucking their blood. Finally, several species appear to be more-or-less obligate blood-sucking parasites of fishes, although some may be able to live for extended periods by scavenging some dead food. Within the last couple of years, some of these latter species have been seen in aquaria with alarming frequency. In many cases, these infestations appear to be the result of a pregnant female that enters the aquarium and then drops her brood of 10 to 30 young, all of which are immediately hungry for a nice meal of fish blood. A hobbyist will see the alarming sight of one or more fish with from one to twenty blood-sucking parasites on it. Often the isopods are nocturnal, and unless the aquarist is alert, they may not notice the parasites, as the bugs drop off the fish shortly after the lights go on and find shelter in the rocks. Prolonged exposure to such densities of blood suckers WILL kill fish.

 

[PghReef]

If it was a fish eater would he survive two months with no host? I had a couple random crab and shrimp deaths but I figured it was another mantis.

They're pretty uncommon in the hobby fortunately. Makes finding good information difficult thought. Some are detritrivores, some feed on multiple things and will occasionally feed on fish if present, and some only fees on fish. From what I gather it can take up to 6 months to starve them out.