Need help... Tannid? Mysid? Other?

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I've got a ton of these in the sand and am curious what they are. They curl up when "threatened" but don't look like amphipods to me... First 2 pics are the top, the others show the underside.
No long antenna, front appendages aren't pronounced, lots of legs/(swimmerets?).

@ISpeakForTheSeas
@WheatToast
@taricha

 

[dwest]

I've got a ton of these in the sand and am curious what they are. They curl up when "threatened" but don't look like amphipods to me... First 2 pics are the top, the others show the underside.
No long antenna, front appendages aren't pronounced, lots of legs/(swimmerets?).

@ISpeakForTheSeas
@WheatToast

Doesn’t look like mysid.
@taricha

 

[Shon]

Looks kind of like a gribble worm.. which isn't a worm, it's an isopod..

Isopod sub class: Limnoriidea?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Looks kind of like a gribble worm.. which isn't a worm, it's an isopod..

Isopod sub class: Limnoriidea?

They are longer/skinnier than the pics of gribbles I found, and mine don't have prominent eyes... I'll keep looking though

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

And I just realized I spelled tanaid wrong... darn spell check!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Also, the largest ones I could find are barely 3/8" long.

 

[JGT]

Agree not mysid. I’ve got thousands in my tank that come out at night. Their body is more curvy. They have a thorax and then a thinner tail. Mine are also like an 1/8” long as well. Does look like something from the pod family.

 

[Shon]

Hmm.. Any Florida live rock?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Agree not mysid. I’ve got thousands in my tank that come out at night. Their body is more curvy. They have a thorax and then a thinner tail. Mine are also like an 1/8” long as well. Does look like something from the pod family.

Thanks.
I have not found an isopod that looks right... yet

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hmm.. Any Florida live rock?

Not yet (soon I hope lol)

 

[JGT]

Gotta say, that does look a lot like your pics. Maybe it came in on a frag from someone that had it in their tank? They are small enough to hitch in

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Looks a LOT like Parapseudes algicola

 

[JGT]

Think you hit a winner.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Think you hit a winner.

Maybe. There's not a ton of info out there. The weird thing is that nothing seems to snack on them... I would expect at least some of the fish to be interested when I disturb the sandbed and see a bunch at the surface...

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

This video must be in slo-mo, but this is exactly what they do

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5698963/bin/40851_2017_82_MOESM1_ESM.mp4

(From here - article about their butts... Lol)

 

[JGT]

Maybe. There's not a ton of info out there. The weird thing is that nothing seems to snack on them... I would expect at least some of the fish to be interested when I disturb the sandbed and see a bunch at the surface...

Maybe the fish know better. Once they eat it, it gets inside them, then bursts out through their stomach. Sorry, too many Alien movies.

 

[Idech]

I would expect at least some of the fish to be interested when I disturb the sandbed and see a bunch at the surface...

Even wrasses aren’t interested ?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Cool - yeah, that's a Tanaid; I haven't seen one like that before, but the heavily segmented tail is a good indication.

These guys and their look-alikes are ones I'm meaning to look into more when I find the time, but a lot of them aren't well researched.

Tanaids are generally scavengers eating detritus/algae, but a few eat worms and copepods.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Even wrasses aren’t interested ?

I only have a six line but no.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I only have a six line but no.

*Or if he does eat them, he's doing it out of my line of sight.