Please help identify these critters

[Juju2773]

I noticed these all over the glass in my hang on back refugium. The lighting is so that it hard to tell . They clearly look like little bugs with legs and antennas. Are they bad. They just appeared today all over the glass. The only other things in there so far is a thin layer of sand on bottom, 3 cerith snails and a small piece of dragonsbreath macroalgae. My plan is for the macroalgae to grow and the snails are for algae maintenance. They dont swim around. They crawl like bugs

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Isopods. Good fish food.

 

[Juju2773]

They have a little round butt, not like a shrimp like the copepods ive seen before. Ill look up isopods to see if its the same. Thanks

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

They have a little round butt, not like a shrimp like the copepods ive seen before. Ill look up isopods to see if its the same. Thanks

Look up munnid isopod

 

[Kasrift]

Munnid isopods https://www.animalfoodplanet.com/munnid-isopods/

Very good fish food as was pointed out

 

[Juju2773]

Munnid isopods https://www.animalfoodplanet.com/munnid-isopods/

Very good fish food as was pointed out

I have tiny candycane shrimp and a porcelain crab. Is there any fish i can get that will eat the pods and not harm my shrimp? I have a 75 gallon. I dont have any fish that i think are searching the rocks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree on isopods which are free food for fish and coral

 

[Juju2773]

Munnid isopods https://www.animalfoodplanet.com/munnid-isopods/

Very good fish food as was pointed out

They do seem to be eating the algae on the glass so thats good. But i think id like to get a small fish of some sort that might eat them so they dont get out of control. But not harm my teeny candycane pistol shrimp or porcelain crab

 

[Kasrift]

I have tiny candycane shrimp and a porcelain crab. Is there any fish i can get that will eat the pods and not harm my shrimp? I have a 75 gallon. I dont have any fish that i think are searching the rocks.

You don't have to get fish. The isopods are tiny clean up crew members, don't worry about limiting their numbers. Lots of things will eat them though from mandarins to wrasses to damsels.

 

[SnazzyUrchin792]

If it eats meat, it will try pods at least once. And, as above stated, don’t worry about population control. But a lot of picky fish like mandarin gobies and CBB especially like them.