I have an isopod problem

[salty joe]

I topped off my aquascape four days ago with live rock and there was a black eyed isopod in the bottom of the bag. I'm sure there must be more in the rock and probably eggs too.

The only articles I found were one by Ron Shimek and the cirolanid isopod hunter one. Anyone have any other good links on isopods they might be willing to share?

A fellow reefer gave me the idea of putting mollies or another fish in an isolation box within the tank. Then get up real early and remove the isopods and repeat. Anyone with experience with this method? I wonder if Prazi or another chemical might be easier on the fish than manually picking.

Anyway, I'm going to try to eradicate the isopods while I wait out ich. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Prazi will not affect Isopods.

 

[salty joe]

OK, thanks, they're tough little buggers I guess. Do you know of a dip that might make them drop off? Or maybe just let them drop off on their own in a QT. It just seems that manually picking them off would be very hard on a fish. Maybe not so much if the fish was anesthetized, something I've not done.

I can't seem to find any information on their life cycle.

 

[ThRoewer]

Most isopods feed on algae or detritus and are actually harmless to fish and shrimp. I would first identify them properly before starting any extermination procedures.
I have lots of them in my tank and all they do is munch away on algae.
The ones that feed on fish or shrimp have pretty complicated lifecycles and don't hang out on rocks.

 

[alprazo]

Dimilin if you want them gone.

 

[salty joe]

Most isopods feed on algae or detritus and are actually harmless to fish and shrimp. I would first identify them properly before starting any extermination procedures.
I have lots of them in my tank and all they do is munch away on algae.
The ones that feed on fish or shrimp have pretty complicated lifecycles and don't hang out on rocks.

The one isopod I found is gone-the crab ate it I guess. I could kick myself for not taking a close look immediately. Maybe I'm lucky and don't have the bad ones.

Do cirolanids need a host to complete their life cycle?

Maybe mollies in an isolation box would be a good indicator to see if my isopods are bad guys or not. I have not seen anything swimming around at night when I shine my red light. I set a trap with shrimp the other night and there was the remnant of a small worm and what appeared to be an amphipod that died eating it. I think it might have suffocated.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

If they attach to the fish then a few dip will knock them off. Here's a link to WetWebMedia on Isopods: http://wetwebmedia.com/isopoda.htm

 

[salty joe]

Thanks for that link.
I'll get a molly acclimated and an isolation box set up. I wonder how likely it is that a cirolanid would find the molly-if the isopods I have are cirolanids that is.
BTW, will regular old black mollies adjust to saltwater?

 

[adamwheel]

I'm glad you posted in this forum. I debated when in posted in advanced rather than here.

Anxious to hear how the molly method turns out.

Btw, mine are certainly cirolanid and the battle has been on for ~6 weeks.

 

[alprazo]

Why all the trouble. Unless it's has an exoskeleton might of chitin, The dimilin should be harmless. I have been putting all my Newley acquired fish through it for years with no negative results. It's cheap, easy to,dose and can be found at koi stores for the treatment of anchor worms, which are copepods.

 

[salty joe]

My rock is cycling-I don't have fish. The trouble for me is I'm not willing to nuke the tank if it's possible to lose the isopods only. Maybe I'll get lucky and have sphearomatids.

I'm still kicking myself for not getting out my magnifying glass to have a good look when I had the chance, but one thing I noticed is the isopod in the bottom of the bag the rock came in was real fast. Do both sphaeromatids and cirolanids both move like that?

Thanks alprazo for the tip on dimilin. I've never used it but I will now on every fish before they go into the tank. I don't want to derail this thread, but what is your preferred med for external parasitic worms? How about internal worms?

 

[alprazo]

Unless the fish is wasting, I ignore intestinal worms and pods. If necessary febendazole is my initial treatment for worms. Most fish do well, some don't.

Prazi seems to do a great job for external worms.

 

[ThRoewer]

... Thanks alprazo for the tip on dimilin. I've never used it but I will now on every fish before they go into the tank. ...

Dimlin is a pretty harsh drug. I wouldn't expose my fish to that unless they have a serious copepod infection. And even then tweezers are more gentle.