Isopods ID?

[dendro982]

I have too much pods crawling on the corals, orange tree sponge and bryozoans. It seems to me that they prefer corals to the live rock or detrius and that they created burrow in the tree sponge ( they were seen around it). Size: 3-5mm long (< 1/8-1/4"), fast moving. Tried to vacuum them out with rigid airline tubing - unsuccessfully, they are holding too well.
Can anybody identify them or advice how to get rid of them? Thank you.
My Webshots page

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Munnid Isopods. I had these guys do the same thing to my Kenya Tree. I suddenly had a population boom shortly after my cycle finished. They were found everywhere, especially the glass. Eventually they moved to my corals. The Kenya Tree specifically. They aggitated it so bad, it almost died. But I would just shake them off by repeatedly dunking the Kenya Tree in the tank's water. Eventually, the population dwindled and they never bothered the Kenya Tree again.

My hypothesis on this was there was a population boom because of excess foods. But once the foods were gone, they turned to other sources of nutrients. So, they ate the slime coating that the Kenya tree sheds when they are stressed. Of course, this couldn't sustain them for long and they all eventually dwindled down to a managable level. This is all just uneducated guesses, but it's my experience with these suckers.

If it's really bothersome, you might want to check into getting something that will at least nip them, if not eat them. Six Line wrasse would be great, but don't add a fish that you wouldn't normally want.

 

[dendro982]

Thanks! In my 10 and 6 gal tanks with corals isopods have plenty of food, but they prefer always accessible corals... I have a nipper (valentini puffer) in 20g tank, but presence of the fish and active moving invertebrates was the reason of establishing other tanks, for corals only.

 

[dendro982]

Just checked web: Munnid isopods are described as harmless and herbivorous, really look similar:
http://www.ronshimek.com/Animal Groups 4 Crustaceans.htm
Then why they made already 2 burrows in orange tree sponge and are seen around it in the big quantities? And really there are TOO much of them on the corals. Mistaken identification, mistaken information or just my luck?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I believe that, in my case, they were driven to starvation. A literally used to have thousands on my glass. Now, they are just here and there. Maybe 100 available at any given time on all four sides of my tank. I think they went to the corals and picked mucous and detritus out of them so they wouldn't starve to death.

 

[dendro982]