Rocks with cirolanid isopod?

N

nanoguru

New member
Hi,
Let me first provide some info with what I have in my 12g AP tank...
12 lbs marshall, kaelini live rocks
2 lbs rubble in the back chamber
15lbs sandbed

added about 2 weeks ago:
1 cleaner
1 peppermint
3 small emerald
6 hermit
2 trochus snail
3 nassarius snail
No fish (which turns out to be the lucky case)

All rocks I have in my tanks were purchased from PA.
sand was carib sea aragonite 15lb purchased LFS

I first got the rocks sometime in February of this year. I got the UNCURED Marshall and Kaelini rocks (6 lbs each) + 2 lbs rubble. Excellent rocks by the way.
During the cycle, I saw pods populating the tank, sand, rock etc. But just recently I just read about CIROLANID ISOPODS. And I have many in my tank. They're known to be parasitic pods that literally eat fish that it comes in contact with.
I saw those little bugs get on my arm when I was doing aquascaping, cleaning, etc. but never thought they were harmful. Little buggers would bite my arm but didn't really think much of it.

Basically amphipod and isopod populate my tank right now - and YES I've done some research and I'm quite sure these are cirolanid isopods.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/index.php

I don't really know what to do at this point - I occassionally have to pick them off of trochus snail - they would attach to the trochus snail feet and start eating it... snail would wiggle and go nuts!

I don't blame Premium Aquatics for the isopods that came with the rocks that I've purchased, but I would like some professional help and suggestions to what could be done.
Is there any way to screen for such pests for future reference, so that this doesn't happen to other customers?

Am I ever going to be able to put fish in my tank?
I've read that I need to basically nuke the tank or rid of all rocks and sandbed (I spent $120 on those rocks...so I don't think that's an option)
:confused:

Please help...I know patience is the key to this hobby but this is overwhelming...so much for my first tank~

Jae
 
Hi Jae,

I am sorry to hear you had a few cirolanid's show up in your rock you received from us. Unfortunately with the amount of rock that we bring in, and the manner in which we keep it, tanked in water, there is always the chance that some unwanted hitchhikers may come along.

If you'd like, we would be more than willing to switch the rock out for you. It's not that common to get cirolanid isopods, so the chances of getting more in are slim, however it's not a guaranteed solution to your problem by any means.

Here are a couple of links to threads I found on RC that may be of some help to you if you do not want to switch out the rock....

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=775105&highlight=cirolanid+isopod

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=770039&highlight=cirolanid+isopod

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you through this.

Thanks,
Jeremy
 
Hi Jeremy,
Thank you for a prompt response. I'm quite surprized that you are actually willing to switch out the rocks. That is a great service.

I don't know how this is processed, but I will ship these rocks back to PA at my expense of course.
You should be able to find my record of purchase as well. I will provide the information, should you need it.

Do I also need to pay for shipment of the new rocks shipped to me? Depending on how much that may be, I might choose to go another route...but I would like to know the time and money matter for this to happen.

However this might turn out in the end, whether I switch the rocks or keep them - I would still recommend your store knowing that you guys take care of your customers so well.

thanks Jeremy
Jae
 
I have one question regarding isopods.. Which ones are bad and which ones are ok?
I ordered some lr from PA and some fiji from marine depot live about a month ago.. I was doing a w/c the other day and sifted thru the dieoff on the bottom of the tank and found what I believe to be an isopod? Can the bad ones live long without having fish or anything to feast on (rock is just by itself in a seperate tank right now)? How can you tell the bad ones from the good ones?
Thanks
Stewie
 
Only parasitic / pest isopod is the cirolanid isopod (from what I gathered). Which has a smooth contoured body, with tiny eyes. Color varies from white / clear to brown. But they usually have a spot on the dorsal side. Cirolanid basically is shaped like a rice grain, smooth with flowing contours. There are pictures in the links.. provided above by jeremy

If you ever have a tiny bug jump onto your arm and they start biting, I would compare pictures and make sure....I didn't mention it in the first post but one of the bite actually made me bleed a little - it was a tiny sting...so don't run off screaming cirolanid just because some bug crawls on your arm...you will know it when you have one!

They swim very fast as well - they just zip through the water - no wonder my cleaner shrimp can't catch it....but every once awhile I do see it chomping it down when it gets a hold of one...but nothing to put a dent into the population...

They do feed on flakes or whatever food you put into the tank.

Like I said - I gathered that only cirolanid is a parasitic specie, so if you don't have any unusual bugs or events...I wouldn't worry about it...just make sure before you start to panic. I hope I didn't scare people from this thread, it wasn't my intention at all.

This is just 1 pod specie from many others - thus it only happens to small fraction of reefers in this hobby. So before anyone start to panic, please do some research, look at the pictures and double check before doing anything.

jae
 
Well, its not the greatest pic, but here's what was in my tank. Any ideas?

unknown.JPG


Thanks,
Stewie
 
Thanks Jason - PA
I just wanted to thank you guys for your great customer service. It's unparalleled. I'm glad I purchased rocks from you guys with such quality and get an awesome after service as well.
I'm a customer for life.

Stewie:
Its hard to tell from that picture what type of isopod that is. have you had any problems with inverts or fish?

j
 
Nanoguru:
I bought the rocks about a month ago, put them in a 10 gallon tank (21 lbs rock total). did water changes, and let the rocks cure (they were uncured). So nothing is or has been in the tank since i've got the rocks other than the rocks themselves.
Next w/c I do i'll try and get a better pic of it. My camera battery was about dead so I was trying to hurry taking the shots.
Thanks
Stewie
 
Stewie,

The chances of it being cirolanids are VERY slim. I have had only a couple calls about them in the last 5-6yrs, and only one in the last 3yrs. I wouldn't worry too much! :)

Thanks,
Jeremy
 
stewie24- I also purchased alot of live rock from PA and have a bunch of the little isopods that you have pictured. Everytime I chage my filter sock there is about 5-10 of them in the sock. I have never been bit by one. However, last night I was doing some late night tank watching and saw a huge (1-2" long) isopod on the glass. It totally freaked me out and needless to say I won't be putting my hands in the tank without my aqua gloves. I am too looking at a way to rid my tank of these pests. I have never had any past experience with parasitic isopods.
 
jnc914, stewie:
I think you guys are getting a bit paranoid by seeing the isopods in your tank. You must remember that parasitic specie is considered rare and if you have fish or other inverts in healthy condition - you are fine...

Just because you see an isopod doesn't mean it's parasitic. Consider nudibranches - there are some that will eat your corals...are all nudi bad? no but some people will get parasitic nudis in their tank...same situation here.

Even I see a specie of isopod that's in the tank (looks similar to isopods) which look slightly different from cirolanid and that specific specie have not been harmful to snails or to my arm - ie. they haven't bitten me or the snail - it was only that one particular looking type.

If your tank is thriving, healthy, and you haven't had any problem with your hand in the tank....why worry now?

"Fear is the way to the dark side" - Yoda

nano
 
Stewie:
well now you have a peace of mind^^

I just spoke to Jeremy from PA - what a great service and very knowledgeable too. I wouldn't go anywhere else to buy rocks...

at least they have me sold...

I just decided to upgrade and buy more rocks~

upgrade bug is something there's no cure for...bummer?

nano
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7203118#post7203118 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nanoguru
Only parasitic / pest isopod is the cirolanid isopod (from what I gathered). Which has a smooth contoured body, with tiny eyes. Color varies from white / clear to brown. But they usually have a spot on the dorsal side. Cirolanid basically is shaped like a rice grain, smooth with flowing contours. There are pictures in the links.. provided above by jeremy

If you ever have a tiny bug jump onto your arm and they start biting, I would compare pictures and make sure....I didn't mention it in the first post but one of the bite actually made me bleed a little - it was a tiny sting...so don't run off screaming cirolanid just because some bug crawls on your arm...you will know it when you have one!

They swim very fast as well - they just zip through the water - no wonder my cleaner shrimp can't catch it....but every once awhile I do see it chomping it down when it gets a hold of one...but nothing to put a dent into the population...

They do feed on flakes or whatever food you put into the tank.

Like I said - I gathered that only cirolanid is a parasitic specie, so if you don't have any unusual bugs or events...I wouldn't worry about it...just make sure before you start to panic. I hope I didn't scare people from this thread, it wasn't my intention at all.

This is just 1 pod specie from many others - thus it only happens to small fraction of reefers in this hobby. So before anyone start to panic, please do some research, look at the pictures and double check before doing anything.

jae
Click to expand...




From what I have read, the parasitic Isopods have large black eyes. Cleaner shrimp won't eat them..On a thread a few months ago, I had asked about Wrasses and other fish that eat pods and such and was told these parasites would eat their way out of the fish if they ate them:eek:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7223787#post7223787 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BTTRFLYGRL
From what I have read, the parasitic Isopods have large black eyes. Cleaner shrimp won't eat them..On a thread a few months ago, I had asked about Wrasses and other fish that eat pods and such and was told these parasites would eat their way out of the fish if they ate them:eek:
Click to expand...

Thats what they say but if you actually look at the picture or the real thing, it has small eyes in my opinion...big eyes belong to aegid species

but then I'm no expert and these guys are small enough to make errors in distinction easily
 
I purchases 55 lbs of uncured fiji from premium four months ago. I now have hundreds of isopods in it. As far as I can tell they are all the sphaeromatid type that are harmless. I now want to get rid of these because there are just so many of them. A few things i have noticed is they crawl and dont swim much and they are very slow. Any idea about what would eat these fish-wise. I am thinking a six line wrase.
 
Just received my rocks today....great condition...for 3 day ground transit!
Smell was not too bad, but I did put them in a 5gallon bucket of salt water for the first cycle dip....and transferred them again a few hours later to another bucket...and a lot of dirt and die off was left behind the first one..

a tiny crab with black tipped claws found - are those carnivorous? its really 1/2 size of pinky nail...really small so im not worried, for now

great rocks, thanks guys again for your customer service - jeremy it was great talking to you

I shipped the rocks back via UPS in the box that I received from you guys, should get it by Monday...I guess if it wasn't for Sunday it should have been there earlier.

Great doing business with PA
Nano
 
I don't know for sure about the crab, but I generally follow the rule that if I don't have a positive ID for it, I don't add it to the tank. You might end up with some ENORMOUS crab over time. Then again, you might have a fairly peaceful hitchhiker. Most of the black tipped claws I've seen on rock are from a type of rock crab which enjoys a nice lunch of escargot and hermit crablegs. :-\
 
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