Skunk cleaner with bump on side

[boalady]

Has anyone ever seen a cleaner with a bump on its side? The local pet store had 4 and they all had the bump. I asked and the lady said she thinks they are all females and pregnant. What is it? Are they safe to buy?

 

[LeslieH]

On the side? It's probably a bopyrid isopod pair. these are parasites which crawl under the carapace & attach to the gill chamber or leg & live there, sucking blood for their food. The females are very large & modified; they don't look anything like normal isopods at all. The males are quite small, normal looking, and live nestled next to the female. In this article http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/index.php Ron Shimek says they don't do much harm to the hosts. Trying to get one out could damage the shrimp more than leaving the parasite. This page has some excellent shots of the female & male
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/index.html

 

[boalady]

That is exactly what it looked like. Thanks.