water tick?
- Thread starter Mr.Maska
- Start date
Here is an article http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/
From it,
"Prolonged exposure to such densities of blood suckers WILL kill fish.
The only way to rid an aquarium of these animals is to catch them all, which although tedious, is possible. Generally, this involves using a sacrificial fish, usually something easy to catch and moderately large. A yellow tang is a good choice for this because the fish's color pattern allows easy determination of the presence of the parasite. The other fish in the tank are collected and removed to a quarantine tank, and the "bait" fish is introduced. This fish is checked periodically and, if the parasites are seen on it, it is netted and removed to a flat surface where it may be immobilized with a wet paper towel. The parasite is removed with a pair of tweezers or forceps. The fish is then returned to the tank, and the procedure repeated. Often the parasites are nocturnal; consequently, the fish will have to be examined before the lights come on. The aquarium is probably free of the parasites if none are seen on the fish for a month or so after the last one has been collected."
From it,
"Prolonged exposure to such densities of blood suckers WILL kill fish.
The only way to rid an aquarium of these animals is to catch them all, which although tedious, is possible. Generally, this involves using a sacrificial fish, usually something easy to catch and moderately large. A yellow tang is a good choice for this because the fish's color pattern allows easy determination of the presence of the parasite. The other fish in the tank are collected and removed to a quarantine tank, and the "bait" fish is introduced. This fish is checked periodically and, if the parasites are seen on it, it is netted and removed to a flat surface where it may be immobilized with a wet paper towel. The parasite is removed with a pair of tweezers or forceps. The fish is then returned to the tank, and the procedure repeated. Often the parasites are nocturnal; consequently, the fish will have to be examined before the lights come on. The aquarium is probably free of the parasites if none are seen on the fish for a month or so after the last one has been collected."
RcToners
New member
I can not be 100% sure from your photo but I'm about 99% sure that it is a cirolanid isopod. These guys are BAD news. I had them once and had to rip apart my entire tank and start from scratch. Here is an article about them. Capturing all of them is tedious and IMO is extremely difficult. In order to starve them they need to have no food source for months (this means no fish or CUC in your DT). How far along is your tank? If its relatively new you might be better off starting over.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php
Edit: My husband got out of the shower from upstairs, he says 100% sure its a cirolanid isopod. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do. I tried to trap them for months. I finally got sick of not seeing them for periods of time and only having them pop up gain. I nuked my entire tank and when I did I found dozens and dozens of them inside the rockwork. They will attach to your fish after lights out and suck their blood (ultimately killing them). They hide during the day. Take a dim or red flashlight and inspect your tank a half hour after lights out. You'll be surprised with the activity. They like to cling to glass that has algae on it so that they have better footing. They also burrow into the sand and live inside your rocks. They eat nearly everything. This includes fish food, shrimp molts, and much more. They also go into hiding for what appears to be months or more and then pop back up again. All it takes is one fertile female and its game over.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php
Edit: My husband got out of the shower from upstairs, he says 100% sure its a cirolanid isopod. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do. I tried to trap them for months. I finally got sick of not seeing them for periods of time and only having them pop up gain. I nuked my entire tank and when I did I found dozens and dozens of them inside the rockwork. They will attach to your fish after lights out and suck their blood (ultimately killing them). They hide during the day. Take a dim or red flashlight and inspect your tank a half hour after lights out. You'll be surprised with the activity. They like to cling to glass that has algae on it so that they have better footing. They also burrow into the sand and live inside your rocks. They eat nearly everything. This includes fish food, shrimp molts, and much more. They also go into hiding for what appears to be months or more and then pop back up again. All it takes is one fertile female and its game over.
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I had these, and (as others have stated) they are bad news. I tried to starve them out. No fish, no snails, no fun. It took almost a year before they finally died off. Hope you're patient! Good luck.
Literally on my desktop.
A gravid female caught between the glass and a cucumber.
Literally on my desktop.
A gravid female caught between the glass and a cucumber.
createdlight
New member
I had these, and (as others have stated) they are bad news. I tried to starve them out. No fish, no snails, no fun. It took almost a year before they finally died off. Hope you're patient! Good luck.
Literally on my desktop.
A gravid female caught between the glass and a cucumber.
Hey MiNdErAsR
what len or camera you using ? nice close up!
Thanks. Those images were taken with an Nikon CoolPix 950 with a no-name macro lens.
scubasteve06
Jeeper Reefer
Very bad, very very bad to have I'd say worse than ich. You'll have to pull everything out including rock, sand and drain the entire tank and scrub it with vinegar or acid. I'd give the rockwork a muriatic acid bath as I don't even know if vinegar will kill them. Throw the sand out, unfortuneatly there is no other way that I know of to kill them. They are like vampire bats, but 100x worse and will kill every fish you have.
