Things on my clowns, not ick: Identified isopods

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yaksplat

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jan 2, 2004
Messages
434
Location
orchard park, ny
Theres 2 on one fish and one on the other. It looks like they have eyes.
Anyone got any idea?
here's a couple pictures

things_on_clown1.JPG


things_on_clown2.JPG


Jim
 
I just read that article. These isopods just appeared this morning. How would one go about removing them? I read that it said use forceps. But does that mean that I should catch the fish in a net and remove them like that? How hard are they to get off? Do they leave any damage behind?

I think it's odd that none of my other fish caught any in the past few weeks and then after one night in the tank, both of the clowns have them. They were not there when I bought them. I did examine the fish carefully.

Jim
 
I have never dealt with these parasites personally, so I have no experience with how hard they may be to remove or what kind of damage they leave behind.

The isopods likely hitchhiked in on a piece of live rock or coral...
 
I would so a quick FW dip.. They should fal off really quick.. I had black ick at one point in time and the black spots fell off so quick when i did a FW dip and I havent seen them since.. That was 6 months ago.. However if they return after a dip i dont know if the same rules apply as in Ich.. If doing a FW dip make sure the temp and pH are as close to being matched as possible.. Baking soda should be ok to use to match the pH.. Watch your fish for Severe signs of stress.. just an FYI I have never left my fish in a FW dip for more than a min or 2.. I would watch them and as soon as you see the spots drop off pull them out and place them back into the tank..

HTH<
James
 
well, i went home during lunch to check on them, and the isopods were gone. Probably went back into the sand from wence they came. I'm going to have a FW dip ready tonight for tomorrow morning just in case they return. If not, I'm going to pretend that they're all dead unless they rear theier nonexistant heads again.

Jim
 
They typically leave the fish during the day and come back to feed at night. You need to catch the fish and remove the parasites before they begin to reproduce in large numbers.
Terry B
 
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