Whats this on my fish?

[smithce79]

I need to know whats this thing sticked to my fish, it seems like Its eating him



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[carried]

I believe that is an isopod. Needs to be removed immediately.

 

[carried]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/rs/index.php

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Why must it be removed "immediatly" ?

Edit: not saying its good for the fish to have a pod hitchin a ride, but i dont understand the rush

 

[smithce79]

I have a lot of those "pods" on my LR, should I remove all of them? Or just the one on my fish?

By the way, my fish is now clean.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

I have a lot of those "pods" on my LR, should I remove all of them? Or just the one on my fish?

By the way, my fish is now clean.

I wouldnt remove any! They are a great part of your ecosystem and a good snack for your fish

 

[kdpuffer]

Some Isopods are harmless members of the CUC, some are actually parasitic, do a google search for Isopods and the first page is loaded with pics of parasitic ones.

 

[smithce79]

Some Isopods are harmless members of the CUC, some are actually parasitic, do a google search for Isopods and the first page is loaded with pics of parasitic ones.

I already look at the pics on Google and it seems like my tank has both, good and bad isopods.

How can I kill the bad ones and leave the good ones?

 

[carried]

I thought Isopods were the ones that latched on to fish and sucked their blood. My bad nu-nu. Remove if you like.

 

[Flreefer]

I believe that is an isopod. Needs to be removed immediately.

That is definitely one of the parasitic types of Isopod, and should be removed.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

I thought Isopods were the ones that latched on to fish and sucked their blood. My bad nu-nu. Remove if you like.

Oh no i was just curious about the whole thing, i hve never heard of a parasitic pod so thats why i was wondering... Turns out you were right

 

[Smitty]

I had a bunch of these in my tank when I first started it up. I made a trap using the end of a 20 oz bottle (cut off the top part) and put it into a cup with a rubber band. I baited it with a silverside on a small piece of live rock. I caught 17 of them the first night...

 

[cmdw4587]

There is actually a parasitic isopod that harbors itself in the mouths of fish. It feeds off the blood normally supplied to the fishes tongue which causes the tongue to die and fall off. The isopod then latches itself into the muscles of the fish's former tongue. The isopod will continue to feed on the fish's blood and mucus but cause no other harm. The fish will continue to live and thrive because they will use the isopod as a prosthetic tongue.

Just thought I would share that. I find it really fascinating.

 

[smithce79]

There is actually a parasitic isopod that harbors itself in the mouths of fish. It feeds off the blood normally supplied to the fishes tongue which causes the tongue to die and fall off. The isopod then latches itself into the muscles of the fish's former tongue. The isopod will continue to feed on the fish's blood and mucus but cause no other harm. The fish will continue to live and thrive because they will use the isopod as a prosthetic tongue.

Just thought I would share that. I find it really fascinating.

Thanks for the info, is good to know