Cirolanid Isopod Smackdown (pics!)

[grimlock3000]

Shortly after setting up my new 10g marine tank last weekend, I spend a lot of time inspecting it and trying to figure out what everything was. One of the things that stumped me most was this:



I had two of them in my tank, running around at night. I drew that pic while looking for an ID. After getting help online and doing some research, I had Cirolanid Isopods. This was, really, really bad news for my new tank. The last thing I wanted to worry about was a parasite that killed any fish I would put in there. The Cirolanids can live for a long time without a fish host so it would be into next year before they starved to death and I could put fish in the tank. Other options were to nuke the tank, or use a fish as bait and catch the parasites that way.

Since my tank is new, it is still really bare. I devised a plan to catch the little critters with a turkey baster and a flashlight. I lucked out on the first try:



The second one was in the baster, AND ESCAPED as I pulled it out of the water! I spent a couple hours looking for it off and on throughout the night with no luck.

Tonight, I found it again and sucked it into the baster. It escaped again tonight! Somehow, the thing just seemed to know which end of the turkey baster to run/swim to. Except this time, it fell on the carpetting I have around the tank:



Now, once this happened, it was crawling around and I had no idea what to do about it. I was a bit worried it would grab my finger if I went to pick it up. I watched it to see what it did... I thought it died a few times, but it would always keep moving again.

Finally, I gave up watching, grabbed an old kitchen knife, heated it on the stove, then went back to the tank and cooked the Cirolanid right there on the spot:



I keep checking the tank for more and have not found anything yet. i am hoping I am clear of them. Both of these critters spent a lof ot time running around, so I presume any others in the tank would have the same behavior. With my new tank, they were easy to find and catch. I will keep checking over the next few weeks to be certain there were only two...

I would also like to point out that my original sketch drawing from MS Paint was pretty accurate

[Anemoneman]

Interesting pics. Nice close ups. Until last week I had only read about these on Dr. Ron's site. I've read about two tanks so far with this infestation. Where did you get your LR? Maybe there is a corelation between LR source and Cirolanid Isopod infestation.

[grimlock3000]

My LR came from three different LFS sources. All three have different suppliers for the LR, so it would be very difficult to track down which one came with the Isopods and let them know

[Anemoneman]

Well it was worth a try. Good luck with your isopod erradication.

[bound_for_obx]

I pulled out close to a dozen from a shipment from liverocks.com The ones that I got were less than a quarter of an inch long though. The shipment had both keys and gulf rock so I don't know wich one (or both) brought them in. I got the rock at the beginning of august and I haven't seen any more for about three weeks now.

[Gatorfreak]

Bound_for_obx, did you get all the critters off your rocks before putting them in your tank? If so, how'd you go about it?

[grimlock3000]

Good question, I just put the rocks directly into my tank since it was a new tank.

[bound_for_obx]

I didn't do anything proactive to get critters out. I pretty much took a rock out of the shipping box, pulled off any sponges and then placed the rock directly into the tank. After the rocks were all in the tank I sorted through the critters left in the shipping bags and put all of the starfish that were still alive into the tank. There were a couple of mantis shrimp and assorted crabs that I pitched out. I'm kind of kicking myself for not having an extra tank ready to put all the undesirables into. Also, my main tank doesn't have any fish in it yet... Just live rock.

[grimlock3000]

Also, my main tank doesn't have any fish in it yet... Just live rock.

Have you checked it at night for Isopods? They hide 100% of the time the lights are on, only come out when the tank is dark. Presumably, if there where 12 on the bottom of the shipping box, there could be some left in the rocks.

I wish I got more critters in my live rock. I only end up with one crab, and maybe some tiny snails. As it stands right now, the crab is the most exciting thing in the tank, and it hides in a rock all day long :P

[bound_for_obx]

I found the Isopods in the tank. Like you, I've been using a turkey baster to get them out. I have been finding them after lights out. I received loads of critters with the rock... spagetti worms, crabs, a bunch of unidentified snails (they have a snout kind of like an elephants trunk) keyhole limpets, some corals, lots of bristle worms, and some critters that make popping and cracking noises that I have yet to see. (I'm hoping they are pistol shrimp and not mantis) How long have you had the rock?

[Gatorfreak]

I'll be getting some LR from liverocks.com before too long. I'm concerned that I won't know what to keep and what to toss. So far I just know to get rid of Mantis Shrimp and Isopods. There should be something in the FAQ with pictures of everything you don't want in your tank.

[grimlock3000]

How long have you had the rock?

Just 5 days, I saw the Isopods from the first time I looked into the tank with the lights out. Kinda neat how stuff just crawls out of the rocks when no one is looking. At this current time, my pet (live) rocks are more interesting than my freshwater tank

Thinking about it now, I wish I had more LR in the tank. I was planning to get more this weekend, but after this incident, I am going to hold off. Or maybe just get baserock and put it under the LR.

[Anemoneman]

There should be something in the FAQ with pictures of everything you don't want in your tank.

I use Dr. Ron's site of Rogue animals (the one's you don't want in your reef).
http://www.rshimek.com/rogue's_gallery.htm

[Gatorfreak]

Great link! Thanks!

[yaksplat]

I posted earlier this year about my experience with isopods and I believe i got around 8 of them out of my tank.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewto...940&highlight=