grimlock3000
Aquarium Advice Addict
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
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