what is this critter I found?

ameno

ameno

Active Member
I was going thru the 200+ lbs. of live rock I picked up this weekend and came across something I haven't seen before. tried to take a pick but didn't turn out. but it's pretty easy to describe. looks just like a rolly polly, and about the same size and kinda of a brown color. I left it in with the rock instead of putting it in the tank, since I didn't know if it was reef safe or not. Can someone tell me what this might be?
 
brandan

brandan

Member
Originally Posted by ameno
http:///forum/post/2510866
I was going thru the 200+ lbs. of live rock I picked up this weekend and came across something I haven't seen before. tried to take a pick but didn't turn out. but it's pretty easy to describe. looks just like a rolly polly, and about the same size and kinda of a brown color. I left it in with the rock instead of putting it in the tank, since I didn't know if it was reef safe or not. Can someone tell me what this might be?

Pod?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
If it looks exactly like a Rolley Polley then it's an Isopod. There are several types of Isopods that match your description and one is bad and another is very very bad, the rest are harmless or beneficial. Are the eyes huge in comparison to the rest of the body?
FYI - Rolley Polleys are Isopods.
 
ameno

ameno

Active Member
I didn't really notice the eyes, it had a dark body so they could have been big and I just didn't notice. either way it soumd like it's a bad bug. I saw a few yesterday and one was trying to crawl out of the brute can this morning. I guess I need to be carful with this rock and make sure none go into the DT.
How are they bad?
 
ameno

ameno

Active Member
I guess I need to find out if that would work, I spent the whole day cleaning this rock, even using a brush to get the algae off, and when I put it in a container I started seeing brittle stars and these thing come out. So I don't think there would be any other way other then some type of dip to remove them. And still it would be a lot of work, it's a whole 44 gal. can full of rock.
What do these things do that are bad?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I can't believe a single rock would have more than one or two bad Isopods so I'm thinking they might just be Amphipods or something like that. Odds are that this critter is beneficial so it would be a shame to destroy them all without identifying them.
I wouldn't dip the rock using Iodine because that could damage a lot of the rock infauna.
Is there any way you can get a picture of the critter? Or, look through the hitchhiker thread and see if you can find a match.
 
groupergenius

groupergenius

Active Member
Originally Posted by GrouperGenius
http:///forum/post/2510979
Would maybe a lugol's dip get them off the rock?

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2511057
I can't believe a single rock would have more than one or two bad Isopods so I'm thinking they might just be Amphipods or something like that. Odds are that this critter is beneficial so it would be a shame to destroy them all without identifying them.
I wouldn't dip the rock using Iodine because that could damage a lot of the rock infauna.
Is there any way you can get a picture of the critter? Or, look through the hitchhiker thread and see if you can find a match.
I was hoping you would post back. The lugol's dip was kind of a question. I have some but not used it yet. I thought it just kind of "stunned" hitchikers and the come out of the rock. I was planning on using it to dip any future corals I get. I have had some infestations recently with flatworms, monti eating nudibranchs and stuff.
Sorry for hijacking ameno.
 
ameno

ameno

Active Member
I looked thru the hithhiker thread but did not find it, I would say it's sim. to the pic of the cirolanid except darker. it came from a pile of over 200lbs. of live rock. I tried about a dozen pics, as soon as I can download the pics I'll try and post one of the better shots.
 
ameno

ameno

Active Member
Sorry for hijacking ameno.

No prob. hijack away, this is all good learning stuff. with that I need to check out what a monti eating nubi branch looks like, since I have a lot of monties
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by GrouperGenius
http:///forum/post/2511077
I was hoping you would post back. The lugol's dip was kind of a question. I have some but not used it yet. I thought it just kind of "stunned" hitchikers and the come out of the rock. I was planning on using it to dip any future corals I get. I have had some infestations recently with flatworms, monti eating nudibranchs and stuff.
Sorry for hijacking ameno.

I dip all my corals in povidone it stuns the hitchikers to death but there are some corals that should not be dipped i will see if i can find which ones i have read should not and post
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top