Help!! Cirolanid Isopod

Tony888 · Jul 24, 2018

Hi Everyone,

I usually don't examine the tank at night after lights out but I looked last night and almost fainted. You never know what hitchhikers are in the tank until you closely examine the rocks and sand. So I found a few Cirolanid Isopods and it scared me because they have eyes. I know these parasites will kill fish in the tank. Can anyone please provide information on how I can remove these from the tank before they reproduce? I read about the bottle method where you have the food source in a jar and half a water bottle cut with a hole drilled in the cap and attached to the jar. The second method is to starve them for 2-6 months by leaving the tank fishes so the parasite will not have a host. Any recommendations and input will be appreciated. Please help...

TheEngineer · Jul 24, 2018

Have you seen this article?

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php

Tony888 · Jul 24, 2018

TheEngineer said:
Have you seen this article?

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php

Thanks for responding. Yes, I read that article already. The bottle method might work but I'm not too sure about the idea of stinky water from the shrimp. How you had this problem before?

TheEngineer · Jul 24, 2018

Tony888 said:
Thanks for responding. Yes, I read that article already. The bottle method might work but I'm not too sure about the idea of stinky water from the shrimp. How you had this problem before?

Nope, sorry.

KyleJ42 · Sep 20, 2020

Curious what your end result was? Currently going through the same. Trying to figure out best course of action. Although i dont think there are many (there probably are) i’ve only managed to find one larger one and a small one within almost a 2 week period. And i check my tank every night for 10+ minutes with lights off and a dim light in another room just enough to see into the tank

Tony888 · Sep 20, 2020

I was able to remove 2-3 isopod that week. After that, I didn't find any new ones in the tank. I was paranoid and spent an hour a day with a flashlight and tweezers after the lights were off for an hour. Hope this helps. Hopefully you won't find anymore.

KyleJ42 · Sep 20, 2020

Tony888 said:
I was able to remove 2-3 isopod that week. After that, I didn't find any new ones in the tank. I was paranoid and spent an hour a day with a flashlight and tweezers after the lights were off for an hour. Hope this helps. Hopefully you won't find anymore.

Did you leave your tank fallow for a while even after you didnt find any more?