Removing Bopyrid Isopod from Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

[RaymondL]

I noticed a ball like protrusion on the side of the skunk cleaner shrimp, and did some research on it, which I now know it's a parasite: Bopyrid Isopod.

Apparently, it can be removed with a tweezer - I watched a video on it, but I'm still unclear about how to do it. Specifically, the video says to use a very fine small tweezer to pull out the isopod from underneath. My confusion is how I am to do that - the description says to lift up and insert tweezer and grip the pod and pull out. What exactly lifts up from the shrimps body, and whereabouts would this be.

Reaching out to determine if anyone has done this before to help me with.

Thanks

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@DaJMasta may be able to help:

Removing a parasitic isopod from a shrimp

I saw this technique a year or so ago on youtube when I had a Caribbean white spot cleaner shrimp with an obvious isopod, and I successfully removed it with only slight modifications to the method. I just got an Urocaridella antonbruunii shrimp with a smaller isopod lump, and I documented and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[mr.lordacan]

be sure to do this in a Tupperware of tank water with a second set to put the shrimp in. Don’t put the shrimp back in with the isopod! It’ll release eggs almost immediately after removal (you’ll see them get released in the water). I had to do this with my first cleaner shrimp. It’s a fairly simple procedure, the hardest part for me was using a soft touch. I was stressed about gripping too hard/hurting the shrimp. Overall very quick procedure. Good luck!

 

[RaymondL]

be sure to do this in a Tupperware of tank water with a second set to put the shrimp in. Don’t put the shrimp back in with the isopod! It’ll release eggs almost immediately after removal (you’ll see them get released in the water). I had to do this with my first cleaner shrimp. It’s a fairly simple procedure, the hardest part for me was using a soft touch. I was stressed about gripping too hard/hurting the shrimp. Overall very quick procedure. Good luck!

Thank you! The video that previous poster shared had the shrimp out of the water, which I didn't expect. So the isopod is underneath the shrimp's shell - correct? I'm suppose to be able to lift up the shell cover with the shrimp facing up towards me(shrimp upside down) and grab and pull out the isopod?

 

[mr.lordacan]

Yep! For a lack of better words there should be a “flap” you can gently lift/sneak the tweezers under to pull out the isopod

 

[DaJMasta]

Yeah, there's a video in that video's description I learned it from, though on a larger shrimp. Basically, the isopod lives on the gills on the shrimp, which are under the external carapace, so the isopod is protected by its exoskeleton. That means you need something thin and relatively stiff to scoop the underside of the shell, and bring the isopod along with it. Not super difficult to do, but you will likely feel some pressure in doing it when the shrimp is both hard to hold on to and out of water for an extended period.

The shrimp in the video is still alive and well! The bump in the exoskeleton goes away when they next molt.