Unknown invertebrate, sacrificed to the overflow gods

[OldRed1]

Well this didn’t go as expected! As I was getting ready to clean the tank, I spotted a small critter running around the sand bed. I watched as it climbed up the back of the tank, and then decided to grab a video of it for ID purposes.

Shortly after I started filming, the critter seemed to lose its grip and, well, the video tells the rest of the story.

Any ideas what this creature is/was?

 

[mr.b306]

Looked kinda like a baby mantis shrimp. Can’t say that with any certainty though. Just the tail shape when I was able to pause the video at the right time is what made me think that.

 

[sculpin01]

Most likely some type of isopod.

 

[TokenReefer]

oh boy...was waiting for it to go into the ph...did you fish it out of the filter? looks cool, long as it's safe

 

[OldRed1]

Looked kinda like a baby mantis shrimp. Can’t say that with any certainty though. Just the tail shape when I was able to pause the video at the right time is what made me think that.

That’s a really interesting thought! Now that you say it, they do look similar. I do regret that its life was cut so short, but I hope there are not other baby mantis shrimp running around.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Hello, did it have two forward facing black eyes? The way it swam started to give me cirolanid isopod vibes..

 

[Tired]

Definitely looked like some kind of isopod. Didn't seem to have large enough eyes to be a cirolanid.

You sure it's dead? Crustaceans are tough.