What is sucking on my

[reefbizkit]

cardinal fish? Help ! What is this little bugger? Looks like a little fish?

 

[Lionfish Lair]

That's a Cirolanid!

 

[reefbizkit]

Good, bad or ugly?

 

[Lionfish Lair]

What other fish are in your tank? Any?

 

[reefbizkit]

Yes, clown, jawfish, gramma.... why? Uh oh

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Good, bad or ugly?

Sorry, but this one kind of sucks.... literally. He's feeding on your fish.

 

[reefbizkit]

Ok I'll remove him

 

[Lionfish Lair]

First thing to try is to get a net and see if you can get the cardinal out with the isopod still attached. Have a second net ready to go, in case the isopod lets go and swims out of the net while still in the tank. If you can have a second person, that would be awesome.

 

[reefbizkit]

Basically if I don't capture this thing it's likely to destroy my entire fish population?

 

[Breadman03]

Mind you, this article isn't very new, so best practices and lifecycle info may have improved, but here you go:

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

 

[Vincent100]

Hope you get that little sucker out ...... lol

 

[Brewman1987]

The best way to hunt these cirolanid isopods is at night. Turn the light off above the tank and make sure the room is as dark as possible. Give the tank a few minutes and use a red flashlight to hunt in the tank for these. This is the best way to take them out and use a net to collect.

Good luck

 

[Lionfish Lair]

It's really hard to catch them in a net. They're kindda fast. The surefire way is to remove your fish and starve them out.

 

[reefbizkit]

I couldn't catch him last night and he's not on the fish today. Either h dropped off or he's buried in his flesh. Time will tell

 

[Lionfish Lair]

He's not buried. You'll easily see him.

 

[reefbizkit]

Ok. Fish alive, the bummer is that I have this pest in my tank. I'm uneasy about adding any more fish. To be continued....

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I would be bummed too. This is a hard one.

 

[Flippers4pups]

They can reproduce and become a real problem if left unchecked. The main thing is that once they do damage to a fish, infection or bacteria can set in. They usually attach close or at the gill plates and can kill a fish if they are there long enough.

These are hitchhikers on live rock. Once you see one, chances are there more. Hopefully there's just one and you can catch it.