Isopod - Spheromatid or Cirolanid

[Nick711]

Hoping someone can confirm and/or ease my fear… added TBS LR on Thursday. Red light search uncovered plenty of these guys. Was only able to capture 2 in about the span of an hour with a turkey baster. If confirmed the worst, I guess next step would be to try a stinky shrimp trap tomorrow night? Not looking to nuke the tank w chemicals etc., but also do not want to be overran by these guys. Currently no fish stocked.

I fear based on the eye spacing they may be Cirolanids, but would like to see some other opinions as well. Thanks in advance

 

[JoJosReef]

Those eyes don't look good to me. My spheromatids have them smaller and a bit further apart:

Try seeing if they curl up when you take them out and poke them a bit. Cirolanids apparently don't curl as much as the spheromatids do.

 

[Nick711]

Tried poking at them, but no notable reaction. They are relatively small, special grade sand in pics for reference. I did see a few larger ones but was unable to capture them timely.

 

[JoJosReef]

Luckily you don't have fish, although fish would help ID them. There was a post about modification of the stinky water trap that worked best for one reefer, where they just made the stinky water and instead of leaving the bottle in the tank, they injected the stinky water against the glass with a pipette or turkey baster and watched as the cirolanids hit the glass, then they sucked them up. Might be worth reading some of the variations of the method in case any make your life easier.

 

[Nick711]

Luckily you don't have fish, although fish would help ID them. There was a post about modification of the stinky water trap that worked best for one reefer, where they just made the stinky water and instead of leaving the bottle in the tank, they injected the stinky water against the glass with a pipette or turkey baster and watched as the cirolanids hit the glass, then they sucked them up. Might be worth reading some of the variations of the method in case any make your life easier.

Appreciate the insights & assistance!
I’m sure I will be trying every possible method in my quest to catch these buggers

 

[Nick711]

Just a quick update….so far I have caught 15 total over 3 days (probably about 2 hours spent per night). Rate at which I have been able to catch them went from 2 the first day, 4 the second and 9 tonight. Stopped for the night despite still seeing many more that were too quick and/or scared away by light. I have predominately used a red flashlight in the dark, but today noticed once lights went out a couple were freely swimming despite it still being daylight / light in the room. Caught about 3 of them before the dark hours. Mostly small/medium, but two larger ones have been caught as well. Was hoping for only 8 pounds of live rock, I wouldn’t have had to deal with so many but there are many more it seems…hoping they do not reproduce.

Catch methods -
Baiting via stinky shrimp liquid via syringe - not too successful, may slightly bait them out
Stinky shrimp trap (liquid only) - not successful
Stinky shrimp trap w. shrimp piece - caught 1 over about 30 min, but definitely attracted some new ones. Will try this again tomorrow over a longer duration.
Turkey Baster - best for when on or near sand / rock work. One of the more successful methods albeit tedious and rather low accuracy. Annoying capturing so much sand in the process as well and transferring all to cup, but it is what it is
Small Net - very successful when they are freely swimming in water column and close to the glass. Favorite method when the opportunity presents itself.

Have been storing most of them in a bowl of tap water. They eventually seem to settle down / die, but some remain rather active for quite some time.

 

[Snoopdog]

It has been two months, how is your population now? I did finally get a trapping method that is low effort and works for me.

 

[Nick711]

It has been two months, how is your population now? I did finally get a trapping method that is low effort and works for me.

Fingers crossed that I finally rid my system of them … have not seen one in about a month. Introduced two fish a couple weeks ago and continue to check multiple times a night at various intervals after lights out with no trace. All in all, caught well over 50 from the 8lb of GLR in the 1.5 month span.

 

[thedon986]

It has been two months, how is your population now? I did finally get a trapping method that is low effort and works for me.

What did you find that worked best for you?

I found two on my mandarin this morning, managed to catch one but the larger fell off before I got her in the net. I will be trying the stinky shrimp/water trap tonight with turkey baster at the ready.

 

[Nick711]

What did you find that worked best for you?

I found two on my mandarin this morning, managed to catch one but the larger fell off before I got her in the net. I will be trying the stinky shrimp/water trap tonight with turkey baster at the ready.

Sorry to hear that. I found a small net was much easier to manage than catching with a turkey baster. A lot of time and patience with lights off (and a flashlight) + the small net is how I spent most of my time catching them.

 

[Snoopdog]

What did you find that worked best for you?

I found two on my mandarin this morning, managed to catch one but the larger fell off before I got her in the net. I will be trying the stinky shrimp/water trap tonight with turkey baster at the ready.

Personally the 02 water trap, cut off the ends. I think I have a post with a picture of the final product.

 

[thedon986]

Personally the 02 water trap, cut off the ends. I think I have a post with a picture of the final product.

Interesting I’ll look into that too if the other methods aren’t working. Thanks.

 

[Snoopdog]

Interesting I’ll look into that too if the other methods aren’t working. Thanks.

The other methods may work, but this method does not require much of your time. Bait the trap, empty it when lights first cut on.

 

[Snoopdog]

Pro tip after some trial and error. Do not leave the trap in overnight. They are pretty clever at finding their way out of the trap. Best results, leave the trap in there an hour or two and pull it. If you leave it too long they will eat and eventually find their way out. What we have been doing is placing it for maybe 2-3 hours and then pulling it.