Brooke_John Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 We have a lawnmower Blenny and today we noticed something attached to his tail. Pictures are attached, can anyone help identify what it is and what we should do? We have been trying to catch him for an hour and have had no luck, he keeps hiding in the rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 It's an isopod (parasitic) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 It's a nasty booger that comes out mostly at night to attach to fish and feed. You should be able to trap it with bait and a bottle. They are very fast swimmers Did you add rock recently? Usually that's how it would come in. If you didn't add rock, then you may have more in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 FYI, looks like a cirolanid isopod to be specific. Here's info: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooke_John Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 We haven't added any rock lately. We added a hairy mushroom last week. We QT all fish. We had a pair of clowns and one died yesterday. The other seems to be fine. Will the isopod kill the blenny if not removed, or will it eventually detach? Any idea how to remove the one attached to the blenny? I'm worried about increased stress from trying to net him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 They slowly drain a fish over a period of time. I would net it and manually remove it by sliding something thin like a credit card under the isopod to get it to detach. I would definately do it tonight, you want to have the smallest chance possible that it lays eggs in there if it hasn't already. They usually only feed at night and let go before daylight, so this could have been going on for a while. I would also set out a baited bottle trap tonight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 All I can say is wow, I've never heard of that happening before. Good luck catching the poor blenny, I bet if you had a bada** wrasse in there that parasite would be food already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I caught two in my tank before I added any fish. Both I noticed when they were zipping around at night. I netted both but it wasn't easy. I killed them with great satisfaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooke_John Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Thank you so much for the information. We have a bottle in the tank and are trying to help the blenny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 All I can say is wow, I've never heard of that happening before. Good luck catching the poor blenny, I bet if you had a bada** wrasse in there that parasite would be food already! Dude I don't know, I'm not sure about how strong a bite a wrasse has, but when I killed them I cut their heads off with a butter knife and those things are HARD. Actually maybe it's an urban legend, but I've read mention of them killing a fish that ate it whole. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Thank you so much for the information. We have a bottle in the tank and are trying to help the blenny. Did you make a bottle trap with an inverted top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Oh yeah, pods are blind to red light, I would observe the tank at night and check on the trap with a red flashlight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I always use red filters to view critters at night. I am looking for a lighted magnifying glass with a red light. Maybe I am a "reef voyer". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I always use red filters to view critters at night. I am looking for a lighted magnifying glass with a red light. Maybe I am a "reef voyer". Wow Kevin I'm glad you had some expeirience with those to be able to give them some advice.The reason that the wrasse came to mind is that a few days ago I got bit by my newtons wrasse, he was annoyed that I was holding on to a frozen cube of mysid and the ******* bit me! I was shocked, it hurt for at least 1/2 hr or so, nothing devastating though. I have say though that I would rather not find out, I never want one of those in my tank! Keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Any luck catching the creature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 We haven't added any rock lately. We added a hairy mushroom last week. We QT all fish. We had a pair of clowns and one died yesterday. The other seems to be fine. Will the isopod kill the blenny if not removed, or will it eventually detach? Any idea how to remove the one attached to the blenny? I'm worried about increased stress from trying to net him. In 24 years this is only the 2nd (Kevin B) and third time (you) I've known someone to get them. Are you pretty sure it showed up after the mushroom was added? The first person I know got them with an invertabtate colony also. I wouldn't stress out to much over the clown that died. People move fish all the time without problems but whenever a fish is moved a fish from one tank to another it might cause enough stress to allow the fish to get something. I have also had intances in the past where a group of fish didi fine in QT, went into different tanks then all died with in a week or so of each other so there are diseases that can take a long time to develop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I tend to agee with Tim about not over reacting. I have intrduced hitchhikers which were not desirable but never caused any long lasting effects. Stress creates more harm then any one factor. My two cents worth. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooke_John Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Thank you everyone for your insight. The isopod has since removed itself from out blenny. He is doing well, and seems to never have even noticed the pod. We have set bottle traps at lights out for three nights and captured nothing. We have two cleaner shrimp in the tank, so maybe they took care of it. We are keeping a close eye on everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Hopefully you haven't had any more isopod issues, but IMHO a cleaner shrimp would not be able to handle an isopod...I doubt it could catch it, and even if it did, it wouldn't be able to get through the exoskeleton. I would not give up on watching for these bugs and trying to catch them, I've read they can lay up to 40 eggs at a time, and you sure don't want them multiplying if you do have more than one in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggedfire Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I have found them on many frag purchases. They were always much smaller (grain of sand), but have the characteristic black eyes. Never seen one that large. Any other natural predators? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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