Good or bad Isopod?

[Fanof49ASU]

http://markfoltz.freeservers.com/Isopod.jpg

I'm a little worried. I'm seeing more of these things than I'd like. It has come from some new live rock that is in a 'holding' tank for my new 75g.
As for my residents, I have a peppermint shrimp and a serpent star.

Any comments welcome.

[mcurl98]

Looks like a sphaeromatid (harmless) as opposed to a cirolanid (harmful). I had lots of sphaeromatid before I got a wrasse. Now they are all but gone. Here is a good article with pics/drawings of both.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/index.php

[Fanof49ASU]

Mcurl.....you've given me hope. I've read that link, but it's good to have a second opinion.

Thanks!

[lllosingit]

Scroll down part way thru This article (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php) and you'll see a picture of the Cirolanid isopod I caught snacking on my True Percula Clownfish.
looks very close to me.

[mcurl98]

I'm no pro so I'd continue to get opinions before I added the rock to my tank. In looking at figure 3 in the article, I am not positive.

[Fanof49ASU]

The eyes on the Cirolanid look much larger than the one I found, but I'm still reading on this.

I'm trying to find out if they must have blood to live. If so, I'll just wait them out. I'm not in any hurry to add this rock. But I do have 2 critters in that tank that I feed, and I've noticed the isopods going to the food (emerald entreé) and eating. I'm not sure a carnivore would find this frozen food appealing......I could be wrong.

I've also seen them under the white lights.....which I've read they avoid.

[mcurl98]

I thought the eyes looked larger on the Cirolanids as well. I'm used to seeing them, at a distance, in my tank. It is a little different looking at such a close up picture. When I look at them in my tank the eyes are not readily discernable unless I take a real close look.

[Paintbug]

looks like a cirolanid isopod to me. you cant go by the eye size alone. heres a few drawing of others.
http://tolweb.org/tree/eukaryotes/animals/arthropoda/crustacea/isopoda/accessory/caguide/plates/caplate07.html

[roons]

send him packing

[2swift]

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h183/patczeck/Reef%20talk/Picture009.jpg
This is the bad bug .

[LeslieH]

It's a cirolanid, not a sphaeromatid, and probably parasitic. Incidentally, even the small ones can deliver a nasty bite.

[Fanof49ASU]

Thanks for further confirmations.

[msman825]

WOW. That's kinda wild those eatting that clownfish

[DevilBoy]

this is alittle scary since i found one of these myself, and can not catch it. My tank has been fallow since October and i just one again last night. If it was the Cirolanid would of it died off by now due to lack of food source?