Isopod, or death to my fish?

cinematek · 07/12/2007, 11:26 PM

Hi Reefcentral Community!

My tank is a bit over 4 months old. I got home from work today and saw a bunch of these all over my glass:

I checked melev's reef and they look sort of like Isopods, but I want to be sure.

Are they safe for my reef? I checked my water params and they're better than they've ever been, except my ammonia. 'Trites/'Trates at 0, pH around 8.0, KH near 300. My ammonia was around .25-.30ppm. I did a 2.5 gallon change (that's all the SW I had on hand).

Are these bugs safe? Are they related to my higher ammonia? If they are safe, will a mandarin eat them? I've been wanting to get one of those.

Thanks!

bertoni · 07/12/2007, 11:58 PM

They look like harmless isopods to me. The mandarin might well find them tasty.

KH at 300 ppm is very high. This article covers the water parameters and acceptable ranges:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

Young Frankenstein · 07/13/2007, 03:50 AM

Yaiksssssssss they look ugly man. I wouldn't put my hand in there. You got water cockroaches.

danch · 07/13/2007, 07:49 AM

Those are munid (sp?) isopods - most are algae eaters and safe, tasty mandy snacks.

Paintbug · 07/13/2007, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by danch
Those are munid (sp?) isopods - most are algae eaters and safe, tasty mandy snacks.

yep those are Munnid Isopods. harmless algae grazers

kevin2000 · 07/13/2007, 09:04 AM

A tank that is 4 months old should not have any ammonia ... its often a sign that something has died in the tank or you are way overstocked.

bertoni · 07/13/2007, 12:50 PM

Or the test kit is not reliable. That problems seems unfortunately common.

daven · 07/13/2007, 01:54 PM

My 29 had a lot of isopods after a couple months but they leveled out and are much fewer now.

If I read your sig correctly your tank is 25g. From everything I have read that is much too small to be successful with a mandarin.

cinematek · 07/13/2007, 06:24 PM

I have heard advice both ways on the Mandarin. Some say my tank is too small, other say that after 6 months or so I should have enough critters for a mandarin to eat.

As for my tests, I'm still using the 5-in-1 strips, so my readings are really subjective to the lighting and my eyes. Should I be using salifert? Is there another option that's accurate but not so pricey?

kevin2000 · 07/13/2007, 06:31 PM

You should never consider purchasing a mandarin unless your sure it will accept normal food .. I don't care how "mature" your tank is its simply not large enough to sustain an adequate pod population.

Toss the "strips" - I suspect many/most are are lousy. Most test kits work OK for ammonia and the other basics. I think Seachem has one of the better basic marine test kit for the money .. particularly if you QT because monitoring free ammonia separate from total ammonia can become important.

cinematek · 07/13/2007, 06:34 PM

Oh yeah, and my tank is a 29g (with 30lbs LR and about 25g water), but I also have a 5g bucket under the stand that has my skimmer and acts as a mini-sump, so my total water volume is probably just shy of 30g.

Young Frankenstein · 07/13/2007, 06:36 PM

Plenty of people have kept successfully mandarins Kevin, myself not yet I had 2 of them so far and they both died within a few weeks. How can you be sure it will accept normal food?

kevin2000 · 07/13/2007, 06:41 PM

Heres a nice FAQ on Mandarins

http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?s...showpage&pid=3

Most new aquarist have no clue how fast a "pod eater" can go through a pod population ... I had one tank that was "maturing" for about six months with nothing but live rock & corals .. the pods were so thick you could not believe .. one six line wrasse when through them like the Mongolians through Persia .. haven't seen a pod in that tank in over 5 yrs.

kevin2000 · 07/13/2007, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 0 Agios
Plenty of people have kept successfully mandarins Kevin, myself not yet I had 2 of them so far and they both died within a few weeks. How can you be sure it will accept normal food?

If your lucky you will find a LFS that has already trained the Mandarin to accept normal food. If not .. your best bet is to setup a QT and train them. There are various methods but the one that I use with every fish (mandarin or not) is to start out with live food (newly hatched live brine shrimp) that have been soaked/fed in selcon or garlic .. then after the fish becomes used to eating the live food I start to introduced some frozen food (which has been soaked in the same solution) along with the live food. With luck the fish will associate smell with food and you can slowly convert the fish to strickly frozen.

techreef · 07/13/2007, 09:19 PM

cinematek, most people here on RC are simply trying to avoid fish deaths by advising against a poster's intimated intention. I'd 2nd (3rd) the advice that a 25/30G system is just too small for a mandarin to survive in, UNLESS you got one that accepts prepared/frozen food. Fish roe is listed as a potential substitute food. It may be possible, but in my mind a system as small as yours would require a LOT of work on your part to keep a mandarin alive in. They really burn through the available pod populations in their tank, and then they starve. They are so beautiful; it's really a shame and a waste.

07/12/2007, 11:26 PM	#1
cinematek Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 189	Isopod, or death to my fish? Hi Reefcentral Community! My tank is a bit over 4 months old. I got home from work today and saw a bunch of these all over my glass: I checked melev's reef and they look sort of like Isopods, but I want to be sure. Are they safe for my reef? I checked my water params and they're better than they've ever been, except my ammonia. 'Trites/'Trates at 0, pH around 8.0, KH near 300. My ammonia was around .25-.30ppm. I did a 2.5 gallon change (that's all the SW I had on hand). Are these bugs safe? Are they related to my higher ammonia? If they are safe, will a mandarin eat them? I've been wanting to get one of those. Thanks!

07/12/2007, 11:58 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	They look like harmless isopods to me. The mandarin might well find them tasty. KH at 300 ppm is very high. This article covers the water parameters and acceptable ranges: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/13/2007, 07:49 AM	#4
danch Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 614	Those are munid (sp?) isopods - most are algae eaters and safe, tasty mandy snacks. __________________ Asking dumb questions since '06! Or, a dumby asking questions since '06! Current Tank Info: 29G FW, 75G LPSing

07/13/2007, 12:50 PM	#7
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Or the test kit is not reliable. That problems seems unfortunately common. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/13/2007, 03:50 AM	#3
Young Frankenstein Moved On Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Miami Florida. Posts: 3,842	Yaiksssssssss they look ugly man. I wouldn't put my hand in there. You got water cockroaches.

07/13/2007, 09:04 AM	#6
kevin2000 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,805	A tank that is 4 months old should not have any ammonia ... its often a sign that something has died in the tank or you are way overstocked.

07/13/2007, 01:54 PM	#8
daven Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 283	My 29 had a lot of isopods after a couple months but they leveled out and are much fewer now. If I read your sig correctly your tank is 25g. From everything I have read that is much too small to be successful with a mandarin.

07/13/2007, 06:24 PM	#9
cinematek Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 189	I have heard advice both ways on the Mandarin. Some say my tank is too small, other say that after 6 months or so I should have enough critters for a mandarin to eat. As for my tests, I'm still using the 5-in-1 strips, so my readings are really subjective to the lighting and my eyes. Should I be using salifert? Is there another option that's accurate but not so pricey?

07/13/2007, 06:31 PM	#10
kevin2000 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,805	You should never consider purchasing a mandarin unless your sure it will accept normal food .. I don't care how "mature" your tank is its simply not large enough to sustain an adequate pod population. Toss the "strips" - I suspect many/most are are lousy. Most test kits work OK for ammonia and the other basics. I think Seachem has one of the better basic marine test kit for the money .. particularly if you QT because monitoring free ammonia separate from total ammonia can become important.

07/13/2007, 06:34 PM	#11
cinematek Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 189	Oh yeah, and my tank is a 29g (with 30lbs LR and about 25g water), but I also have a 5g bucket under the stand that has my skimmer and acts as a mini-sump, so my total water volume is probably just shy of 30g.

07/13/2007, 06:36 PM	#12
Young Frankenstein Moved On Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Miami Florida. Posts: 3,842	Plenty of people have kept successfully mandarins Kevin, myself not yet I had 2 of them so far and they both died within a few weeks. How can you be sure it will accept normal food?

07/13/2007, 06:41 PM	#13
kevin2000 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,805	Heres a nice FAQ on Mandarins http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?s...showpage&pid=3 Most new aquarist have no clue how fast a "pod eater" can go through a pod population ... I had one tank that was "maturing" for about six months with nothing but live rock & corals .. the pods were so thick you could not believe .. one six line wrasse when through them like the Mongolians through Persia .. haven't seen a pod in that tank in over 5 yrs.

07/13/2007, 09:19 PM	#15
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	cinematek, most people here on RC are simply trying to avoid fish deaths by advising against a poster's intimated intention. I'd 2nd (3rd) the advice that a 25/30G system is just too small for a mandarin to survive in, UNLESS you got one that accepts prepared/frozen food. Fish roe is listed as a potential substitute food. It may be possible, but in my mind a system as small as yours would require a LOT of work on your part to keep a mandarin alive in. They really burn through the available pod populations in their tank, and then they starve. They are so beautiful; it's really a shame and a waste.