Parasitic Isopod!!

[Enkidu]

My blue tang that I've only had a few days (but is eating everything it sees which is awesome) has one of those alien-looking parasitic isopods on his tail. So far its just him, the true perc clown doesn't have any on him that I can tell. Does anybody have any suggestions for removing these little bastards from my tank? I'll try to take a picture . . .

 

[jmeader]

A fresh water dip will often do the trick.

 

[Terry B]

A 45 minute formalin dip will work if a FW dip doesn't. Does this parasite stay attached to the fish or does it leave when the lights go on? There is a type that attacks fish at night after the lights go on. They are very nasty and tough to get rid off. I suggest that you get rid of it ASAP before it can reproduce. Did your fish come in with it or just recently become infected? Some of these buggers have to be pulled off. Keep an eye on the wound for signs of infection.
Terry B

 

[Mouse]

quite a while ago i set up a tank with an undergravel filter, crushed coral sand (dry from a bin) and tufa rock. I left the tank to cycle for a couple of weeks and to my surprise i had some of these parasitic isopods in the system. I still to this day am absolutely amased at how they managed to get in there. Everything was dry, and the water was mixed up with RO. Good job i actually never got round to adding any fish.

and again more

 

[Enkidu]

Well, upon further inspection it looks like the tang had two others on it but they were much smaller than the big one on its tail. By the time the light turned off last night the tang had lost the big one and only the two smaller ones remained. I'll check him out when I get home today and get ready to do a freshwater dip if he still has them. Thanks for your help guys, I'll keep you posted.

 

[Terry B]

Mouse,
Are you sure that you are not seeing Copepods instead?

Enkidu,
That sounds bad. You better get them off the fish quick. The adult may have dropped of the fish to reproduce. SOme of these nasties are really tough to get rid of. If you have a FO tank without inverts, live rock or live sand I would treat the tank with hyposalinity.
Terry B

 

[Enkidu]

Dang, I hope that thing doesn't intend to reproduce. When I got home last night it didn't have any isopods on it, which is good. I really hope they're not reproducing . . .

I did a search and someone said that a cuban hogfish would eat them. Does anybody have any experience with those guys?

Oh, BTW the tank has lots of hermits and snails in it as of last week so many treatment methods are out of the question. Thanks again guys!

 

[Terry B]

There is an uncommon type of parassitic isopod that does reproduce in an aquarium and if it gets a foothold you will have no choice but to treat it. Treating it is not easy. I would remove all inverts and use hyposalinity quickly. Get up tonight long after the lights go out with a flashlight. Check and see if the buggers are on the fish while they are sleeping.
Terry B