AAAHHHH!! Cirolanids spotted!

[techreef]

I'm beginning to think that I got the most bad-hitchhiker-cursed shipment of TBS rock in history. I spotted one .5" cirolanid back in early August and netted it out of the tank, then didn't add any fish in there until five days ago, when I added my first two fish, a carpenter's flasher wrasse and a midas blenny. immediately, two 1/8" cirolanids plant themselves on Baxter the blenny. Having never netted a big fish before from a tank, I failed miserably in netting Baxter out of the tank so I could pull the cirolanids off of him with tweezers. He went and hid in the rockwork for a day, after which he seems to have rubbed the cirolanids off of his body. That or they just got full and detached themselves.

Anyway, I feel sick that I just dumped fish into a death trap tank. I don't have a hospital/QT tank (long story) to put the fish into in an effort to starve out the cirolanids. Does anyone have any trap ideas for attracting cirolanids?? This really sucks. And Baxter's so damn cute, it made me feel like crap to see him suffering like that.

 

[marrone]

I would take out all the rock and nuke the whole tank. I would then cook the rock. This is pretty serious and you shouldn't play around with them.

Here is a link:
http://www.ronshimek.com/Animal Groups 4a Cirolands.htm

 

[Deanos]

Wow!!! And I thought ich was bad...

 

[jhale]

they are bad, but not too hard to trap.

get a tall shot glass and some fresh shrimp from a fish store.

If you place pieces of shrimp in the shot glass at night
they should go for it. you will have to monitor the glass
and pull it out when you see them inside it.
this will work, it just might take a while before you get them all.
the biggest problem is that there are fish in the tank now.
this is something that TBS rock using people have done before they stock
the tank. Good Luck, and when you catch some please take some pics and post them up. we can use them for future ID purposes.

 

[techreef]

after paying premium for it and going through a lot of hassle shipping, picking it up at the airport, and dealing with all the bad hitchhikers on this rock, I am REAL hesitant to cook this TBS rock. I know you're speaking the truth and this is tre bad, but that will be the very last option for me. I will lose my fish before i dump this rock.

I read that Doc Ron article way back when I was just reading about the hobby last year, getting geared up to get into reef tanks. And another reefer on RC is called the Cirolanid Hunter and posted a thread about his battles with these little killers. I'm super bummed and a bit scared that this could get horrible. Attracting and catching them ASAP is very important, before they mature and begin to breed. Jeez, this is like Alien.

 

[techreef]

thanks Jon. I'll do what you suggest. Do you think that multiple shot glasses would be better than just one, or would that "difuse" the attraction of the bait?

 

[jhale]

sure load them up, make the shrimp bait easier to find than the fish.

maybe a couple on the bottom of the rocks, and some at the top.

who knows where those little suckers are hiding. blech

 

[techreef]

:smash: :tank: :tank: :tank: :fight2: :Starwars:

Regulators, mount up!!!

or else me fishes get :eat:

 

[jhale]

this is one of the best threads on RC, it's by a couple who set up a beautiful tank in FL and used TBS rock. They also had to battle cirolanids and detailed it very well with pics and descriptions. It's become a HUGe thread but very worth reading imo.

jeff brigs thread,
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=708066

 

[techreef]

Here also are some pics and the Cirolanid Hunter's tale, for anyone curious.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

First, wish you the best.

Agreed, these isopods are dangerous. I think they are more dangerous than Mantis. They are steathy when not attacking.

Did you see any wounds from the blenny? Did the wounds heal?

 

[Reefer420]

i know what you mean about not wanting to cook the rock! I have TBS rock too and would never want to 'kill' it!!! I have a mantis in my tank from it though, which has been my mortal enemy for months now...

Great rock for the life you get, bad rock for the bad HH you can get.. catch 22.

Personally I would use this as seed rock- or qt it before moving it to a large tank, otherwise it would take forever to rid it of pests. It would also be great as a biotope- you really wouldn't even need to add corals if you didn't want- the stuff that comes on it is cool enough

 

[jhale]

First, wish you the best.

Agreed, these isopods are dangerous. I think they are more dangerous than Mantis. They are steathy when not attacking.

Did you see any wounds from the blenny? Did the wounds heal?

wingo is right they are no joke. at the spring frag swap Joe from atlantis aquarium gave a talk. he said in their giant reef tank that he has to scuba dive in to clean he got attacked by isopods one night, and they forced him out of the water! it took them a long time to rid the system of them.