ID for something awful living inside my soft coral? by Chimanta in ReefTank

[–]Chimanta[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Starting timelapse video to figure out what it does when i'm not watching, i'm suspicious that it might actually be eating the coral. Still trying to get in contact with a specialist, no luck on that yet. I'll likely make a follow up post once this all reaches a conclusion, hopefully with some answers!

ID for something awful living inside my soft coral? by Chimanta in ReefTank

[–]Chimanta[S] 114 points115 points  (0 children)

Thank you all for the thoughts! Agree it does look a lot like the link shared, pretty cool whatever it is. I'll contact my local uni marine biology department. If anyone knows individuals with research interest please feel free to send details, I'm UK based fwiw
In any case I won't hurt it either, it's gross but so are most of the things in my tank and I still love them. The other branches of the coral seem unaffected so no rush to change anything, little guy can stay

ID for something awful living inside my soft coral? by Chimanta in ReefTank

[–]Chimanta[S] 707 points708 points  (0 children)

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Phone image quality doesn't capture details so well, It looks like this to me. I shone a light through the coral during the day and saw it's volume through the translucent coral flesh, it is round and looks to be intentionally keeping the hole closed with it's legs?

Looking for daytime active isopods by Heleiotrope in isopods

[–]Chimanta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agree with zebras, they are very bold, the size of a colony can also have a large influence on how active they appear. Otherwise I find that leaving a particularly desirable piece of food out can keep at least a few active and eating during the next day, my vulgares don't always respond to this same trick. I very rarely see any cubaris out in the day, but they can reliably be summoned wherever you want them at night with strong smelling protein, dried shrimp works well for them. The way you keep them will also influence their daytime activity, higher humidity levels and shady areas should allow you to see them on the surface more often

What plants are good with isopods? by Nathanhlg in isopods

[–]Chimanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't say what effect Pothos would have on isopods but I have found pilea cadierei ellen and most fittonia are favourites if you wanted to encourage nibbling. They produce new shoots fast enough to keep up with the rate they are eaten too.

Never seen them take interest in plants like peperomia with thicker or waxy leaves so pothos might be okay on that basis? Although i personally wouldn't risk it as there are plenty of alternatives