I've had to post a youtube thingy because I can't do photos, but these little horrors have appeared in my "delinquent snail bowl" (I have an unheated bowl that I tip extra "stowaway" snails into as they appear in the tank, just to keep the numbers down. I squash the tiny ones, but anything bigger goes in there because
. . .
Anyway - I'd been wondering what had happened to all the snails - there should have been about 30,000 in there by now and there are only three (not complaining - just curious) when what looked like an underwater woodlouse shot across my field of vision. There are at least two of them. They are dis-GUSTING!
I googled "freshwater crustaceans/ isopods" and this the above came up. This is what they are. It appears that they are harmless and are purely scavengers.
I don't care.
They make my skin crawl.
I can only think that they hitch-hiked in on plants. The snailarium has been up and running for about 8 months, though I must admit I don't check it very often - it is mostly a conscience-salver for me as I don't want karma to hit me too hard next time around. There don't appear to be any in my tank - but would I know? They are very fast and dart about, and they bury themselves under the gravel. I've moved the bowl outside (in case they can fly
) and my whole instinct is to invest in a flamethrower.However I'm wondering why they aren't in the main tank. Are they coldwater only - is it too warm for them (in which case, Thank you, Jesus!). Could they just be hiding? It's only a small, two-foot tank and we spend a lot of time watching what goes on in it (especially the shrimps, which are a comical bunch) so I would have thought we would have seen at least some sign of them. Could the fish be eating them as they are born? Is seems that some people actually pay for them, both as fish food and as tank scavengers. To me they are only slightly less repulsive than cockroaches and I can't imagine why anyone in their right mind would want them.
The plants in the snailarium are a few broken off pieces from those in the main tank - they don't have anything different, except there is a lot of that thick green blanket algae in the snail thing. The main tank is kept neat and clean by three nerites and a busy little troupe of armano shrimp.
