Entire colony of Zebra Isopods, dead suddenly.

arachnophobespiderkeeper

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 21, 2017
Messages
54
So It's been a while since i've posted here, and I'm actually posting on behalf of my friend. They don't really use forums and they're actually a bit too upset to post/think about it currently.

So they have colonies of Zebra Isopods, and today found that one of them had suddenly died. They are very vigilant in their isopod care, and made sure everything was perfect and as it should be. The isopod tank has a mesh covering, as I hear is typical, and all their food is thoroughly scrubbed and peeled before being given to them. They're given assorted vegetables, and some extra food that's a mix of foods for other inverts which they seem to love, since he tells me all the time his isopods go through it so quickly. We don't think it's the moisture, because he takes good care to keep the moisture as it should be, and the food is eaten by all colonies and only this one died, so it's likely not that. There was no sign of mites, mold, or fungus of any kind.

he's absolutely heartbroken and I was just wondering if theres any cause for them to all just suddenly die out like that? The only difference is they were in a slightly smaller container than the others, but that's because they are a much smaller colony/just starting up.

any help/input would be appreciated and will be relayed back to him.
 

Arthroverts

Arachnoking
Joined
Jul 11, 2016
Messages
2,462
Was there any rotting leaves/wood in the enclosure? Isopods are detrivores, so it is absolutely necessary to have rotting material in the form of wood and leaves for them to eat.

Was there a major temperature drop/spike or rampant fungus growth?

Thanks,

Arthroverts
 

Bob Lee

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Messages
498
So It's been a while since i've posted here, and I'm actually posting on behalf of my friend. They don't really use forums and they're actually a bit too upset to post/think about it currently.

So they have colonies of Zebra Isopods, and today found that one of them had suddenly died. They are very vigilant in their isopod care, and made sure everything was perfect and as it should be. The isopod tank has a mesh covering, as I hear is typical, and all their food is thoroughly scrubbed and peeled before being given to them. They're given assorted vegetables, and some extra food that's a mix of foods for other inverts which they seem to love, since he tells me all the time his isopods go through it so quickly. We don't think it's the moisture, because he takes good care to keep the moisture as it should be, and the food is eaten by all colonies and only this one died, so it's likely not that. There was no sign of mites, mold, or fungus of any kind.

he's absolutely heartbroken and I was just wondering if theres any cause for them to all just suddenly die out like that? The only difference is they were in a slightly smaller container than the others, but that's because they are a much smaller colony/just starting up.

any help/input would be appreciated and will be relayed back to him.
When is the last time he checked the colony?
 

Lucas339

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 28, 2009
Messages
448
How quick is "suddenly"? And did the entire colony die at once? If it was something like moisture or lack of food, the entire colony wouldn't have died instantly. If the colony slowly withered away, then yes maybe moisture or lack of food but if it happened overnight, that's a different story.
 
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