How often do you see your isopods?

schmiggle

Arachnoking
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
2,220
I usually find these under loose bark on a rotting log in the wild; occasionally I'll see a couple under a rock. Many of our favorite animals on here prefer to hide; however, with a predator you'll see it whenever it comes out to eat, so it's not a big deal. Seems like isopods would almost never be coming out to eat, though, so you would almost never see them. I don't want to be opening the tank and rummaging through it every time I want to see my pets, since that feels like a high level of disturbance, though correct me if I'm wrong on that front.

I could imagine two ways this would not be the case. One is that you leave the food out in the open, so when the isopods go after it you see them. The other is that isopods generally hide during the day but explore at night. Are either of these more or less what happens? Is there something else that I'm not thinking of? Or is it just that every time you want to see some of your isopods, you have to open the container?
 

moricollins

Arachno search engine
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 15, 2003
Messages
3,687
The only time I see mine is when I open their containers and lift the hiding places away lol.

Mine are setup in non-transparent containers, so I knew what I was getting into :)
 

Salmonsaladsandwich

Arachnolord
Joined
Jul 28, 2016
Messages
633
If you have a large group of them you'll see them crawling around all the time.

In my experience A. vulgare is particularly active. Even in the wild I often see them crawling around out in the open on cool or cloudy days.
 

Polenth

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 29, 2018
Messages
460
I didn't see them much when I was first started my colonies, because five woodlice in a large tank aren't easy to spot. But a few months down the line, most species will be plentiful and very easy to see. The exception are soil-dwelling species like Trichorhina tomentosa, because they tend to stay in the soil if they can.
 

Aquarimax

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Messages
1,086
The only time I see mine is when I open their containers and lift the hiding places away lol.

Mine are setup in non-transparent containers, so I knew what I was getting into :)
I usually find these under loose bark on a rotting log in the wild; occasionally I'll see a couple under a rock. Many of our favorite animals on here prefer to hide; however, with a predator you'll see it whenever it comes out to eat, so it's not a big deal. Seems like isopods would almost never be coming out to eat, though, so you would almost never see them. I don't want to be opening the tank and rummaging through it every time I want to see my pets, since that feels like a high level of disturbance, though correct me if I'm wrong on that front.

I could imagine two ways this would not be the case. One is that you leave the food out in the open, so when the isopods go after it you see them. The other is that isopods generally hide during the day but explore at night. Are either of these more or less what happens? Is there something else that I'm not thinking of? Or is it just that every time you want to see some of your isopods, you have to open the container?
Several factors will influence how visible your isopods are. As Salmonsaladsandwixh has said, a large number of isopods will be much more visible than a small one. This is partly just that the probability of seeing isopods roaming around increases with numbers, but they also seem to become less shy, perhaps because it is more challenging to find food in a larger colony. Species definitely plays a role as well.

Some of the most ACTIVE species I keep include Porcellio laevis, Porcellio ornatus, Porcellionides pruinosus, and Armadillidium maculatum. If you want to see your isopods, get a large colony going of one or more of these species.

Some of the most secretive species I keep include Porcellio dilatatus, Trichorhina tormentosa (as Polenth said above), and Armadillidium sp. ‘Magic Potion’.
 
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