Isopod Question

[Lick496]

Im sure this gets asked a lot but i couldnt find any threads about it.

What exactly do isopods do? Are they clean? Do Ts not eat them?

 

[gvfarns]

I've never used them, but apparently they eat leftovers and mold, and they hide. The T's apparently don't eat them because they have a chemical defense (i.e., they taste and smell bad), though I think sometimes they may get munched. They are apparently quite clean and keep the T enclosure significantly nicer than it is without them.

Maybe someone who has used them can give you more detailed info.

 

[WyvernsLair]

they are used in set ups that are kept on the very damp/humid side or those that are prone to mite infestations. Isopods like damp enviornments just like mites do. They eat the same stuff that mites do. The isopods work to clean up the organic left overs in the tarantula's cage and that is what helps keep mites in check.. the isopods will eventually out compete the mites for the available food. Tarantulas usually leave them alone and the isopods don't cause any trouble for the T's.

 

[gvfarns]

How about throwing in them in a roach colony? That's the place that gets the most moist, smelly, and nasty in my collection. Do they eat the baby roaches or anything bad like that?

 

[Lick496]

So how many would i need to put in every enclosure? I mostly worried about controlling mold in my sling enclosures.

 

[Tuwin]

You don't want to put them in the roach enclosures because they will eat all the frass and that's what the baby roaches feed on.

I put about 5 in all my big tarantula cages and put about 3 in my smaller tanks and they all bred and now i have a bunch in there...they work great at eating left over dead food.

My 2 1'' B. Smithi's eat them like crazy and i can't keep them in there tanks. They munch them all, everytime. No other T i have eats them.

In dry tanks just overflow the water dish a tiny bit and they will live under the dish and come out to clean up when they need to

I LOVE'em in my tanks

 

[Hornets23]

Can you put them with crickets?

 

[ShellsandScales]

I like using iso's too but more than just my smithi's eat them. Most of my smaller juvenile T's eat them once in a while I think its a size thing maybe. I would maybe hold off on using them with slings until they get a little larger.

 

[Le Wasp]

I doubt they have much of a chemical defense since they're a favorite food of ground dwelling wolf spiders. Larger tarantulas seem to ignore them, but my small B. boehmi seems to like to eat them. They're great for keeping mold down. Even with all the food that goes into feeding my giant millipede, with the pillbugs in there, not much mold grows.

I don't think they're much to worry about in a roach cage either. Unless you dump several handfulls of them in there, they're not going to be able to eat all the frass that roaches produce.

 

[Senses-Tingling]

I keep several species of roaches and several species of iso's. I put iso's in with my roach species that have a damp substrate. So, I don't use them with my lobsters, dubias, and discoids because I don't use substrate with them.
I don't use them with my milli's because there is speculation that they will feed on milli eggs and I don't want to take the chance.
The key to using them with T's is to use species that are too small to be considered food. Use the dwarf white iso's with 1"+ slings and juvies. Use normal-sized iso's with adult T's.
In general, a T will eat an iso that is big enough to be considered food. I am not aware of any chemical composition in iso's that make them undesirable as prey. They don't have, for example, formic acid like ants have to deter predators.
They will do an amazing job keeping mold at bay in a moist environment and they clean up refuse. There is a reason they are called "Tank Maids".

 

[Brian S]

Contact OldHag here on this site. She is the expert's expert when it comes to Isopods

 

[WyvernsLair]

Can you put them with crickets?

Crickets have to be kept dry. Isopods have to be kept in damp enviornments.

 

[reverendsterlin]

I do put them with my dubias, they help keep the fruit fly population down by eating left overs and I get enough frass not to worry about any they eat. They have gills so they need real moist environments to do well but there are so many pill bugs in my part of the country that I can catch I never worry about it (they breed well in my Hap enclosures). Small size and hard shell prevent predation for the most part, chemical defense I am not positive but doubt.
Rev

 

[gvfarns]

Hmmm. I've seen the isopod chemical defense mentioned on a number of threads here on arachnoboards, but always in an uncertain way...like they heard it from someone else, who heard it from someone else. I can't seem to find any evidence of it outside the site, so it may well be heresay.

Anyone know for sure whether isopods have any sort of chemical defense against being eaten?

 

[Tuwin]

I don't know but my B. smithi's eat them non-stop so they either don't have one or my B. smithi's don't care hehe

 

[fishwithoutabik]

nifty. so I can basically catch some roly polies from outside and toss them in the moister containers? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what it seems like you guys are saying..

 

[reverendsterlin]

nifty. so I can basically catch some roly polies from outside and toss them in the moister containers? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what it seems like you guys are saying..

That's what I do, note that I don't need to worry about pesticides where I live. I'll say that I haven't noticed them being eaten, maybe it has happened but...
A piece of carpet, plastic, or plywood tossed on the ground (after wetting) can really help concentrate the little bugs for easy collecting.
Rev

 

[Tuwin]

nifty. so I can basically catch some roly polies from outside and toss them in the moister containers? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what it seems like you guys are saying..

Yup. That's what i do