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Orange Isopods - Not sure if I saw what I saw......
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Orange Isopods - Not sure if I saw what I saw......
#1
Has any one ever witnessed orange isopods hunting and eating fruit flies ? I fed the frogs this morning and was watching the frogs eat, and while doing that I was watching one of the frogs down towards the bottom and leaf litter eating ff and springtails. When I saw some orange isos moving around doing their thing, I watched one isopod come up from underneath a leaf and quickly grab a ff and run back down under the leaf litter. Is there any studies or info that has been produced or written that says yes they can be carnivorous ? I have a video camera and in the next few days I will try and see if I can get a video of it just to prove what I saw this morning....
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#2
Wow. I have never heard of anything like that being mentioned or reported.

You could have mistaken that as well and seems likely if I had to guess.

How big was the Orange Iso ? Full grown adult ?

Keep us posted !
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#3
Philsuma Wrote:Wow. I have never heard of anything like that being mentioned or reported.

How big was the Orange Iso ? Full grown adult ?

Keep us posted !


Yea it was a full grown adult of good age I would imagine due to the size of it......It reminded me much like a crab or shrimp the manner which it grabbed it.
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#4
I've kept "Spanish Giant Orange" Isopods for about 4 years now and I've never seen anything odd. I only saw a couple of them that were active at night, and I use to go into my frog room pretty often at night with a headlamp. I've never even seen evidence of them eating any plants !

That said....I do tend to pluck them out of vivs, when I see them at full grown size, as no frog would ever be able to eat them at that stage. Not for any other reason.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#5
I have had them eat a few plants but nothing major, I wonder if it because I haven't added any food for them in a week or so. I usually add a banana piece for the isos and fruitflies to eat and have seen my whites,oranges explode in numbers over the last few months......I will update once I get a video I just hope my camera can focus that tight.
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#6
any follow up for this?...
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#7
Personally I think its a calcium obsession in the bugs due to the info I gathered. They are not in a calcium rich media or being fed a calcium rich diet which is needed for isos. The ff are just at the wrong place at the wrong time, Feel free to list your thoughts as well.

Michael
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#8
I know this is an old post, but I was feeding my Leucs tonight and witnessed this, twice.

I have a decent number of giant oranges in with the Leucs and can always see one or two at any given time. Michael stated that aggression in isopods may be related to lack of Ca in the substrate. My current substrate is made up from coco fiber, sphagnum, fir bark, as well as a couple years worth of leaf litter and the associated additions from the frogs and bugs in the viv. I have an ultrasonic fogger, which uses distilled water for humidity. I can see how the substrate would be devoid of most nutrients for a fully grown iso, where the only nutrient input is from cast off FF dust and frog waste.

The isos don't eat any of my orchids or broms, of which the tank is quite full. Although, when feeding the frogs tonight, one grabbed a moving fly like a trap door spider grabs prey and took it under a leaf through the chewed hole the iso came from initially.
I was a bit shocked and payed more attention. While watching, a different iso grabbed a fly larva and took it underneath a fallen leaf. Both isopods were visible from the rear and remained in the same place after taking fly and larva for a period, after which they both came out empty handed and resumed doing whatever normal isopods do.
I'm thinking that maybe I ought to supplement the microfauna in my vivs? I'd hate to see one of my thumbnail froglets get pulled into the darkness by an iso of similar size to the froglet... Anyone have any thoughts?
Mostly Pums & Thumbs
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#9
Wow. Very interesting. I always try to 'feed the bugs' in all my vivs but don't have a timetable.

Maybe Giant Orange are too much of a risk now ?
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#10
I'd hate to have to pull them from my tanks, as I only keep two types of frogs that aren't thumbs, and they're the only isopods I can ever get to stick around for any significant period of time. I've had difficulties with purples and whites... I think it deserves some looking into.
Mostly Pums & Thumbs
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#11
Again, reviving an old post, but I've been doing some non-scientific experimentation with microfauna and small feeders over the past few months. I've noticed a correlation between the number of springtails and Costa Rican purples and the number of giant oranges in the remaining vivs I still have them in.
Of the remaining vivs, all have been seeded with springs, all are supplemented with Repashy Bug Burger, none have frogs large enough to eat adult sized giant oranges (Leucs, obligates, and thumbs), and one has the Costa Rican purples.
In the beginning, I held off on adding oranges to my thumb vivs. I've noticed that before adding the oranges, I had an insane number of pink and silver springs, as well as a large quantity of purples in all of my tanks. The vivs which have never seen giant oranges generally are crawling with springs, even with froglets, pairs, and trios roaming around.
After adding the oranges, I've noticed that the number of other feeders dropped significantly. Purples are almost nonexistent and springs are hit or miss, less silvers than pinks. Now that I've been pulling any orange which has colored up from the white juvenile stages for the past few months, I've noticed that the number of springs is making a significant comeback. I even saw a purple in my Bendicta viv for the first time in over a year this week.
I am giving up on oranges, as everything in my collection is an obligate or thumb, besides my Leucs. I see no benefit to having them in my tanks when I get greater spring and purple production without them. They also occasionally nibble on plants, which is bothersome. They're great for larger species like tincs, and I'm sure Terribilis would happily munch on them, but I don't see any up side for smaller frogs when you can have springs and purples, which are also edible throughout their lifespan.
Anyone else notice anything else similar?
Mostly Pums & Thumbs
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#12
I have witnessed the orange "attacking" a fruit fly. was feeding and from under a leaf came an orange and got a fly. it happened twice in about five minutes. I got a planted tank from someone. didn't even know there was isos in it. what a surprise.
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#13
I used to culture a lot of giant orange/Spanish orange. Not anymore. The other morphs, species are just better for our hobby.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#14
Another reason to avoid Giant Orange is that they most likely will outcompete other microfauna. I'd just much rather have multi purpose isopods that are smaller and can be eaten.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#15
thanks for this thread. i was thinking about getting some orange ones, but now i'm going to hold off. if i get oranges, they will not be going in the viv.
1.0.0 husband
1.1.0 horses
2.3.0 dogs
0.0.2 Gray tree frogs
0.3.0 Azureus
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#16
They're fine for tincs. My Azureus ate the small ones. I wouldn't recommend them for thumbs and pums, though. I wouldn't discount them just because a small handful of obligate hobbyists have had bad experiences. You're keeping an entirely different type of dart.
That said, I still prefer purples. Although, the oranges are much harder to kill, thus much easier for newbies.
Mostly Pums & Thumbs
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#17
i'm just not liking the idea of the oranges eating the springtails and etc.. i don't want to have to culture even MORE food just to keep my Viv healthy.
1.0.0 husband
1.1.0 horses
2.3.0 dogs
0.0.2 Gray tree frogs
0.3.0 Azureus
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#18
The oranges do more than their fair share of clean up duty. They'll blaze through leaf litter and any edibles you decide to throw in there, just like a large colony of springtails.
Otherwise, order a good number of purples and a culture or two of pink springs and you'll be set. I've found that Repashy Bug Burger is the best way to get cultures to establish themselves in a viv. I mix small amounts into the soil on newly seeded tanks.
Mostly Pums & Thumbs
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#19
Guys I heard one report of GO taking ff here,I haven't had any real problems myself though. Just a thought,add a broken bit of cuttlefish bone to your substrate,if Calcium deficiency could possibly be a cause,this might just help. I use cuttlefish bone in all our isopod and springtai' cultures,somewhere on my room thread there is a picture showing just how much iso (these were dwarf white) go for the cuttle. Oh for springtails we grate the cuttlefish bone to make it a bit easier for them to much

seeya


Stu
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#20
Give them chicken eggshells. Worried aboot spilled dusting cup powder in the viv? Not anymore...
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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