# Return of the Isopods



## Joseph26 (Jan 26, 2010)

There was once a young frogger who, on the night of friday the thirteenth, carelessly decided to check on his dwarf white isopod culture. To his utter dismay upon opening the "deli style container" he discovered that every last one of his isopods lay dead as a doorknob on top of the media. Many a heartfelt tear was shed as he rushed to determine the cause of his failure. It appeared as though, after much trolling on dendroboard, the young frogger had successfully managed to suffocate his tiny little feeder friends. Shaken by his loss, the heartbroken young lad went about feeding his collection before taking one last look at his failed culture. Sighing in resignation, he thought he saw something he knew he should not see... but there it was again! At the froggers breath the feelers of a lone upside-down isopod appeared to twitch! As the frogger continued to blow, the isopods, one by one, slowly started twitching before flipping themselves over and walking around like nothing had ever happened. But the frogger, who knew such things should not be happening, hurriedly ran to the nearest computer where he felt compelled to iterate this haunting and eerie tale to the rest of the frogging community.





Dear spellcheck,
I am not a "trigger"
nor is this a "frothing" community.


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## guylovesreef (May 3, 2012)

hahaha thats a great story man!


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

It will happen eventually if you are too tightly sealed, usually the morning after a feeding. I'm glad they are OK. They actually may have just been playing dead. The Dwarf Whites do that a lot. I can't tell you how many times I've received a PM saying "the whites didn't survive shipping", only to be followed with a second PM saying "Never mind they are fine."


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## Joseph26 (Jan 26, 2010)

Part of the "trolling" I did was looking through a thread you started on a crashed culture way back in 2010, so I figured as much.

I'm just glad I never caved in to buying _ghost_ mantids and _vampire_ crabs... I could of ended up with a real doozy of a horror story...


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

Watch out!!! You may have undead zombie isopods!!!


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## pnwpdf (Nov 9, 2010)

Whew, that's a good feeling when you realize that the entire culture isn't dead! I've had the same thing happen with a few pink springtail cultures too.


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## WendySHall (Aug 31, 2010)

I don't think I'd put my faith in the idea that they were all playing dead at one time. I've seen a few do it here and there...but never an entire culture! I think you just got lucky and caught it in time. I would recommend venting that culture asap.


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## Joseph26 (Jan 26, 2010)

Don't worry, I poked holes in the lid as soon as I determined they weren't going to eat my brains.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

WendySHall said:


> I don't think I'd put my faith in the idea that they were all playing dead at one time. I've seen a few do it here and there...but never an entire culture! I think you just got lucky and caught it in time. I would recommend venting that culture asap.


With the Dwarf Whites and ONLY with the Dwarf Whites, I see it all the time Wendy. You jostle the box a bit and open the lid and it seems to trigger the response. Obviously, a lot of my customers have seen the same thing as I hear over and over, "thought the whites didn't make it but I guess they are just smarter than me, lol".
I have repeated seen literally thousands of Dwarf Whites all playing dead at once.
Still, I would take the "wake up call" seriously and get some ventilation.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Oh yeah, and just in case...*PUT A HELMET ON!*


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## Soldier17 (Mar 26, 2012)

I just received an order of dwarf white isopods. None of them are moving; I hope they are playing dead. How long do they usually play dead? I hope they are playing possum and not really dead. Im worried though, it is pretty warm here.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Soldier17 said:


> I just received an order of dwarf white isopods. None of them are moving; I hope they are playing dead. How long do they usually play dead? I hope they are playing possum and not really dead. Im worried though, it is pretty warm here.


It's usually only seconds...maybe 10 or 15 seconds but never for long. Put a few on top of the substrate,close the container, and walk away. If they are still on top in 5 minutes, get your money back. If they are gone in 5 minutes, all is good.


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## Ilovebugs (Jul 28, 2012)

Yep, poor guys. The dwarf white should move pretty good.


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