Giant Isopods

There is a video doing the rounds. The scene is dark and murky, the deep ocean. In the image a huge isopod lurks, a shark swims into the shot, looking to take the meal the isopod is consuming. As the shark gets closer the isopod leaps attacking the shark. Is it defending its meal, or hoping for a second one? We know so little about these deep sea creatures, that we can't even answer that. In a few similar videos, the shark escapes, in one it isn't so lucky.

It's not 100% clear which species of Giant Isopod is in the videos, they are Bathynomus sp. At present, we think Bathynomus giganteus is the largest species, but in the depths of the oceans, there is so much we don't know. There may be other larger species that we've yet to capture.

 It might surprise you to know that it is possible for these isopods to live in an aquarium, but we're not talking about your average fish tank. Several public aquariums around the world have successfully kept Giant Isopods. Although it is a challenge. In 2014 Toba Aquarium reported one of their males had died after a 5 year hunger strike. The crustacean had lived happily alongside others of its group for 2 years before going on its self-imposed hunger strike. It can be 7 years between poops for these isopods, which are more realistically the size of a small dog, rather than the huge beasts the media make them out to be. So a 5-year hunger strike isn't that unusual, other Bathynomus species have had longer between feeds, and survived to tell the tale. When you come from a world of cold and dark you have to be able to survive long enough to stumble across a meal when something dies far above and is large enough that some of it makes it all the way to the ocean floor.

 But few of us have the space for a tank that is large enough. Add to that they need to be kept dark and cold, very cold, around 4ºC. This means you'd need to be running something colder than your fridge, in the open in the middle of your living room. Either you'd need to live in eternal cold or have an electricity bill to rival a small village.

A giant isopod you can keep at home.

 Never fear, there is a great option if you want a large species of isopod. Porcellio Expansus La Senia Isopods. No, they don't get to 40cm long, but a more manageable 5cm. They like warmer temperatures than 4ºC, and like to live in leaf litter, rather than the ocean depths.

 That all means you can keep them in a more manageable enclosure. Something that can form a display case on a shelf, or on your desk. They can be aggressive to each other, so you don’t need to start with a large colony. But they do need space to get away from each other.

If you’re new to keeping isopods then Porcellio Expansus Orange is another wonderful choice. They are more versatile than many other species of isopod, able to live in a wider range of temperatures and humidities, as shown by their wide native range. These are a large species, getting to about 3.5 cm, so they’re smaller than Porcellio Expansus La Senia but not by much.

Sitting between these two comes Porcellio hoffmannseggii, as with all Porcellio species they are aggressive to each other, so be aware of that. These guys thrive in a drier environment than some others but get to around 4cm.

Where do these isopods come from?

The individuals you will get come from our own captive-bred stock. That means that they haven't travelled too far to get to you, instead these have been bred in England. But for their native range check out each of their listings to get more information.

Giant isopods at home

 Whilst the idea of keeping a shark-eating crustacean at home may seem amazing, it's probably not a great idea in the long run. Plus the Porcellio expansus orange isopods above could eat a shark, as long as you cut it up into very small pieces, and fed it to them gradually over several years. But they'd give it a go.