Sold as both Penguin and White Side, this undescribed Cubaris is one of the easiest in the genus to keep. It is one of the three we suggest for a first Cubaris, with Panda King and White Shark, and our care panels rate it Easy and Common. Two things matter more than the rest: warmth through the colder months, and a damp end that never dries out.
Where It Comes From
Sellers give Thailand most often and Cambodia almost as often; one seller each says Vietnam and Malaysia, and several say only Southeast Asia. None of the listings we read offers a scientific description or a collecting locality, and the only accounts of where it came from are one-line seller claims that it was collected in Thailand. Every listing we read calls it Cubaris sp., and our care panel's origin reads "Southeast Asia (no locality on record)", which is as far as the evidence goes.
Several Names, Maybe More Than One Animal
Many sellers use White Side and Penguin for the same animal, German and French shops often spell it Pinguin, and one US seller adds that some call it Black Panda, a name another seller uses for a dark Panda King. Two UK sellers also list it as Orca or Orka, and one of them is the breeder our pale Moby Dick line came from. The Orca name matters on our own shelves: the Moby Dick reached us under the names Orca and Orcha, and we and its breeder believe it came from the White Side, though we have found nothing that documents it.
The name is not policed, either. One US breeder has offered a White Side line it says it fixed from its own Panda King cultures, so go by photographs of the actual animals when you buy, not by the label alone.
Is It a Form of Panda King?
Possibly. A European shop says it is believed to be the same species as Panda King. A US seller calls the two very similar and suggests the White Side is a mutation or a local form of it, and a Spanish hobby site's care sheet calls it a colour variation of Panda King. Another US seller compares it with the black form of Pak Chong instead. We found no side-by-side comparison of the animals, only these one-line opinions, so the question stays open.
What it means for your tubs is clearer. Morphs of the same species interbreed freely, so for a breeding colony keep one species, and one morph, per enclosure, and keep Penguins and Panda Kings apart: if those sellers are right, a shared tub could leave you with neither line. Our Panda King guide covers the Panda King and its colour forms.
Colour and Markings
Sellers mostly describe a dark grey to black animal with white along the edges, and some add white at the head, the tail and the underside; one UK seller gives that pattern as the reason for the penguin name. A German shop says the side marking reads anywhere from pure white to soft cream depending on the light. Our own photographs show softer animals: purple-brown to lilac-grey, dark grey on some, with each segment edged paler, paler sides and cream legs.
The pale edging is a marking on a pigmented animal, not a loss of colour, which puts the Penguin in a different group from the albino and leucistic lines. Our guide Which white isopod is which explains the difference and why it matters for breeding.
Size
Sellers put adults at 10 to 15 mm, most often about 14 mm; the smallest figures, about 10 mm, come from a Dutch shop and a UK seller. The 10 to 15 mm in our care panel is a French seller's range, which takes in the others, and we found no published measurement. Two sellers describe it as on the small side for a Cubaris, and on most sellers' figures it is larger than the White Shark, which our own listing puts at about 8 mm.
Setting Up the Tub
Our panel's 20 to 28°C is a Dutch seller's range, and its 60 to 80 per cent is a range two other sellers give. The humidity range covers the whole tub, the lower figure roughly the drier end and the higher figure the damp end. Keep about half the floor damp under a pad of live sphagnum moss and let the rest run drier. Advice on the split runs from a third damp to almost all of it, and several sellers warn against letting the tub dry out, so if you are unsure, give them more damp floor rather than less.
A few mesh vents on opposite sides let the air move without drying the tub; that is fewer than a Porcellio would want, but never none. Sellers' advice runs from a well-sealed box with adjustable vents to a wide range of airflow, so it is not fussy as long as some air moves.
For substrate, build a base of flake soil, white-rotted hardwood and organic topsoil 7 to 10 cm deep, with a thick layer of leaf litter and a few pieces of cork bark on top. Leave coir out of the base: it holds water and feeds nothing to an animal that eats its floor.
Most sellers' temperature ranges sit around 22 to 26°C, inside our wider panel, while an English home averages about 19°C through the heating season. From autumn to spring, then, a heated room sits below what most sellers give, so add a low-wattage heat mat or heat cable against one side of the tub, run through a thermostat and never placed underneath. Our guide to isopod temperatures has the home measurements behind that figure.
Feeding
Most of what they eat is the floor itself, leaf litter and white-rotted hardwood, so replace both as they are eaten away. Now and then add a thin slice of courgette, carrot or squash, and about once a week a pinch of protein such as fish flakes or crushed dried shrimp. Woodlice build a calcium carbonate cuticle, so a piece of cuttlebone or some crushed limestone should never run out. Lift out fresh food the colony has not touched before it starts to mould in the damp.
Breeding
Sellers disagree on pace. About half call it slow, some adding that it breeds well once established; a few call it moderate and a few fast or prolific. We found no published brood size or time to first young; one Italian seller gives a development period of 10 to 11 months to an adult size of up to 13 mm. Expect a quiet first few months, which is how most new Cubaris groups begin, and resist rearranging the tub while the animals find their feet.
Telling It From Similar Cubaris
- White Shark: a dwarf, about 8 mm on our listing, with a bright orange front, a pale middle and a dark rear. Our White Shark care guide covers it.
- Panda King: two clean white bands over black patterning, where the Penguin's pale marking runs along the sides and the segment edges.
- Moby Dick: our pale line, white through to cream, 10 to 12 mm by our own measurement of a settled group.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Penguin and White Side isopods the same?
Usually. Many sellers use the two names for one animal, but the label is not policed: at least one seller has offered a White Side line selected from Panda King stock. Buy from photographs of the animals themselves.
Are Penguin isopods good for beginners?
Yes. It is one of the easiest Cubaris, rated Easy on our care panel and by most sellers, and fine for a beginner, even as a first isopod, provided the tub is kept warm in winter and one end is never allowed to dry. It sits in our beginner isopods collection alongside the Panda King.
How big do Penguin isopods get?
10 to 15 mm, the range on our care panel and a French seller's; most sellers give about 14 mm.
Do Penguin isopods need a heat mat?
For a typical heated home in England, from autumn to spring, yes. A room at the heating-season average of about 19°C sits below our panel's 20 to 28°C, so fit a low-wattage mat to one side of the tub on a thermostat.
Can Penguin isopods live with Panda Kings?
Not in a breeding colony. Some sellers think the White Side is a form of Panda King, and morphs of the same species interbreed freely, so for a breeding colony keep one species, and one morph, per enclosure.
How fast do Penguin isopods breed?
Sellers disagree, from slow to prolific. Give a new group a few months before you judge it.
Buying Penguins
Start with ten or more; the Penguin isopods listing shows the packs in stock, and every Penguin we send is captive-bred.
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