Cubaris sp. 'Red Edge Peach' Isopods for Sale

We should be straight about this one before anything else: 'Red Edge Peach' is our name for it. We searched the trade across four countries and found the phrase in exactly one place: here. No other seller lists it, no hobby reference carries it, and there is no published description, type specimen or collection locality behind it. What we have is a peach-toned line of Cubaris sp. 'Red Edge' that we have been running here, and a name we gave it so that it had one.

That matters because we have been caught by this pattern before. A cluster of our Thai Cubaris turned out to be sold under names that implied a family of related animals when the names were really just shop framing. We will not repeat it by implying that 'Peach' is an established morph other keepers recognise. It is not. It is a colour we like, in a line we hold.

The animal underneath the name

Cubaris sp. 'Red Edge' is real and widely kept - around nine independent sellers across three countries list it, generally as Thai in origin, though no collection locality has ever been recorded. The constant across every description is the red lateral margin that gives it the name. The body colour underneath is where sellers stop agreeing: blue-grey, greyish-brown, purple and violet-black all appear in print. Ours run warm-toned, soft peach through to coral, with the red skirt still clearly there.

Sizes quoted around the trade for the base animal land between 17 and 20mm. None of those is a measurement from a described specimen, because there is no described specimen.

How we run them

22 to 26°C, with one end of the tub wet enough that the sphagnum stays springy under a finger and the other dry enough to rest on. In practice they sit in the middle. Ours run about 16 to 19mm as settled adults, measured here, with no described specimen to check that against.

Cross-ventilate through mesh on two opposing sides. Substrate 6 to 8cm with white-rotted hardwood worked through it, deep leaf litter on top, cork bark laid flat for cover. Calcium stays in permanently. Protein now and then, not on a schedule.

Broods are small - several sellers say so independently and it holds true here. A settled culture ticks over steadily instead of filling the tub, so buy the number you actually want rather than expecting to multiply it quickly.

If it helps: we would rather you bought this because you like the colour of the animals in the photographs than because the name suggests something rare. The colour is real. The name is just ours.

On difficulty, the trade splits about evenly between easy and intermediate for the base animal, which is usually a sign that a species is forgiving about most things and fussy about one. Here that one thing is airflow. Get the cross-ventilation right and little else will trouble you.

A warning about the words 'red edge'

At least five unrelated animals are sold under that phrase, across two genera. Our own Porcellio echinatus 'Red Edge' is a lumpy European species with nothing in common with this one but the name, and searching those two words will bring up both. Worth a glance at the scientific name before you order either.

Inside the parcel: a ventilated cup, sphagnum kept just damp, and 20% more animals than your stated quantity. The outer box is twin-wall. We send early in the week for next-working-day delivery, and every animal is guaranteed to arrive alive.