Powder Blue Isopods (Porcellionides pruinosus)

There is little else in a typical isopod collection quite like the colour of a Powder Blue. Where most isopods sit in greys, browns or the familiar oranges, these wear a soft, dusty blue-grey that catches the light, and in the days before a moult it can flush to an almost metallic sheen. Add a fast, forgiving, hard-working temperament and it is easy to see why the Powder Blue is one of the most universally recommended isopods in the UK hobby.

Introduction

The Powder Blue is Porcellionides pruinosus "Powder Blue", a small, widely-kept woodlouse from the Mediterranean and beyond, and one of the original and best-loved of the Powder morphs. It belongs to a whole line of P. pruinosus colour forms that share its name and its easy nature, among them Powder Orange, Oreo Crumble and Orange Dalmatian. You will also see it listed as Blue Powder or simply P. pruinosus "Blue". Beneath the good looks it delivers the real appeal of the species: it is about as bulletproof, prolific and hard-working as isopods come.

Appearance

Powder Blues are small, reaching a little over 1 cm, with a fine, powdery texture over a dusty blue-grey base that shifts toward silver or steel and takes on that metallic look before moulting. Unlike the pill-type isopods, Porcellionides do not roll into a ball; they are lean, quick and built to bolt for cover instead. That speed comes with a real bonus for a keeper: they are notably active by day, out and scurrying across the surface, so unlike most isopods you will genuinely see them going about their business rather than just knowing they are there.

Care

Care could hardly be simpler, which is a large part of why Powder Blues are so widely recommended to first-time keepers. They are remarkably adaptable and forgiving of a range of conditions: normal UK room temperature suits them, and they prefer a moderate rather than soaking enclosure with good ventilation, so there is none of the humid, still air a cave Cubaris demands. Give them a nutritious substrate built on flake soil, white-rotted hardwood and organic topsoil rather than inert coco coir, keep a layer of leaf litter and some bark on top for cover, and provide a calcium source such as cuttlebone for healthy moulting. Our substrate guide and calcium guide cover the essentials, though honestly, that is most of it.

Diet

As detritivores, Powder Blues do the bulk of their feeding on leaf litter and decaying wood, and being such active, hungry animals they work through it quickly, which is exactly what makes them so effective as a clean-up crew. Supplement with the odd vegetable and a little protein such as fish flake or dried shrimp, and clear away anything uneaten before it moulds. Adding springtails rounds out the micro clean-up team nicely, and our guide to what isopods eat has the full diet.

Breeding

If you want an isopod that multiplies, this is one of the best. Powder Blues breed quickly and readily: give a healthy group stable, well-fed conditions and a colony builds fast, with no special effort required. That prolific nature is what makes them such a dependable clean-up crew, and a handy soft-bodied feeder culture for small reptiles and amphibians into the bargain.

Who is this for?

It is hard to think of a keeper the Powder Blue does not suit. Beginners get one of the most forgiving, fast-establishing and inexpensive introductions to the hobby, and our beginner's guide covers the wider setup. Bioactive keepers get a tireless, quick-working clean-up crew for almost any moderate-humidity enclosure. And anyone tired of isopods that hide gets a genuinely surface-active, watchable species in a colour nothing else in the collection shares. Browse the rest of the Powder line in our Porcellionides collection, or pair them with other easy classics like our best-selling Rubber Ducky and the bombproof Dairy Cow.

Your Powder Blues are bred here in the UK and travel under our live arrival guarantee, tucked into sphagnum moss in a ventilated deli tub inside a double-walled box. We send Monday to Thursday only, so nothing is left waiting in the post across a weekend.