10/04/2026
I donāt carry Sakuraās but Iām interested to hear what the isopod experts figure out! I also applaud Figgās Fauna ās stance on holding off on sales until more is known.
I am removing Cubaris sp. āSakuraā from my availability until further notice.
There are ongoing concerns within the isopod hobby regarding the origins and true lineage of Sakura isopods. Some claims suggest that Sakura may not have originated from the Red Pak Chong lineage and could instead represent an isolated line of Cubaris murina. Cubaris murina "Papaya" are a pink variant of the Cubaris murina line and have been available for a long time in the hobby. Additionally, I've seen claims that Red Pak Chong isopods may not even derive from the original Pak Chong species at all. These claims are under investigation by people much smarter than I and should be treated as working hypotheses rather than facts until publicly accessible data is available to clarify the matter.
The earliest declaration of Cubaris sp. āSakuraā that I have been able to find, was made by Tropical Isopods on May 22, 2024. In that post, Tropical Isopods stated that they had isolated the line separately from the "Cherry Blossom" line using their own albino Red Pak Chong line since 11/2023.
Due to the various claims and hype from the community, I no longer feel comfortable standing behind the Sakura isopod, until peer-reviewed scientific data gives us the facts. Hopefully science will prevail and help us all understand this hobby in greater detail. If anyone has any interesting evidence to add, I'd love to see it to help educate myself further!
