Clicking????

[reef bug]

Hey Guys,
What else clicks...besides Yupi's Evil Mantis that we're following? Great thread, Yupi...Better than a soap!
I have clicking too, but don't want to jump to conclusions out of paranoia. Based on what I'm reading, I'm getting suspicious.
I have not actually seen anything, just heard; but did have a fish go missing. A seemingly healthy firefish just vanished one day last month??? At the time I assumed it was natural causes.
My clicks happen after the lights are out. They're not too loud, but loud enough to hear over the sump and TV.
The only rocks added in the past 6 months were a few small pieces that corals came in on. The largest was the size of a softball and I wouldnt suspect to be a source of hitchhiker unless it came in egg form.
FYI: I do have a small hitchiker crab living under my big center rock. I can't get out and have not been able to identify him. I've only seen his claws and left side legs. He's shaped like a Porcelain, but colors are off. I doubt he's the "clicker" At this point, he's too small to take on a fish and he has not harmed my corals so he'll remain on observation until I suspect he's guilty of a crime and banish him to sumpland. Also click seem to come form the right and he lives in the center (120 gal reef)
Any ideas?

 

[my way]

Maybe a Pistol Shrimp, but missing fish along with clicking has Mantis written all over it.

 

[reef bug]

That's what I think now too, but it wasn't until after I read that nasty manits thread.
Then I thought I was just being silly/paranoid...like when someone talks about bugs and you start to itch!

 

[renogaw]

your lr could have been a sourse of hitchikers. i got a box of LR and in the water under the rock was a baby mantis. it was only about 1/8 inch in diameter and about 2/3 inch long. luckily it wasn't in my rock and i didn't put it in my tank before getting an id on it.

 

[stingrayjs]

I have had my larger mexical turbo snails do this kinds of twist over and over and make this clicking sound. I thouigh it was a mantis the first time I heard it, but after I tracked it down to the largest snail I have which is a pretty sizable one, my worries where gone. :jumping:

 

[bigarn]

Originally Posted by StingrayJs
I have had my larger mexical turbo snails do this kinds of twist over and over and make this clicking sound. I thouigh it was a mantis the first time I heard it, but after I tracked it down to the largest snail I have which is a pretty sizable one, my worries where gone. :jumping:
Mexican turbos don't make any sound .... unless the shell was hitting the glass. :thinking:

 

[coachd]

Does the clicking happen at about the same time after your lights go out? Does it only happen once? My tank does that and I have always thought that it was coming from the lights. Something to consider. I have compact lighting on my tank.

 

[my way]

If it is a Mantis will you be keeping it?

 

[reef bug]

Thanks for the input...some things to consider.
The noise is louder than what I think any of my shelled aniamls would be able to make. I used to get that shell on glass clicking in the past when I HAD a few nasty (not reef safe) crabs. They were removed over a year ago pre-coral days. This clicking is sharper or has a higher pitch, if that makes sense.
There is no pattern to the clicking, other than happening at night. Although...if it happens during the day I'm at work, and since the tank is in the bedroom I dont really get to sit at enjoy it until late evening.
Lights; I have VHO's with an icecap ballast. They never made noise before, but I suppose its possible. It didnt sound like any "electronic" noise Ihave ever heard before. I'll try to zone in on the source better this weekend.
I'll be like Elmer Fudd on my knees in front of my tank...Be Verwy Verwy Quiet...I'm Huntin' Mantis! My husband is going to love this!
Does anyone know if mantis perfer to live closer to the sand bed or should I be looking higher up between the rocks. I have about 140 pounds of rock, lots of places to hide.

 

[my way]

When I had a Mantis I could'nt find I took some rigid airline and would hold it on the rocks as it was clicking. I finally felt it throught the tubing and removed the rock and broke it open untill I got it out. It took about a week. When they are small they could be anywhere, when they get larger, they seem to make caves under the rocks from what I've seen. I'll ask again, do you plan to keep it? I've been looking for a Mantis, preferably a Peacock.

 

[reef bug]

Coach..forgot to tell you, not only once... several clicks..few nights ago lasted for about 30 minutes after I turned the lights off. Not set frequency, just random clicks, and sometime close togther and sometimes single. My husband heard them too.
My Way...if it is in fact a mantis and I do manage to catch it... he's yours!

 

[my way]

Thanks!

 

[40 galons]

im having the same problem here for about 5 monthes now.. i hear the noise all the time , more so at night. i havent seen anything, but im always searching, i come to the conclusion from what i read that mantis have to make the sound by hitting something but pistol shrimp does it by clicking its claw together. i figure there is noway that a mantis is hitting something that often and i dont see anything dead so i think mine maybe a pistol, the onlything about that is , the fact that the dig into the sand . i dont seem to find any tunnels and i always hear it in the rocks......strange?

 

[scsinet]

You have a Mantis. The two animals that make this noise are Pistol Shrimps and Mantis Shrimps.
Pistols make the noise as a defense mechansim, to scare off anything that ventures near their caves. Pistols are usually welcome hitchhikers, they don't harm anything and are overall interesting. Mantis... well... yeah

Signs:
Pistol: Single clicks, usually after dark but can happen anytime. Sounds like a marble striking the glass. Depending on the size of the shrimp and how loudly he pops, it can be heard on the other side of the house. Burrows will usually be evident somewhere as piles of sand around the base of a rock or stony coral in the sand, as well as tunnels of varying sizes.
Mantis: Multiple clicks in a row, spaced several seconds apart, as they break open shells of creatures they want to eat. The clicks are usually one of your hermit crabs getting devoured. They can click hard enough to break apart shells or even live rock to get to hidden critters. Fish dissappear without a trace, usually overnight as the shrimp ambushes while they are asleep.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by 40 galons
pistol, the onlything about that is , the fact that the dig into the sand . i dont seem to find any tunnels and i always hear it in the rocks......strange?
Don't be too surprised. If it's a hitchhiker, he could be very small. I have a 1" Pistol in my nano, he digs pretty well. I had a huge Tiger Pistol in my big reef who would dig up the whole tank in one night. He died, but my big reef now houses a pair of tiny ones that came as hitchhikers. They are no more than 1/4" long, but they still make very loud noises I can hear in the next room. In finally located their burrows... they are so tiny you don't even notice the sand. Look for tiny tunnels at the base of a rock... no more than 1/8-1/4" across. Once you find it, vist the tank HOURS after lights out.. 3am or so, and shine a flashlight in. You'll probably see them retreating.

 

[tank watch]

my pet mantis will just start beating on his PVC pipe for no reason. I think he may be trying to enlarge it.

 

[stingrayjs]

"Mexican turbos don't make any sound .... unless the shell was hitting the glass. "
Yes that what I ment I have had mine do this twist like they are shaking something off their shells and they hit the glass a few times for a minute or two. Which makes thisnice clickclick click sound.

 

[reef bug]

SCSInet: Thanks for the "signs" info. That helps.
It was a pretty quiet weekend. Heard nothing on Friday or Saturday. Either my clicker was full or I was too tired to notice.
Heard a few clicks last night around 11:30, but still no visual signs.
Noticed something strange though....I was telling my husband how cute our basslet looks now that he's living under a coral at the opposite side of the tank from his previous home. He used to share a rock on the right side of the reef with the firefish that went missing overnight....they both slept in a very cool rock with tiny caves that only they could fit into. The basslet never ventured far from his rock and never ever to the left side of the reef. He moved to the coral on the opposite side of the tank just about the same time the firefish diappeared. He has not been back to his rock since. I wonder if something spooked him enough to give up the security of his perfect tiny cave for one that is not so secure???
The clicking is also on the right side of the tank...Coincidnece?

 

[stingrayjs]

I would take a hard look at that rock and that side of hte tank!

 

[reef bug]

The sad thing is...I should have suspected something was wrong sooner... like when the healthy firefish vanished for no reason and then his roomy or rock-mate left for a less safe home.
I also had a feather duster just vanish from that side in the past monht as well. Wonder if their disappearances could be related?
All these coinsidences are starting to pile up.