HELP MANTI?!

[fshhub]

My question is about mantis shrimp, we've been marine for @ a year now, and recently bought a new tank(75 gallon). This is our first with lr, and recently found traces of what may be mantis shrimp(I hope not). My question is after almost 3 months, we are now ready to start moving our fish into their new home, but yesterday we found some dead crab shells( which we did not put in the tank), mostly cleaned, the shells were not damaged, just empty, and have noticed that most of the sponge near this same location has disappeared also.My question is do mantis eat sponge, and would they have damaged the crabs shell first? I hope so (this my last effort to hang on to the possibility of no mantis), but I am being real about it, assuming that it is. Is it probable that I have a mantis, or probable given the sponge that it is something else

 

[tomato clown]

I found this info for you on the mantis shrimp, if you are really concerned ask your lfs if they sell mantis traps, I know 2 of my lfs sell them.
~~ HTH ~~
Dan
Squilla- The infamous Mantis Shrimps. They possess claws so powerful that some species can crush your finger with a single blow! A curiosity best placed into an aquarium designed just for them. They need some sand to dig in and rocks to hide among. Almost any food is greedy consumed, and only sessile invertebrates may escape these incredibly voracious animals.

 

[nyyanks154]

One of the best ways to tell if you have a mantis shrimp (because youll hardly ever see him) is to listen for a clicking noise in the tank. You can also try looking for them at night, they are more active then. Another trick that might work is to put frozen or live brine in your tank, it may coax him out. All I can say is look for nooks where he might be hiding out, and keep an eye on them. good luck catching him, and for god sakes dont get your hand near him. If you find him, have advice for dealing with him but ill save that for another day. (Obviously, Ive had a mantis shrimp before. I hate them!)

 

[starfishjackedme]

I've always wanted to have one in a 10 gal. Anyway, I read on here how one guy got rid of his using a syringe full of boiling water to get him out of his hole. He just scooped him out with a net.