Horrified!!!

[fish fever]

I posted this in another thread but want to share it with everyoneand hope to get some support. I have a pistol shrimp and a mantis shrimp in my nano cube. They came with the LR. I can hear the some loud cracking noise. Not sure which one makes the noise. Both of them are dark greenish/brownish. The pistol shrimp has two disportional claws (one is bigger than the other). The mantis doesn't have any claws but it has two large eyes sticking out from the head and they can move in different directions. I have not seen them attacking any of the tankmates but some of my hermit crabs disappeared. We did witness one incident: one of the hermit crabs who lost all but one leg was dragged out from the shell by another hermit crab. It floated in the water and tried to get into another shell. Since it only had one leg, it was a big struggle even to move 1mm. It was a horrifying scene!!! The poor little crab did not make it to the other shell before the pistol shrimp came and dragged him under the rock......my husband and I both felt sick to our stomachs but it happened so fast we did not have a chance to do anything to save the hermit crab......so sad

 

[tizzo]

Do you have spare shells for your heremits to move into?? If not they will kill whatever is in the shell they want, be it hermit or snail.

 

[fish fever]

We have 6 empty shells in the tank. Only one crab exhanged his little house for a larger empty one. The incident happened when we put two new blue-legged ones into the tank. One of these new guys was the aggressor. Are the blue-legged ones more aggressive than others?

 

[tizzo]

That's what I hear. Almost everybody says that blue legs are the most aggressive. The only aggressor I've noticed in my tank has been that stinkin' zebra that I don't have the heart to throw outside!!

 

[milomlo]

I have about 13 or 14 crabs and I have blue, scarlet and zebra ones. They all seem to get along fine. When they sleep they all pile together in one spot.

 

[mudplayerx]

Both pistol shrimp and mantis shrimp will kill other inverts if hungry. The pistol shrimp may kill stuff just because it gets startled.

 

[mrdc]

I have a varied assortment of crabs. Emeralds, red legged, blue legged and a regular hermit. I've noticed three that are agressive. One of the blue legged, one of the red legged and the regular hermit crab. The regular hermit crab doesn't seem to hurt others but the other two have been seen as viscious. Th emean red legged is funny looking. He has this one large white claw that just seems out of place. I thought hungry may be causing the aggresiveness. I started dropping in tiny formula one pellets and they all seem very happy now. I also have several empty shells (some I put in and some have been emptied by the crabs).

 

[mudplayerx]

I don't think any cleaner hermit crab males have a large claw. Odds are if you have a hermit crab with one large claw, it is not of the "cleaner" variety and is not reef safe.
Specifically, any hermit crab that grows larger than a inch in diameter is proably a predatory species that will kill other inverts.

 

[1journeyman]

Never had any problems with my pistol shrimp.
He made his burrow kind of close to my convict Gobies hole. It's funny, because the Goby likes to see how close he can get to the Pistol's home. I always know when this is going on because of the sudden popping sounds. That's pretty much the only time the shrimp pops.

 

[mikeyjer]

My blue legged hermits killed a few of my snails for their shells, they didn't like the ones I've provided for them, they want the snail's shells instead, little buggers....They especially want the newbie snails, they leave the older ones alone though.... :happyfish

 

[sw65galma]

Maybe I've missed someone posting this..
But you do realize Mantis's will kill everything in your tank??? As they get bigger they can take down just about anything, including strong enough to break your fingers..
You migh have a Spearer, they dont' have clubs like regular mantis, but are just as harmful, They have sharp

[hr]
that they can stick right through a human finger down into the bone.
The mantis will kill everything in a matter of time.

 

[mudplayerx]

Mantis shrimp have eyes more developed than a human's too :scared:

 

[slugger]

most definitely remove the mantis. just emphasizing the inperativeness...although the bluntness, which i like, of the two previous entries should be enough to get the point across...but LISTEN TO THEM!!!

 

[toughguy80]

Originally Posted by sw65galma
Maybe I've missed someone posting this..
But you do realize Mantis's will kill everything in your tank??? As they get bigger they can take down just about anything, including strong enough to break your fingers..
You migh have a Spearer, they dont' have clubs like regular mantis, but are just as harmful, They have sharp

[hr]
that they can stick right through a human finger down into the bone.
The mantis will kill everything in a matter of time.
I was thinking this also.