Id?

superhero

superhero

Member
Hey i jsut was looking at my tank and i noticed this alien bug type looking thing sticking out of the rock my yellow pollops are on. It is about an inch long and it moves very quickly, it has antenanas and it has ball like eyes like a fly. it is black with some white spots and is very skinny and long. any help on the id would be a great help! (Sorry about the pics my camera stinks) I was thinking a mantis shrimp, but i have no idea. Also i couldnt get a pic of him, but there is some snail/slig liek thing too, he is about the size of a quarter but and oval about 1/2 the width and today he was letting out something in the water through this "Mouth" he was jsut like puffing it out i will post a pic as soon as i see him.
 
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thomas712

Guest
Congratulations you have a mantis shrimp in the tank.
Say goodbye to all your cleanup crew, and they can even go after your fish.
Be very careful, these guys can pack a punch. They either stab or punch and stun their victoms. Oh and these guys are very smart, they watch your every move, there eyes are absolutly amazing things, the hubble telescope can only wish it has lenses like these.
I suggest you start with the search function, then a google search.
Thomas
 
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spike_501

Guest
there are some ways of getting rid of the shrimp....such as pooring gasoline into the tank, this will kill him....only it will kill everything else 2. iv been reading a book 4 ya and it mainly recommends lifting the rock that it is hiding in out of the water (makes it sound easy), or as a last resort, push scissors/clean screw driver and do it the old fashioned way by impaling or decapitating it, it says they are very intelligent (sods law) and they will avoid traps set for them, so it may be best to not mess around with traps and to save your tank valuable time. just to worry you even more, a bloke at my local fish shop had a mantis shrimp in a plastic container so that people could see what they looked like and he said that it is possible that they could crack the side of a fish tank by punching! they are that strong!
Good luck and please let me know how u get on
 
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spike_501

Guest
one more thing, the book says to wear strong rubber gloves while putting your hands near it to aviod injury
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Just from the pics(and a bit of imagination) it does appear to be either a mantis or some type of pistol shrimp. I'd urge you to research both to better determine what it is before you take any drastic action. There is a lot of info on them available on-line.....:thinking:
 
superhero

superhero

Member

Originally posted by Thomas712
Oh and these guys are very smart, they watch your every move, there eyes are absolutly amazing things, the hubble telescope can only wish it has lenses like these.
Thomas

YA i was looking at their eyes and they are the coolest looking things ever! tis so weird. the weird thing is that i have had taht rock that he is living in for ayout 1 month I actually ordered it from SWF.com!! and i know ehy come from florida lr and all i have is some dry stuff and figi so it had to come from SWF.com. Also , i haent noticed anything gone. I have had 3 crabs for the longest, and 2 peperment shrimps and they havent beeen gone, the only thing i can think of is my emerald crab and i havent seen himfor a while(would they erat an emerald crab). so i will do some recearch and find out some ways to take him out. Also do most LFS take mantis shrips if you catch them??. thatnks for all your help, and wish me good luck:happy: :happy: :happy:
Just from the pics(and a bit of imagination) it does appear to be either a mantis or some type of pistol shrimp

is this pistoil shrip bad also or could i leave it in there if it is a pistol shrimp???
a bloke at my local fish shop had a mantis shrimp in a plastic container so that people could see what they looked like and he said that it is possible that they could crack the side of a fish tank by punching! they are that strong!

what size tank would i need if i wanted to keep him? would say a 12 gallond be ok its one of thise eclipse series (My first aquarium:happy: :happy: )
Alos i was looking at some stuff online and i found that these guies can light up there is a sight witha a viedo if any one is interested flourscent mantis
 
cowfishrule

cowfishrule

Active Member
they call em thumbsplitters for a reason...
they can also crack the glass on a normal tank if they strike it accidently, i would say to keep them in an acrylic tank.
 
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