mantis shrimp

[wfd1008]

i'm not sure if it's a mantis shrimp or not, but when lights go out i keep hearing a loud "clicking" coming from one of my reef tanks. one night i thought i saw some eyes in a piece of L.R., but it didn't stay still long enough to know for sure. so my question is, "is it a mantis shrimp, and if so, is it harmful to a reef tank." i've had it running for awhile and none of my corals seem to be going south. if it is, what's the best way to get rid of him, or do i even need to? the clicking really doesn't bother me, but the ol' wife can't stand it. what should i do?

 

[1journeyman]

"Popping" can be either a Mantis or Pistol Shrimp.
Mantis are harmless to corals. "Popping" mantis will wipe out your shrimps, snails, etc.

 

[wfd1008]

how would i find out which it is? i've got some snails in there, but it doesn't seem that they are dissappearing at a high rate. if it's a pistol, is it harmful?

 

[1journeyman]

A pistol? Probably not.

 

[wfd1008]

k, so how do i catch him? i've never even really seen him. just hear him every night. or should i even try to catch him? do they do any good for a tank?

 

[1journeyman]

A pistol won't hurt ya. In fact, they can pair up with certain Gobies and make interesting pets.
A Mantis is a nightmare to attempt to catch. There are some traps and methods out there, but realistically your best bet is to pray it's not one!

 

[wfd1008]

GREAT. Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll just blow up the tank. That should take care of the little SOB

 

[perfectdark]

They are nasty SOB's... "you tube" mantis shrimp.. I have never seen anything like it... WOW..

 

[newbesalt]

I know its hard but you need to locate it usually a hole in your live rock.Once you do narrow it down,pull the rocks out and put them in some freshwater for a few minutes ....he will come out due too the change of saltinity.What little die off on the rock if any is better than the mantis. Don't leave it in there,it will kill again and again.otherwise if you know which hole you can put a skewer and stab it.I've had too do it both ways.

 

[jkcrumb]

Originally Posted by PerfectDark
They are nasty SOB's... "you tube" mantis shrimp.. I have never seen anything like it... WOW..

I just watched the "youtube" video...........OMG..........Im gonna start "pray"ing now that one never finds one into my tank..........she looked cute in the beginnig then turned out to be one bad bit*h.........reminded me of a few of my past girlfriends....

 

[donald]

If you here single snaps then you more than likley have a pistol shrimp, if you here rapid snaping then you have a mantis. Good luck, I hope it's a pistol, they are very cool, they won't hurt anything

 

[jawdubb]

after watching these vids I really want one. Can you keep a mantis in your refugium? I have nothing in mine but some chaeto and a few hermits. I am amazed at the way they attack and would love to be able to watch one in person.

 

[zeroc]

yes people keep mantis shrimps, in their own tanks. if you have a glass fuge you might want to think twice because it could break the glass. Or you can sell it, if it's a pretty one people will pay decent money, my LFS sells them for about 60 bucks and they're not even the super colorful ones. If you have thin glass fuge you can get a decent sized tupperware and poke holes (big enough to get flow and food in the container but small enough so he won't get out) in it and put some rock in there and keep him in there until you find him a home if you're not going to keep him.

 

[emm0909]

Try to get him out alive. He doesn't deserve to die. But I would just wait it out. See if things start dying where he's hanging out. If nothing seems to be goign wrong then just let whatever it is alone.

 

[nick76]

Try to find the mantis at night with a flashlight and a red lens, make sure the room has been pitch black for about and hour. Then u can go scanning.

 

[wfd1008]

well, just watched the vid on youtube, and i think from the way it sounds, i've got a mantis. it's been in there for about four months and nothing has died off yet, or come up missing, so for now, live and let live. if worse comes to worse, i'll decon the rock it's in.

 

[chattown clown]

I used a mantis trap (bought from this site) to catch mine. It took some patience, but eventually I caught him by putting mysis in the trap. Now he has his own tank.
By the way, mine was in there for a very long time before I noticed a fatality. Once he gets low on bristle worms something larger will be sought. My peppermint shrimp was my first noticed fatality.

 

[wfd1008]

so they like to eat bristle worms, he might become my friend.

 

[drea]

if you can't catch him, kill the fkr, its a shrimp, yeah i would feel bad, but really there are people dropping dead like flies, don't over think killing a pest in your tank!!!!
i ate like 50 shrimp the other day, lol

 

[chattown clown]

Actually, it isn't a shrimp. It is a stomatopod. They are very entertaining to keep (in their own tank). Just buy the $12 trap; it will work with patience.