To catch a mantis??

dcm22

dcm22

Member
Lately I have been hearing a loud clicking noise in my tank. I have seen a large white crab(3-4 inches across) with one huge claw and one small claw. Question is if he is making the noise or if I have a mantis. I rarely ever see this crab. How does one catch either this large crab or find out if I have a mantis. This tank has been set up for over three years. I have only added fish in the last year or so. No new rock or anything.:confused:
 
buzz

buzz

Active Member
Could be a pistol shrimp, and not a mantis. There have been a lot of posts on this subject. You may want to do a search through past posts. Have you found anything dead in your tank? Snail shells cracked, etc?
Am I hearing you right - you have a crab 3-4 inches across in your tank and you don't know how it got there? How big is your tank?
 
dcm22

dcm22

Member
My tank is 150. When I original bought the live rock several years ago he showed up about a year after set up. My turbo snails disappear once in a while but the shells dont appear to be cracked. I have a ton of blue legs and scarlets and I have heard they will kill the snails for their shells. It really never concerned me because the snail dont have a lot to clean anyway. The crabs do a fabulous job. How do I capture this critter or should I just leave him in??
 
buzz

buzz

Active Member
If what you hear is a pistol shrimp, leave him in...he shouldn't be a problem. If you're not sure, you can try to trap a mantis, but it isn't that easy.
I don't know enough about this crab to say whether it is the culrpit, or even a problem. Does he look like a regular crab? More like a spider crab? Sounds maybe like an anemone crab, or a porcelain crab, but bigger...any further description you could give may help.
 
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