Cleaner shrimp met his maker

[MPeer]

Got home today and found my beloved cleaner shrimp dead. He's gone the way of his crustacean buddies before him. I'm not sure what killed him as he was eating today before I left. I hope it's not some evil hitchiker that I have yet to discover. Although, I always here these clicking sounds since the inception of the clean up crew and have always thought the clickings were due to snails twisting their ligaments. Perhaps, the dreaded dare I say MS or PS?

 

[TurboRobert]

Are you sure he did not shed his coat. Mine does it all the time. Where did you get your live rock from?

 

[MPeer]

Nope he's really dead. He is still in the tank with some of his body gone.

If this is a either mantis or pistol, what would be the method to catch them at night? Although wouldn't his body be completely gone if the culprit was either of the two?

I got my live rock from a very reputable LFS, but it wouldn't matter where I got it because you can't control what hitchhikes onto your rocks, right?

 

[TurboRobert]

That is correct. The origin of the rock, for instance Fiji or Caribbean was what I meant. My friend received mantis from the Caribbean rock he had bought and they say that the mantis is almost always in the Caribbean rock. I have a rather large pistol shrimp in with my cleaner and he is fine. There are many forms of Mantis though. I heard a half inch one could kill a whole tank of fish. You may have a small one that could not eat the whole shrimp in one shot.

 

[MPeer]

My rocks are from Tonga and Indonesia. I'll probably stake out tonight to see if there's anything interesting.

 

[nikon187]

do you hear any clicking at night?

 

[TurboRobert]

He said he heard a clicking. Through some food in at night. Get a flash light and be very very quite.

 

[MPeer]

Yes, day and night.

 

[singold]

I have a Pistol Shrimp & Cleaner Shrimp, also. No problems so far. My PS is paired up with a Watchman Goby, so the Goby probably feeds it.

 

[ACBlinky]

You might have a hidden predator, or the shrimp may have been old (not sure how large they get or how long they live), but don't discount other things either - I lost a cleaner to a bubble coral once. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

The shrimp walked over, then onto the coral. It stung the shrimp, pulled it in, partially swallowed it, and then spit it out - too late for the poor shrimp.

 

[MPeer]

The only corals I have are two good size colonies of zoas, one small zoa frag, a small candy cane with three heads, and small frag of ricordea. None of them as big as your bubble coral.

This is going to frustrate the hell out of me. Since I have very little coral and just two fish, I am seriously considering taking all the rocks out and doing a thorough rinse in carbonated water. This was the suggestion by Shimek in his book, Marine Invertebrates. What does everyone think?

 

[tmz]

You could try to trap it before taking everything down. I've used ap;astic type box trap trap with sucess to remove peppermints. Another way is to make a small bag out of panty hose material will some krill inside. The shrimp is likely to get caught in the mesh. I haven't tried this one but several have had succes.

 

[FapMan]

if its mantis ill take it

 

[MPeer]

I think I know where the hole or den that this supposed predator is hiding. So, the dead cleaner shrimp is still in the tank. Initially it was moving with the flow along the substrate, but somehow it's in a hole now and I was able to see with the lights out and flashlight something moving the dead carcass deeper into the hole.

So now that I've found the den where this killer is hiding, should I take the rock out and rinse it in carbonated water or do I set a trap like TMZ suggested?

I wouldn't know how to ship the thing properly for you Fapman.

 

[RyanMcLaughlin]

I would try and trap it first. If it doesnt work then you will have to take out your rock. Trust me taking out rock is a pain in the but so do what you can before going to that.

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

if it's a mantis and you can get it out without harming it i'll come pick it up .

 

[abulgin]

He could have had a stroke or clogged arteries or liver cancer too you know.

So lang as we're sharing stories, I bought 2 Peppermint Shrimps on Saturday. Yesterday I found one of them in the clutches of my Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp (Blood Shrimp/Fire Shrimp) and a bristle worm (or, as my 3 year old says, a crystal worm). So, my $37 buys a Fire Shrimp that hides all day long and Gangstas my Peppermint Shrimp.

 

[MPeer]

Click, click, click....sigh...not even sure it's a mantis or pistol. That "thing" that was moving the dead shrimp in the den/hole/cave last night could be just bristle worms going to town on the thing.

Anyway, I'm setting a trap tonight or tomorrow. I just need to plan what trap. Any more suggestions aside from the krill in panty hose thing?

Abulgin - quite an expensive meal for the fire shrimp and bristle worm.

Vaca - If it's indeed a mantis and I get him out safe, you're more than welcome to come and pick it up. It would be quite a drive for you though. I'm in the south bay. Not sure how long I would be able to keep him alive.

 

[MPeer]

Any more suggestion for a trap?

 

[markeo99]

how come I can never get a mantis I want one