clicking in my tank

[Dorado13]

I've been hearing a lot off clicking in my tank but haven't been able to find out what is doing the clicking. Is there any way to identify what is making the noise just by hearing it? I'm guessing it's either a mantis or pistol shrimp but I don't know. The clicks usually come 3-4 in a row.

 

[graveyardworm]

Have you noticed a significant amount of missing snails/hermits? I think the mantis is more typical for clicks in succession, but I could be wrong.

 

[Cody Ray]

Try feeding the tank, that mantis might come out in the open while a pistol would wait for it to come by the burrow.

 

[charlesr1958]

David is right, the only way you will know if it is a mantis or pistol is either seeing it firsthand, or noting any snails that have had their shells broken into. Clicking noises alone will not determine what it is since I have seen pistol shrimp "click" in rapid succession when startled or attacked and have seen mantis shrimp clubbing open a snail shell making the same successive clicking sounds as well.

Chuck

 

[Reef4Fun]

thats what mine did, i finally located it after most of my hermits were killed, it was a mantis, i caught it by waiting for it to go into its rock and lifted the rock up with a net underneath and it fell right in. I gave it to a kid that really wanted one.

 

[Ryanqk]

I hear a loud snap coming from my tank sometimes, just one loud snap occasionally, never seen a pistol shrimp or anything and im not missing and snails or hermits. Pistol shrimp you think?
Ryan

 

[sharper]

so the suspense is killing me...

did you find out what it was yet?

 

[Dorado13]

haha sorry to keep you waiting sharper but I haven't been able to find the culprit yet. I've been looking every night after lights out but i've been unsuccessful. He's still clicking away though.

 

[wraithy]

you dont have a niger trigger do you? Mine made clicking sounds and I thought I had a shrimp. I looked and looked and found nothing. When I got rid of the trigger, the clicking stopped.

 

[LeslieH]

Mantis and pistol shrimp aren't the only ones that make clicking sounds. There are some other coral associated shrimp like Coralliocaris and Harpiliopsis that do so. They're very small & hard to see.
http://www.poe-poe.com/coragram.html

 

[Dorado13]

nope, don't have a trigger. The tank has been running for about 3 weeks and I haven't seen any casualties that would lead me to believe that I have a mantis(just the usual hermit vs snail warfare)

 

[650-IS350]

Here's my 2cents... do you see a bunch of sand being moved around under your rocks... do you see tunnels being built around the rocks if so... Most likely you have pistols.. I have several of them in my tank.. sometimes sounds like a war is going on there when the pistols decided to start shooting around.. They haven't bothered my porcelins nor the pep's.

I saw 2 shrimp resembling those.. Coralliocaris and Harpiliopsis
at night time.. thought it was baby pistols.. 2 of them together looking to make a home. looked like tiny 1/2 inch pistols but clear in look.

 

[johnnybravo234]

I had a mantis in a species only tank for a long time and he used to dig tunnels all over the place too. He didnt show himself too often until he got larger. They are smart little creatures and they come in all different colors. Just keep an eye on your snails and crabs. The easiest way to catch the little punk is to remove the rock that it chose to live in..if you can find it. Good luck. Hope its a pistol shrimp

 

[UberBanshee]

I heard random clicking coming from my tank in the middle of the night, and after a few weeks, I discovered that it was the hermit crabs banging their shells against the back of the tank.

 

[Ryanqk]

you know i have tons of burrows in my tank but i know who dug each and every one, my eel goby. I'd bet my hermits are falling of things and hitting the back of the glass or something cuase nothing is missing but i still hear occasional snap.

 

[Kgoarmy17]

Use a flashlight wit ha red lense at night. Look at the bottom of the rocks where they meet the sand. I have pistols that reside in the front so it was easy for me to find there burrows. However, it might take some time to locate them. Your goby may not have created all those tunnels.