Help removing mantis shrimp

[gumbyri]

I've never seen my mantis, but I hear him popping at night and typically find a dead porcelain crab or snail every morning. He's already wiped out my shrimp, and I'm worried he'll go after my clowns next.

I've tried the inverted bottle trap several times with no luck.

A few posts suggest dipping the rock in fresh water, but I've read this could kill the other critters on the rock. Unfortunately, I have no idea which rock he is in so I would have to dunk several rocks to find him

any suggestions? I've had my TBS rock for about 8 months and would hate to wipe out my reef finding this guy.

 

[docklink]

What size system do you have? After 8 months I'm surprised that you haven't seen the mantis. I've left one in my system as he's been pretty cool to observe (Though it has grown to about 2 inches now and is starting to make me a little worried. It has shown no interest in any of my fish as of yet.) Though they can disappear for several days at a time, they usually show themselves eventually. If you've never seen it I would be suspicous (sp?) that the popping you hear is coming from pistol shrimp.

 

[gumbyri]

small tank, only 26 gallons

I have about 50 lbs of live rock and two clowns

 

[docklink]

The best suggestion I can think of at the moment (and it may not be that great) if you are convinced it is a mantis, is to first try to isolate the sound of the clicking as best you can (right side of tank, left side, etc.) and then concentrate on those rocks first. This may not help that much as the mantis may roam the tank though they will tend to stay near their lair. Get a couple of buckets big enough to hold a couple of your rocks and a pan or tub to catch run-off. Fill the buckets 1/2 full of salt water at the same temp and salinity as your tank (to avoid as much shock to sessile inverts as possible). Put a couple of the rocks from your target area in bucket one for holding purposes. Use a spray bottle filled with seltzer water. Hold your first rock over the tub and systematically squirt seltzer into nooks and crannies. One of two things tend to happen. Any creature in the hole either pops out or, in the case of a mantis, may snap and pop - announcing that it is in there. If nothing comes out of the rock after spritzing all the holes, put the rock into the second bucket and move to the next rock. Repeat till you've found/removed the mantis or you are convinced there isn't one. Return the rock (and any desireable creatures flushed out of it) to the tank.
This procedure won't prevent damage to the inhabitants of the rock but does go a long way to minimizing it. Sponges exposed to air or gaseous fluids (seltzer) may be damaged.
Hopefully others will pop in with easier or more effective methods. Hope this helps and is submitted with the best of intentions.

 

[phil519]

The best suggestion I can think of at the moment (and it may not be that great) if you are convinced it is a mantis, is to first try to isolate the sound of the clicking as best you can (right side of tank, left side, etc.) and then concentrate on those rocks first. This may not help that much as the mantis may roam the tank though they will tend to stay near their lair. Get a couple of buckets big enough to hold a couple of your rocks and a pan or tub to catch run-off. Fill the buckets 1/2 full of salt water at the same temp and salinity as your tank (to avoid as much shock to sessile inverts as possible). Put a couple of the rocks from your target area in bucket one for holding purposes. Use a spray bottle filled with seltzer water. Hold your first rock over the tub and systematically squirt seltzer into nooks and crannies. One of two things tend to happen. Any creature in the hole either pops out or, in the case of a mantis, may snap and pop - announcing that it is in there. If nothing comes out of the rock after spritzing all the holes, put the rock into the second bucket and move to the next rock. Repeat till you've found/removed the mantis or you are convinced there isn't one. Return the rock (and any desireable creatures flushed out of it) to the tank.
This procedure won't prevent damage to the inhabitants of the rock but does go a long way to minimizing it. Sponges exposed to air or gaseous fluids (seltzer) may be damaged.
Hopefully others will pop in with easier or more effective methods. Hope this helps and is submitted with the best of intentions.

I think the method above is best. One way I found my mantis was to stick a small pippette into the "holes" of the LR where I suspected the critter to be. Invariably - you could hear/feel the "click click" - and that is another method to narrow down where it is.

Note that twice when I located the mantis - as I attempted to move the LR - I could see the mantis attempting to "jump ship" off the LR in my display. Twice this happened and twice I ended up netting the culprit.

Also - whether you use seltzer or fresh RO water - both will be effective but do err on the side of small amounts. The most I used was maybe 3 ounces for a single hole.

Finally keep in mind that occasionally the mantis has a "back door" to escape. So don't be surprised if you squirt the water in - it pops out the back door (somewhere you don't see).

Proud catcher of 5 mantis...(all of them were 2~3 inches in length).

 

[gumbyri]

thanks for all the advice, I'll give it a try tonight

one question...are mantis shrimp more likely to be found in the upper or lower rocks?

 

[docklink]

thanks for all the advice, I'll give it a try tonight

one question...are mantis shrimp more likely to be found in the upper or lower rocks?

Most typically the lower but they can hang out in any rock that has the right size "condo" in it. As an example, the mantis currently in my tank spends 95% of its time scurrying around the bottom,with its main hole dug out under the largest rock in my tank. However, one mantis I evicted was in my tank for a good month and a half or more before I ever saw it. I was staring at the tank one day when a good size head poked up out of the top most rock in the tank and stared back at me. Turned out to be about 2 1/2 inches long. Turns out the rock had a large pocket in it that the mantis had "leased". I couldn't believe it had been in there that long without being seen. I used the method above to get it out of the rock.

Good luck with your efforts

 

[phil519]

Most typically the lower but they can hang out in any rock that has the right size "condo" in it. As an example, the mantis currently in my tank spends 95% of its time scurrying around the bottom,with its main hole dug out under the largest rock in my tank. However, one mantis I evicted was in my tank for a good month and a half or more before I ever saw it. I was staring at the tank one day when a good size head poked up out of the top most rock in the tank and stared back at me. Turned out to be about 2 1/2 inches long. Turns out the rock had a large pocket in it that the mantis had "leased". I couldn't believe it had been in there that long without being seen. I used the method above to get it out of the rock.

Good luck with your efforts

My only comment is that that is exactly what my mantis did as well - I was staring at the tank and noticed a quick movement in one piece of LR and I realized it was a pair of beady eyes/head and it popped the head back down when it realized I was staring back. Keep in mind stromatopods have an extraordinary sense of vision - better than us (which I guess doesn't say much...). I was lucky - all the mantis were caught with 72 hours of introducing my second half shipment. Guess my wife and I stare a lot at the tank...

So - to answer your question -mine were in various pieces of LR - large and small - and I don't think it was preference in terms of depth since it was purely where I decided to place the LR.