Help with critter [pic]

[necco]

I just found a Shrimp like critter in my LR that arrived yesterday. If its a mantis, Why are they unwanted?

is this one, if so could I put him in my fuge or will eat the plants and travel up my return to attack?

 

[Ciali]

Mantis shrimps are very aggressive predators. It will hunt until there is nothing left for it to eat. That's why they are kept in species only tank.

Ciali

 

[Spudstr]

that doesn't really look like a mantis, maybe a shrimp of some sort.

 

[Meisen]

It looks somewhat like a pistol shrimp but its hard to tell from the pic. Can you get a clearer shot? Pistols usually have an enlarged claw that they sometimes snap. They are fairly reef safe though some authors have listed them as eating some small shrimps on occasion. If you pick him up in a net or touch him with a stick, does he make a loud pop? If so, you have a pistol
for sure.

You can probably put him in the fuge until you get a positive ID on him.

 

[Meisen]

Is there some kind of egg mass under its tail? It seems like the tail is really wide.....

 

[Meisen]

That would be really fun....baby pistols!!!

 

[iCam]

It looks like a "spearer" mantis with its appendages stretched out. The head is a bit strange though.

 

[necco]

I'll try to get another pic up alittle later. Thanks all for your help, would like to keep the little bugger

 

[necco]

Ok these are the best pics I can muster. So I hope it helps :rollface:

 

[ReneX]

Definately a pistol shrimp.

 

[necco]

Thanks ReneX, now I think I will add it to my established tank. Hope it survives

 

[iCam]

I'm not so sure. Pistol shrimp don't have an abdomen as such. Compare:

It's possible that it could be a reef lobster of some sort.

By the way, do you know the origin of the liverock? That could help a little.

 

[necco]

I almost put it in my tank, when I began to have 2nd thoughts.

nihonjin_anemone it was an order of Fiji rock from LiveAquaria, it was in the rubble at the bottom of the cooler. I also got some Lalo but it smelled pretty bad, no life there (but it looks awsome!)
I'm trying to do some research as well on this little guy. So he can join my troop in the tank

 

[Meisen]

Yeah I am with Nihonjin....not so sure that it is a pistol, especially with the updated pics. Though thats what it most closely resembles to me. Whats throwing me is the way the joint between the cephalothorax and telson pinches in like a wasps does....not something I have seen in pistols before. Then again, there are a lot of pistol shrimp and their allies so it could just be an odd one. The claws also dont look like pistol shrimp as you can see from NAs pic.

I think we can rule out mantis shrimp. Mantis have highly stalked eyes the extend high above their (much shorter) rostrum and their legs look different as well. Watching it move would be diagnostic though....mantis use their swimmerets to "float" along, only lightly touching down with their legs. Pistols and their allies creep along, walking with their longer legs. Also notice the claws....mantis keep their appendages folded up underneath (like a praying mantis insect does), only extending them very briefly (hundreths of a second) to feed. So, I am going with as yet unidentified, possibly not reefsafe shrimp of some kind. Maybe try one of the expert forums for a positive ID. Dr Ron is really good at these sorts of things. Keep us updated if you do find out a positive ID.

 

[Gonodactylus]

It is not a snapping shrimp or a stomatopod. It is in the Infraorder Thalassinidea. I can't make a positive id from the photos, but it is probably a Thalassinid, commonly called a mud lobster. Other possibilities are shrimp lobsters (Axiidae) or Ghost srhimp (Callianassids). There are several species of Thalassinids that burrow in mud galleries in the base of live rock.

Roy

 

[Spudstr]

Dr Roy to the rescue!