How bad is "bad"?

[kilroy217]

I've been recently fascinated with the night-life on my TBS rock. I have been watching the varied creatures come out at night with a flashlight. Must look like I'm robbing the place from a car driving past my window.

In any case, I found some critters labeled "Bad". How bad are they, really? I have Mantis Shrimp and Gorilla Crabs. I see no reasonable way to get them out of the tank, due to them only coming out in darkness. I watched the mantis take apart and eat a barnacle tonight, so I'm guessing it's pretty important to get them out, but I'm just not sure how.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[liverock]

Re: How bad is "bad"?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14485377#post14485377 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kilroy217
I've been recently fascinated with the night-life on my TBS rock. I have been watching the varied creatures come out at night with a flashlight. Must look like I'm robbing the place from a car driving past my window.

In any case, I found some critters labeled "Bad". How bad are they, really? I have Mantis Shrimp and Gorilla Crabs. I see no reasonable way to get them out of the tank, due to them only coming out in darkness. I watched the mantis take apart and eat a barnacle tonight, so I'm guessing it's pretty important to get them out, but I'm just not sure how.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

as you realize....bad is only a perspective.......they are are cool creatures....but they eat to .....feed them raw shrimp....or they will eat what they want, which is why folks label them "bad"

Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

 

[kilroy217]

and if i wanted to get them out? any good/easy way?

 

[Wolverine1]

Build a trap (about a thousand different designs on the net and here) bait it with some shrimp and wait it out. I personally like all my cool critters and have been feeding them now that my tank has cycled and they add to the natural feel of the whole tank. The mantis will go when he's over an inch though...

 

[noahm]

I got all but one of my mantises out by dumb luck. They would not go for the bait in traps because the dang rock has so much to eat on it so I started feeding them off a skewer to get them hooked on shrimp. I caught two by finding them in a hole with a back door and putting clear 1/2" tube over the hole and prodding them forward from the back door into the tube and quickly pinched the tube shut. I had the last one (about 2 1/2" long) eating regularly off a skewer, but then he just dissappeared and haven't seen him for a couple weeks. I thought he might have molted and hid out, but haven't seen him still. Somehow out of 4 known mantises, I have only a bright green one left and he seems happy in the sump.

The gorillas I figure can only do so much damage at a small size, so I just go in after them if I see them on top of a rock. About half the time they just sit still as if I can't see them and fingers work just fine. Have caught probably ten that way. There's a shiny purple rock crab of some kind that seems to be a potential future problem that might take a more crafty approach as he tends to run. All in all though, I don't stress it too much and kind of treat it as a long term relaxed sort of battle.

 

[kilroy217]

Well, I watched the mantis take apart one of the barnicles last night. Fairly interesting to watch, but I don't want them all to disappear. I'll try the shrimp on a skewer for a few days, then I'll put a trap in to hopefully catch it. As for the gorillas, at least one of them has a body the size of a nickel. A few others were tiny, so could probably get them out with fingers if need be.

Thanks for the advice, all! I'll keep you posted after I perform my extraction.

 

[noahm]

I have pulled out a few around quarter size and had no pinching. You can always buy one of those parts picker uppers for mechanics. It is the three finger claw for picking up screws etc when you drop them in a tight space. They are pretty inexpensive around $5. I can't say they would be entirely humane, but will extract a crab from most holes. Maybe short a leg or two.

equivalent to this item. Can be found at an automotive store.
This one would be handy because only one hand necessary in the tank. The long ones you have to guide the claw end, but they are more flexible.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pebbles-3-PRONG-APPLICATOR-~-GRABBER-*Great-Tool!_W0QQitemZ290268158392QQcmdZViewItem

 

[NeonFish]

I don't if this would work, but what if you squirted fresh water into its home with a syringe to flush it out into a net?

 

[dtech]

I used a few approaches to get them out, I did freshwater injections that got some small small ones, club soda injection holing the rock over a bucket, this got a few bigger ones, then I built 3 versions of bottle traps to get the rest of the mantis out. You have to be diligent with the mantis as they learn really well, If they get out of a trap when you try to remove it they won't fall for it again so you have to re-invent a bit to catch them off gaurd.