stellablu
New member
I believe I have a mantis lurking in my 56g reef. There are several reasons I believe this...
1. I hear snapping at night, sometimes during the day. More actively at night though. (I can't pinpoint where in the tank it's coming from, even with a flashlight at night I've had no luck)
2. Perfectly healthy, fat fish have been disappearing without a trace. First a few clown gobies, then some firefish, then my copperband butterfly and, most recently, one of my clownfish. All of my perimeters are fine and everyone had a massive appetite and there haven't been any diseases to speak of in my tank...ever.
3. I have lost a handful of inverts, including some hermits, snails and, sadly, one of my hawkwing conchs. There are empty shells laying around from some of my larger hermits and snails.
4. While eyeing the tank closely I found a small (1") molting on the sandbed.
I think the only reason my smallest fish, a tail spot blenny, is still alive is because he sleeps in a tiny hole just big enough for him.
What is a good way to lure out my culprit?
I'm not sure how long it's been since he molted that shell that I found, but I can't imagine a tiny thing like that taking down my copperband or clown.
I don't want to kill him, but instead depending on size I want to put him in one of my nanos (both are running, one has a fish in it)
Please help me out so I can go buy more fish
1. I hear snapping at night, sometimes during the day. More actively at night though. (I can't pinpoint where in the tank it's coming from, even with a flashlight at night I've had no luck)
2. Perfectly healthy, fat fish have been disappearing without a trace. First a few clown gobies, then some firefish, then my copperband butterfly and, most recently, one of my clownfish. All of my perimeters are fine and everyone had a massive appetite and there haven't been any diseases to speak of in my tank...ever.
3. I have lost a handful of inverts, including some hermits, snails and, sadly, one of my hawkwing conchs. There are empty shells laying around from some of my larger hermits and snails.
4. While eyeing the tank closely I found a small (1") molting on the sandbed.
I think the only reason my smallest fish, a tail spot blenny, is still alive is because he sleeps in a tiny hole just big enough for him.
What is a good way to lure out my culprit?
I'm not sure how long it's been since he molted that shell that I found, but I can't imagine a tiny thing like that taking down my copperband or clown.
I don't want to kill him, but instead depending on size I want to put him in one of my nanos (both are running, one has a fish in it)
Please help me out so I can go buy more fish
