Mantis or Pistol? how do you tell

[carolyn]

Hi

I have had my current sps tank set up for about a 2 yrs now I know at one time I did have a little pistol shrimp as I found him in the bottom of a bag that had some live rock and I just put him in the main tank as I understood they were fairly harmless so there was always a certain amount of clicking in the tank which I took to be the pistol shrimp, recently however the clicking seems to be very loud it is usually a single click or maybe two clicks together a fraction of a second apart but the thing is over the last couple of months I have "lost" 3 small coral gobies at first I thought it might be my rather large Sally Lightfoot and I gave her to a friend but I have now just lost another gobie it's just disappeared I hear the clicking all the time but cannot work out where it is coming from and I have never seen the creature responsible for it I have a lot of live rock so it could be anywhere? any ideas do you think I have a mantis and have always assumed it was the pistol shrimp cause I knew it was in there I really want to add some more coral gobies but as you can imagine I am a bit reticent if I'm going to lose them I also lost some small Peppermint shrimp a while back but I assumed it was the sally or the cleaner shrimps

How do you trap these creatures, I have a very good fish trap buth I'm not sure how I would keep the cleaner shrimp/brittlestars out of the trap before I caught the mantis if there is one

Any ideas? do you think it's a mantis?

Carolyn

 

[Pandora]

I might be wrong, but I always thought that both mantis and pistols were generally unsafe around fish, except for some pistols that have symbiotic relationships with gobies. Mantis club their prey (and some types spear it), pistol shrimp make a loud snap with their claws to shock their prey before they take it, both are pure predators and both can make that clicking noise, so you can't judge by sound alone. Here's a page with info:

http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa110498b.htm

If you do decide to get rid of him, please email me ceciliaxchen@hotmail.com.. I'd like to call dibs on him, shipping paid (you can buy mantis traps at most LFS, and people on this board will help you also).

 

[Python73]

Pandora - I have to cry foul. You can't call "dibs" before the mantis is caught. Just like you can't call "shotgun" until the car is in sight.

Carolyn - I'm thinking that's a mantis. IME, pistols don't kill fish like mantis do. I'd bet you have a smasher in your tank. With a ton of rock, finding him will be tough, but here's what you can try.

At night, with your lights off for an hour or so, take a small flashlight and stary checking the rocks. If you hit a mantis, he will either scurry (you will see the flash of his tail) or his eyes will glint at you. They turn their heads when seeing like a dog does when you whistle. I have to imagine it helps them pinpoint things. Best case scenario, is you'll find his rock AND be able to remove it. Otherwise you'll need a trap, and I can't help you there. You could also clip a piece of shrimp near the sand and see if he'll be lured out.

Good luck.

S !

 

[Pandora]

Python... haha, fair enough

I don't think anyone is getting it unless they happen to be in Scotland or don't mind the "commute"... LOL. Oh well, was worth a shot!