Mantis Shrimps...Argh!!!

[Trackz]

I was able to net the one mantis I knew about (3"), but all was not well...I kept hearing that infernal clicking. Not to mention looking in and seeing about 30 very small 'bad' crabs when the lights were out.

Well...I've got the 2nd shipment coming in a couple days, so I figured I better get the ship straight now. I pulled all the rocks and gave them a once over and couldn't believe what I collected!

- 4-5 red mithrax (put back in)
- 20 or so 'bad' crabs (either gorilla or looked very hairy)
- ~15 snails (I read some junk about whelks and got all freaked out, so they are gone)
- 1-2 very small porcelains (put back in)
- Various other small creatures (put back in)
- 15 MANTIS SHRIMPS!!!!!

Granted, they were very small and would probably have been eaten at some point by something bigger, but....WOW!!!!! Those little buggers can sure 'click' loud, even though they were about as long as a thumbnail. Their 'smashers' are 1/4 as long as they when they're that small.

This TB rock is so nice. The amount of life that comes on it is unbelievable....well well worth the bad guys. When I talked to them, they said they had some great rock for this next shipment. My whole family is jacked in anticipation.

 

[loyalty]

thats great, i can't wait to order my rock from these guys. i don't care how many mantis shrimp i pull out (the only real gripe about tbs rock), the tank will look months older than it really is

 

[Trackz]

Hmm....just found another one.

 

[NoobieNemo]

hey, sometimes i keep hearing that internal clicking sound...but i NEVER see anything...even at night...should I still set a trap in there????why are mantis shrimps bad?

 

[Slatts]

I don't know for sure but I put a watchman Goby in three weeks ago and he was sitting out front for a couple of days than started hoping on the rocks than gone without a trace.
Him and his friend were ejected this morning.

 

[NoobieNemo]

how did you catch them?what method?

 

[Slatts]

Saw them in their respective holes. Had to move some rocks so each one was a grab and out. Used a syringe with seltzer water. Out they popped. Thought that may have been the last but there was some popping this morning. Maybe one more. maybe two,maybe ............. Total so far 6.

 

[NoobieNemo]

how loud is the popping sound? and how many times do they do it?(in reps)

 

[Slatts]

It varies, no real pattern as far as I can tell. Usually they're working the rock. Loud enough.

 

[Trackz]

Like I said, even the tiny 1/4" shrimps click loud enough to hear outside the tank.

 

[imgrtful]

on my tbsw rock i got 2-3 mantis but last time i changed the rock around i found about 15 pistols of various sizes.so now when i hear the clicking i dont know what to expect.but on the plus side,we traded our mantis' for some really nice zoos'.so out of bad comes good.i almost hope to find another mantis.need more "free" corals.lol

 

[Homey the Reefkeeper]

Wow I can't believe the number of mantis you got on your rock! What size package is yours? Mine was 70gal and I managed to chase out a 3" mantis before adding my rock in the tank. So far I haven't seen any other bad hitchhikers in the tank and my rock has been in the tank since last Wednesday.

 

[Homey the Reefkeeper]

I spoke too soon! Just found a large 3" mantis in my rock...now I gotta figure out how to catch him :-(