I am not having any luck capturing a large mantis shrimp and a large gorilla crab. I know I have a lot of other good hitchhikers. I was wondering about treating the tank with a copper product to just kill off all of them off and then replacing all the good snails and crabs. I know this probably is a bad idea ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ but, despite the ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œkillingââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ aspect of it ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ is this a sound idea ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ would it only kill of my crustations or would stars, corals or other aspects of the tank be impacted?
on the killing of hitchhikers...
- Thread starter rhenson
- Start date
Funny...well, it was an idea. The other idea I've had thrown at me is to get a trigger fish and let him get rid of everything, but surly this would affect corals....does anyone have any ideas...Or is the real only solution to keep setting traps in the tank inthe hopes that some day I'll get lucky?
patsan
Premium Member
Is there any possible way you can take the rock out of the tank to try and remove the mantis? That would be your best bet....if you can do it.
Can you reach in and grab the gorilla? I personally can't touch the crabs, but many people have said they removed them by reaching in and just grabbing them.
Can you reach in and grab the gorilla? I personally can't touch the crabs, but many people have said they removed them by reaching in and just grabbing them.
I'm by no means an expert but I've seen it said many times that basically once you've introduced copper it will always be present. It will be in the rocks and sand and seep out and always kill things. It's really not an option. Of course I'm not speaking from experience, just repeating things I've read.
What have you tried so far? I didn't have much luck with the standard water bottle home made trap, but managed to catch 3 gorillas using a shot glass! I just put some food in the bottom and leaned it up against the rock. It didn't take long for the hungry/curious gorillas to start climbing around and eventually they fell in. It was too slippery to get out. Hehe. Obviously this would only work for smaller guys.
I think alot of people eventually just took out the rock that the mantis lives in and then shot some soda water in his hole until he popped out. Have you tried that?
What have you tried so far? I didn't have much luck with the standard water bottle home made trap, but managed to catch 3 gorillas using a shot glass! I just put some food in the bottom and leaned it up against the rock. It didn't take long for the hungry/curious gorillas to start climbing around and eventually they fell in. It was too slippery to get out. Hehe. Obviously this would only work for smaller guys.
I think alot of people eventually just took out the rock that the mantis lives in and then shot some soda water in his hole until he popped out. Have you tried that?
I bought a used tank several years ago that was still setup. It was a fish only tank, so I didn't thank anything about it at the time. I bought a starfish and put in the tank and it started to disintegrate after a few days. I had the water tested and it had large amounts of copper in it. It took me months to remove the copper. I had to replace all of the sand and rock. After that still did not remove all of the copper, I had to use some filter pads that I don't remember the name of. In short, I would never use copper in my tank on purpose. I hope this helped.
I've had a reasonable amount of success by grabbing the crabs with a pair of tweezers whenever I spot them. Sometimes all I get is a leg, but I've grabbed about 4 this way, and I think I've only got 2 to go. But I'm certainly going to try the shotglass approach -- sounds too easy.
Splach
New member
I had a great deal of success getting rid of gorillas by taking a 1/4" rod of stainless steel, sharpening it to a spear on a grinder and baiting it with a piece of silverside (lengthwise so it wont come off). Waive it over the hole they are in (during feeding works well since the smell is in the water). Wait until they are right underneath it and "WHAM". Unfortunately even with a spear through them they will hold onto the rocks. If you can leave a few burs on the rod to hold on while you try to lift them loose of the rock.
vermonter310
New member
Splach
New member
Actually I never managed to spear a mantis. They are just too @#*@ fast. I got mine out with the seltzer trick (in fact if you go back far enough I think I was the first to post it, but I could be wrong). It definetly works. I was in my pantry thinking hmmm what could I put on the rock that wont screw up my tank... Hmmm carbonated filtered water... That shouldn't be too bad... First mantis I hit with it literally FLEW a foot out of his hole. The second one was a bear and let it kill him in there (didn't take much, carbonated water is apparently very harsh on these guys) then I had to dig him out though.
My last mantis I got out live (I have a post on the mantis forum looking for a home for him) and I got him out by sheer luck.
My last mantis I got out live (I have a post on the mantis forum looking for a home for him) and I got him out by sheer luck.
For me they have eaten most of my cleanup crew, which I will have to replace. Looks like sandlot13 has a "mantis shrine" I would love to see a picture of that...he's sick!
see: http://www.tbsaltwater.com/thepackage/watchout.html
"...Mantis Shrip are one of the most colorful and interesting of all the "characters" of the reef. BUT, its diet consists of crustaceans, worms, fish and even mollusks, smashing their shells open with its powerful front claws..."
see: http://www.tbsaltwater.com/thepackage/watchout.html
"...Mantis Shrip are one of the most colorful and interesting of all the "characters" of the reef. BUT, its diet consists of crustaceans, worms, fish and even mollusks, smashing their shells open with its powerful front claws..."
these guys are awesome! clever little buggers!They are very clever - I'd set a trap and he would observer it from several spots around the tank and if he could figure it out, he'll get the bait - otherwise, genearlly speaking, he stayed away! It has been fun trying to catch him. I got home from work today and my wife was jumping up and down - she had caught him - I tried and tried - but she got it done. I was telling her about your shrine sandlot...and it sounds like we will be joining the ranks of mantis shrine owners. I'll make a post early next week about the technique she used...it was a good one.
goblinsharkman
New member
CTS said:
Mantis shrimp are one of the most interesting creatures one can keep in an aquarium, they are extremely smart and very amusing. They are also one of the most evolutionary advanced crustaceans, they the most advanced eyesight of any animal (over 100000 colors (humans only see 10000) and detect polarized and ultraviolet light) and they have the fastest moving appendages of any animal. Some people have problems with them in small reefs or if there are multiple shrimps, but if they are in a 120+ tank they will do little damage. If at all possible i would suggest cathing them alive and keeping them in a seperate 2.5-10 gallon aquarium. Theyre a lot more fun then pistol shrimp!
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