Tapping noise, is it mantis?

Mirugai

New member
Someone told me that if you hear tapping noise in from your tank, that means you have mantis shrimp.

Is this correct? if so, I have not seen any mantis around. Not that I want want, but I suspected something has bitten the tail of my Yellow Stripe Clown.

Please clarify.

Thanks.

Vince
 
Oh I forgot to mention,

I have a tiger pistol shrimp, could this be the one that's making the clicking noise?

Thanks for the help

Vince
 
Hey Mirugai,

Pistol shrimps use their "popping" claw in hunting and defense, and have a "cocking" mechanism that needs to be reset after each strike. As I understand it, pistols are more likely to "click" in ones and twos.

Smasher mantis shrimp may use their raptorial appendages for hunting, fighting as well as den building. When our O. Scyllarus works on her den or is breaking open a shelled dinner, it may click many times in sucession. I guess you could relate it to as fast as you can swing a hammer to break your dinner out of a box.

So if it clicks many times you can likely rule out a pistol shrimp.

hth!

-Rogue
 
wow thanks guys. This info really helps.

Besides, if I have a mantis, I should have seen it swimming around right?

Thanks again
 
Mirugai... I wouldn't rule out a mantis just cause you don't see it swimming around. I really enjoy the mantis I keep. One of them more than the other since it's on my desk. However. The only time I see it out is when it's going after some food I put it. It's happy to stay in it's den the rest of the time. 97% of the time the only thing I see are it's eyes and a 1/4" past that. I still enjoy the peeps and watching it close and open its den though.
 
Ok I must have a smasher because all of my peppermint shrimp and one cleaner shrimp have disappeared coinsiding with the taps on the glass. Also I don't hear taps daily, how often do you hear them if you have one? How do I get rid of it? I have seen the water bottle trap is this the best method? I appreciate any information.

Bryan
 
I couldn't tell you how long or often the tapping last... With mine it will tap for minutes to hours if it's working on its den. Then sometimes I won't hear any all day. It really depends on the individual mantis. I'd say if your shrimp are vanishing that would be the culprit though. As how to catch them I couldn't tell you. The only thing I know about catching them is they sell mantis traps. And that a mantis is very intelligent and there's been reports of them figuring out the traps and not going anywhere near them after a failed first attempt. It's all from things I've read though.
 
Tagging along, i too hear clicking noises. I am missing some hermit crabs, but i don't see any of their shells.

Does a mantis come out and attack the hermit, and then drag the remains back to the den? If so, maybe i can use my hermits as bait to set a trap. I only have 2 scarlets left, don't think he's its touched any of the turbo snails.

I only hear clicking noises after i turn out the lights, occasionally i may hear a click during the day, but rare.

Anyone tried the Ultralife Xterminator trap?
 
Thanks brisk495. I am going to be switching stands in February/March sometime I will leave my fish in the rubbermaid container and put the reef back maybe do a little hyposalinity treatment in the process and see if I can't cure my tang once and for all. How long will it take to starve the mantis?
 
oh hi guess i was asking for myself, not that i have one, but i was wandering if you dont have any livestock in there and cycle the tank for awhile, it may either die or go easily into a trap if its set up....i dont have any fish in my set up yet, so if i had a problem, i wander if i could starve it ...
 
Dislexia strikes again:lol: I thought your post said you can starve a mantis not can you starve a mantis. Sorry I miss read your post. I got so excited with the easy soloution I didn't even realize it was a question.
 
I have a 2.5 month old 45gal and I just started hearing clicking. I descibe it as two edges of glass rubbing together. To tell you the truth, at first, I thought the tank was going to break. The first time I heard it was shortly after introducing a Coral Banded Shrimp to the tank. My LFS suggested that I may have a Mantis Shrimp that hichhiked on the live rock. He also said that the Coral Banded Shrimp would not make that noise. I did loose a Blue Legged Hermit Crab at week four, but I blamed it on impatient stocking.

Any thoughts?
 
I hear a clicking noise in my 3 week old LR I can't really explain the noise though. I read that mantis don't really click at random... This clicking occurs about every 20 minutes day or night. Im not sure what it is but its really loud and sounds more like a creaking door than a click. A creaking door noise that lasts for less than a second. I can't figure it out. I read in one forum that shrimps are attracted to red lights. Is that true?
 
No the red light allows you to view the tank after the lights are out. I have tried this, you can take a five cell mag lite put some type of red filter in front of it and the shrimp will act like no light is in the tank remove the red filter and they will hide immediately. since my original post the clicking has stopped and I now wonder if my sixline did not manage to eat the mantis.
 
I'll throw this out there, I have concluded that my green chromis clicks. I kept hearing this quick clicking, 3 or 4 clicks in very rapid sucession. I haven't lost any shrimp or hermits, and at the time I only had a purple pseudochromis, a copperband, and 3 green chromis. After many man hours stareing, it appeared it has coming from the chromis. I know of other fish that make noise, but I didn't expect it from a damsel.
 
Shelled-snails and hermits can also cause 'clicks' that sound like mantis smashing... ;)

I have a cerith snail that likes to climb the glass next to a powerhead and he sounds just like Tim when he gets to the right spot.
 
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