warning clicks?

SuperChimps

New member
Hi All,

so i'm new to the reef thing.. my tank has been set up about a month and I've gotten to the point where i want to start adding livestock. The thing is I've heard clicking sounds on and off since the LR went in. So I'm assuming it's either a mantis or a pistol shrimp. I've tried the bottle trap a bunch of times with no luck. Once i thought i saw a tiny blue shrimp like creature shoot past an opening in the rock, but it was so quick i couldn't id it. It was only 1/2 inch long, would something that size be capable of producing the loud clicks i hear?

also I have read that the pistol shrimp will give off 'warning clicks' if your disturbing it, whereas a mantis will only click when striking to burrow or hunt. Now when i hunt for the elusive critter with a torch, shining the light into certain areas seems to elicit a few clicks... so does that suggest its a pistol shrimp annoyed at the light?

sorry i know its a topic discussed to death, but just concerned about putting expensive inverts into a dangerous environment. And i don't harbour any ill will towards mantis's in general - if it is one i'll re-home it safely

thanks for any advice
 
If you can starve the tank...(since it's new and empty basically).

You could coax a Stomatopod out...they have vast appetites and if you put some meat on a skewer and slowly make your way around the live rock and places you suspect it is, the Stomatopod (if it is that) will likely make itself known and have a go at the food.
 
I have a couple of pistol shrimps and there click is way louder than you'd expect.

The reaction to shining the light would suggest it's a pistol, but you're better off being sure before you add anything else. You definitely don't want a mantis in there once you've added livestock!
 
thanks guys,

well i'll try the meat on the skewer trick... im not sure how i can starve the tank, seeing as i don't feed it currently anyway, but there seems to be a pretty thriving population of all sorts of things (clams, bristle-worms, brittle-stars, tiny crabs, snails, an urchin etc..) so maybe the shrimp is feeding off those guys. Hopefully the meat on the stick will be more tempting.

still keen to hear any more responses like crissie's, in regards to the light issue. My favourite option would be to find out its a pistol shrimp and not have to worry about it anymore.. Although i know that's me being optimistic and lazy lol
 
well if i catch it (and if it is a mantis shrimp), i'll put a message up here and see if anyone local wants it - im in brisbane australia, so i dont know how many that would be.. although i noticed Kharn is a fellow brisbanite
 
well it turned out the clicking was from two small pistol shrimps. So at least now i don't have to find a new home for a mantis.

But thanks to the research i did when i thought there might be one lurking in my tank i did discover a lot of interesting stuff about them.

Great creatures - just didn't want one picking off all my new purchases
 
Pistol shrimps can be nasty little buggers too. They will kill and eat what ever they are not paired with. I lost a fish or two to one. They also tend to re arrange the tank and burrow everywhere leaving piles of sand or rubble.
 
I had a yellow tang shot in the face by a tiger pistol.. didn't do anything or show signs of pain. I've also been snapped at by mine reaching in it's bury to get my plate coral.. It felt like a powerhead just turned on and blew water at me for a few seconds.. can't really hurt anything.

Bullseye pistol tho have a rep for being mildly aggressive ingeneral. Similar hitchhikers may pose a threat.. but all pistols sold and collected are harmless except japanese pistols and bullseyes. Like you said the ones that don't pair with gobies can be meaner.. sometimes..

however you have to remember why they need a goby.. they're blind! Can't shoot what you can't see... even if they sense the vibration if anything the lack of goby makes them even less of a threat.
 
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