redsea reefer
Well-Known Member
Deleted pic......
What are these things??
- Thread starter RachShaffy
- Start date
It's an I.E. thing... makes for RED X
when you go to url... in IE - the browser says...
The download you attempted on Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine is forbidden.
If you believe that this is an error, please contact us.
Eddie - your not using I.E right?
Contact information is available at Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Contact Information
when you go to url... in IE - the browser says...
The download you attempted on Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine is forbidden.
If you believe that this is an error, please contact us.
Eddie - your not using I.E right?
Contact information is available at Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Contact Information
redsea reefer
Well-Known Member
Ooop, Sorry..I will delete the pics cause I can see them...
No, I use Firefox.
RachShaffy
Member
I have researched SW stuff a LOT but there's so much to learn. Sorry if I'm being thick
redsea reefer
Well-Known Member
RachShaffy
Member
Right, caught a glimpse of this thing again. Doesn't seem to have claws if that makes a difference. Hubby is also trying to get photos of these things but they're really camera shy!
RachShaffy
Member
Nope, he's wider and like a khaki/brown colour.
redsea reefer
Well-Known Member
Ok, if its not a peanut worm then I 
kospaintball
Active Member
Mantis shrimp come in two types spearers or bashers. Both will kill things in your tank, just different things
RachShaffy
Member
Well, it aint a peanut worm either. I'm thinking it could be a mantis shrimp but it hasn't got any kind of hands that I can see.
It moves at a heck of a rate of knots so catching it is going to be fun!
It moves at a heck of a rate of knots so catching it is going to be fun!
jaidexl
New Member
Mantis shrimp will also resemble a lobster at the tale, if that helps identify it. You will hear clicking in the tank if it's a smasher. They are pretty interesting, so if you don't have expensive mollusks or bottom dwelling fish to worry about, I would give it a chance to live and try to feed it. They are not always as bad as their reputation claims. The smashers will however bore holes into rock, the only good side here is that they could be partly sustaining on worms within the rocks. Small snails like nassarius get whacked about one per week by the small Caribbean Stomatopods, IME, they will stash their kill for later dining so you don't have to worry about a mass wipeout of inverts. If you see empty nassarius shells decorating the rim of a hole, then you probably have a smasher Stomatopod in your tank.
The flower things sound like colonial feather dusters to me, they're very small, red and always in a group with entangled calcareous tubes. I have never seen any yellow on them though.
The flower things sound like colonial feather dusters to me, they're very small, red and always in a group with entangled calcareous tubes. I have never seen any yellow on them though.
khaki ?
themanthelegond
Member
Sounds like a Stomatopod (mantis shrimp) and a feather duster.
when i first saw a mantis i did not know they had those raptor like arms. i saw them after looking for a while.
*edit* their arms fold up pretty tight so you might not see them until it uses them.
Google searches
Look at FAN WORMS (feather duster worms)
and
look at Mantis Shrimp
when i first saw a mantis i did not know they had those raptor like arms. i saw them after looking for a while.
*edit* their arms fold up pretty tight so you might not see them until it uses them.
Google searches
Look at FAN WORMS (feather duster worms)
and
look at Mantis Shrimp
jaidexl
New Member
Here's a good picture of the small, red colonial dusters from the Caribbean. Much smaller than the ones we're used to seeing at the LFS, less than a 1/4" in diameter at the fan. there are also colonial hydroids which are very similar and probably a more common hitchhiker, maybe half the size though.
Bispira brunnea "Colonial Feather Duster" | Feather Duster Worms | Saltwater Invertebrates | Aquarium Livestock - ThatPetPlace.com
Bispira brunnea "Colonial Feather Duster" | Feather Duster Worms | Saltwater Invertebrates | Aquarium Livestock - ThatPetPlace.com
RachShaffy
Member
Right, I think that this thing is a mantis shrimp. I had 3 hermit crabs and three snails and now I'm finding 1 crab and no snails!
ANyway, I want to get this thing out my tank but it's taken up residence in a piece of my rock and, sods law, it's a piece at the bottom that is supporting the whole structure! Any ideas how to get it out? Or should I stop feeding the tank and let it die? I'd rather not do that because it seems quite cruel
ANyway, I want to get this thing out my tank but it's taken up residence in a piece of my rock and, sods law, it's a piece at the bottom that is supporting the whole structure! Any ideas how to get it out? Or should I stop feeding the tank and let it die? I'd rather not do that because it seems quite cruel
jaidexl
New Member
It will find plenty on it's own within the rocks and sand, so starving the tank won't do anything. It will eat your unseen worms and inverts.
Start feeding it if you want to catch it, don't go ripping your tank apart like so many people do. It's not hard to gain it's trust. Put a krill on a long skewer and move it around near the mantis shrimp's hole, scrape it on the hole a little too so it thinks an animal is foraging there. It may be tough the first few times but it should eventually come out and take the food. Do that for a few weeks and you will be able to lift the skewer up with the mantis hanging on, then just lower it into a net. Remember people want them now so it's worth money to you. Another less involved option is using a mantis shrimp trap, it's similar to a snail or worm trap where you add some food and leave it overnight, the mantis goes in and can't get out.
Start feeding it if you want to catch it, don't go ripping your tank apart like so many people do. It's not hard to gain it's trust. Put a krill on a long skewer and move it around near the mantis shrimp's hole, scrape it on the hole a little too so it thinks an animal is foraging there. It may be tough the first few times but it should eventually come out and take the food. Do that for a few weeks and you will be able to lift the skewer up with the mantis hanging on, then just lower it into a net. Remember people want them now so it's worth money to you. Another less involved option is using a mantis shrimp trap, it's similar to a snail or worm trap where you add some food and leave it overnight, the mantis goes in and can't get out.
RachShaffy
Member
Thanks hun. I really don't want to kill it!
I don't think a trap would work as it's hole is only a couple of inches off the floor of the tank and it seems to just scavenge around there. I'll try feeding it though. Hopefully I can find a good home for it
I don't think a trap would work as it's hole is only a couple of inches off the floor of the tank and it seems to just scavenge around there. I'll try feeding it though. Hopefully I can find a good home for it
