Mantis Shrimp! :(

[chich0]

Heard large clicking noises. Whats the best way to try and see this thing, and how to go about getting it out?

[tippMANn98]

Traps, or find which rock he is in, and take it out....dip it in FW and it should come flying out....WATCH YOUR FINGERS

[goldenmean]

It could be a pistol shrimp too. They make the same sound.
Pistols are more reclusive but the mantis will show himself eventually.
I have 2 mantis in my tank and I plan on keeping them.

If you really want to remove him you can make a trap or if you know what rock he is in, remove the rock and pour club soda into the holes. He will come out!

[deaclauderdale]

Check your tank at night with a flash light seeing that they're moire active at night. Once you've spotted him you can administer the treatments described above.

[AQTCJAK]

I caught the one htat was in my reef by finding the rock he was in & removing the rock he eventually came out & he lived in the sump

[vdituri]

Originally Posted by deaclauderdale

Check your tank at night with a flash light seeing that they're moire active at night. Once you've spotted him you can administer the treatments described above.

I'm going to have to do more research on these guys.
At night, mine pulls bits of rocks and junk into the hole of his lair and makes a door. I never see him at night.

[goldenmean]

Pistol shrimp are more active at night.

One of my mantis has a hole in the rock as his main lair and he has built a door with shells and sand. He then has a small opening during the day but at night he uses sand to completely shut his door. Mantis are much more active during the day.

[reefjitsu]

Whether it turns out to be a pistol or a mantis, keep the little guy alive after you remove it from your tank. Somebody will want it for a pet.

[XBwlr]

I've had both mantis and pistol shrimps.
The mantis have a "Click" while the pistols are more of a "Pop".
It's hard to tell the difference if you've never heard them before.

[chich0]

lol, these things really sound cool.

[Intranick]

they're both increadibly cool. I dont know what scares me more though, a mantis with a hammer or a mantis with a spear.. I imagine they could both inflict great pain.

[Octoman]

I've had a clicking for 3 months now, still haven't seen the culprit. I tried a misguided FW dip for that rock early on, all it did was kill some tubeworms Shortly after that I found a pistol shrimp molt so I knew what I had. He still clicks every night, occasionally during the day. I put a watchman goby in there hoping they would find true love, but they stay on opposite sides of the tank.

[fishnu]

Tow do you trap a Mantis Shrimp? Do you ask him questions about his alibis and try to catch him in a lie, or do you have a tube he can't back out of?

"Here's how to cook your shrimp. Cover the shrimp with ample water in a sauce pan. Add salt, about 1 tsp per quart of water, and bring the water to a boil. Then immediately reduce heat and simmer the shrimp for five minutes with only very light boiling action. Now take them off the heat and dump off the hot water and run cold water over them until cool. Add ice to the remaining water if desired. I like mine cold with cocktail sauce. To make cocktail sauce, use 1/4 cup catsup, 1/4 cup salsa (mild or hot, to suite your taste), one tsp mustard, 1 tsp of finely ground prepared horseradish and 1 TBSP lemon juice. You can also add onion salt, garlic salt, Tabasco sauce or other seasonings to taste. Drain the ice water from the shrimp and put the shrimp in a bowl, over ice if you like. Peal the shrimp as you go and dip them in the sauce for some really good eatin'! After you're done and all cleaned up, check the mantis shrimp trap in your reef tank with a flashlight. If you've caught your dining partner, you can bring him on out of your reef tank. Some people like to keep these critters in a separate tank and feed them a gold fish every week or two. They will also eat various prepared fish foods, frozen or dry. If the two of you get along well, you can enjoy the above recipe every so often together. But remember, no coctail sauce for the Mantis Shrimp! Good luck. "
'

[Octoman]

Simple trap from a used bottled water bottle...

seahorse.org - DIY Mantis Trap

I tried one of these for a couple nights, just kept catching snails. But others have had success with them.

[goldenmean]

Here is one that I used to catch Gorilla Crabs.
There is a crab in there too.