Possible Mantis or Pistol Shrimp

[down and outman]

I've been hearing a clicking noise occasionally. At first I thought it was my timer cutting off, but I noticed the lights were still on. then another click after the lights were off. Hmmm! The biggest problem is all of my first batch of crabs and snails are gone -60 of them-, my next batch os 20 Nassarius Snails vanished, and I just added 5 Turbos. Are they going to be Mantis fodder as well? :chomp:

My nitrates aren't perfect, hovering around 20ppm, the fish are happy, but the inverts have had a hard time. So much for algae control.

I'm planning a new base which I'll have to tear down the tank in order to move it, so I'll go after whatever it is. I'm just curious if what going on sounds like a Mantis, so I know what to expect when I go after him.

 

[semigodd154]

with the amount of clean up crew you've lost i would say def. mantis the good thing is if he ate all that he should be no trouble to find good luck with the hunt

 

[lcstorc]

If you can capture him take him to the lfs. You should be able to get some store credit.
Many people enjoy them if they know that is what they are getting.

 

[music man]

this is a litle info on the diff between the 2 species.

The Pistol Shrimp may also be called Symbiosis Shrimp and Snapping Shrimp. The sound it makes comes from an appendage on the pincher which moves when the pincher is opened or closed and water is ejected. The Pistol Shrimp can be easily confused with Mantis Shrimp if judged by sound only. Unlike the Mantis Shrimp, it is not harmful and will not pose any threat in the tank, with the possible exception of smaller shrimp. The mantis shrimp will usually snap more than once when feeding whereas the pistol shrimp will rarely pop more than once, I guess it's pistol is a black powder where the mantis has a semi auto.

 

[JFK_Jr]

The mantis shrimp will usually snap more than once when feeding whereas the pistol shrimp will rarely pop more than once, I guess it's pistol is a black powder where the mantis has a semi auto.

:LOL: good one

 

[reefjitsu]

Actually, some pistol shrimp are quite dangerous and will kill fish, shrimp, crabs, hermits, snails etc. Most of the species that are commonly found as hitchikers and the symbiotic species are usually safe. So while most pistols are not too dangerous in a reef, caution should be used, especially when keeping a non-symbiotic species.

Also, most of the time, the pistol makes more of a popping sound, where the mantis make more of a clicking sound.