creak or click? mantis shrimp?

[PONCHDOG2000]

so a week has passed since i noticed a sporadic noise, a creak or a click mostly at night, but sometimes at lights on too. i first thought that my tank wasn't level (it turned out to be a little off level) and the tank was going to bust or break.(i was really worried at first) i talked to several fish stores and other people including people on RC. it seems that every one said that my tank being 29 gallons (relatively small) that i shouldn't worry about it bursting or breaking by displased weight and pressure. but, other explanations have been pistol shrimp or mantis shrimp. i was under the impression that mantis eat fish as well. through logic, my fish are fine, i said it might be a pistol shrimp. but then, maybe it is a baby mantis shrimp. i haven't had very much success with my turbo snails(i chalked it up to my inexperience), could it be that a small mantis is eating them (no broken or smashed shells tho)? i thought they were burrorers, i have cerith snails that move around under the sand tho.? is there a way to know, maybe set a trap, or am i sol until it gets bigger and starts eating fish and then i will know for sure? -thanks

[kass03]

My guess would be a pistol. They make a sound that sounds like the glass breaking. It could be either but I had a mantis once in my 150 that never made a sound. It was'nt very shy and I saw it peeking out of it's hole all the time in the rockwork.
I kept it for awhile but when the snail shells started piling up I figured I better get rid of it.
With the mantis I had (that was a small hitchiker) it stayed in the same hole in the rock and the snail shells were all piled up near it together.

Ive had a bullseye pistol in my 55 for yrs that makes alot of noise and I do see it when I feed but they're more shy.
Ive also seen once or twice a small hitchiker pistol in that tank that I have no idea when or where it came from so they can go a long time without being seen.
The pistols wont harm anything and usually burrow but mine sometimes goes all over the rocks looking for food.

kass

[PONCHDOG2000]

if it makes noise will it be in the open where i can see it, because i have been looking at my tank when the noise happens and have seen nothing. is it in the rocks?

[kass03]

My pistol usually clicks as soon as the light goes off or if something startles it. I can hear it at night on and off also more than the day.
My bullseye is colorfull (orange and purple) and bigger so easier to see but I don't see him much either except sometimes at feeding time.
He has a burrow that goes under my rockwork somewhere but does peak out of the rocks to sometimes.
The small brown hitchiker one has a burrow in the sand right in the front glass but I rarely see it lol.
You could try looking at night with a flashlight prolly more towards the sand but could be anywhere.
Pistols look more like a tiny lobster where a mantis looks more like a preying mantis.

kass