Stop the ticking, or reassure me its ok (?)

[TOURKID]

hey all.

So ive had my tank up for a little over a year now. and since the first week of putting the liverock in the tank Ive heared ticking after i feed and when the lights go off.

At first I thought it was hermits falling and hitting glass.
After awhile, i thought mantis? pistol shrimp?

nothings ever came up missing that im aware of...

I have thousands of those tiny snails (collistias or somthing like that?)

and i kind of imagine one of thosde snail shells breaking open everytime i hear it.

well its been a full 13 months now and ive still never saw a hitchhiking shrimp/mantis or anything else i havent found already by now.

Tonight the ticking was REALLY loud and happened at least 5 times, any ideas???

possible to have a mantis and never know? pistol more likely? anything else that mkes cracking noises??


I posted this in invertabrates section first and someone said 'oh its just getting to the age where you'll start seeing things come up missing etcetc... if its a mantis how can i finally at least get a good look at him?

thanks!!

Maggie

[IronNipples]

I dare say you have misunderstood and paraphrased my response. I will try again...

It sounds very much like a stomatopod. You say you have thousands of those tiny snails so chances are you could be missing some and not know it. Also these guys will hoard their kills and molt so you may not see anything that would let you know its there. They are reclusive. You can try a trap but they are pretty smart. You can get a red light and miss some sleep and see if you spot it. Other than that you can take out the rock and give it a quick dip. After 13 months it is probably getting big enough that rather than the occasional tiny snail it could start going after bigger critters. Now, sorry I can't make you feel any better but look at this way, We pay for these things and you got one for free. :D

[earlnewt]

Mantis shrimp are great hiders. You will notice thinghs missing and lots of shells in a piles also. They come out at night so you may want to plant yourself in front of the tank while it and the room is dark. When you hear the noise shine the brightest flashlight on it, or better yet, use a dig. camera with the flash on, download the pic. and look around. Good luck