Mantis Shrimp!?

[ctdrummerguy]

HELP! I recently discovered that I had a mantis shrimp in my 120 gallon reef aquarium. I Lost a small Naso Tang and I noticed all my snails and blue legs disappearing. I could also hear him clicking late at night. So I tried setting traps for the little bugger to no avail. I even went out and bought a trap for mantis shrimp, nothing worked... So a few nights ago, I lost another fish, a blue devil damsel, and I decided to go in after the little guy. I narrowed him down to one rock and could feel him smash the rock as I poked around it. He's obviously a little smasher, not a spearer. I eventually got him out of the rock alive and his new home is now a bucket with a heater and a rock in it. I was shocked though... The little guy making all that noise was only about 1/2 an inch long! I listened for a few nights and the clicking was gone from the aquarium. My water parameters are fine and stable, the aquariums been established well over 1 yr. The fish are frequently checked for disease and signs of distress, but they're all healthy at the time of disappearance... I don't keep anything very aggresive, so was it the little mantis that killed my naso, damsel, snails and crabs? Is it possible something that small could be so destructive?

[ndas2976]

There are 2 types of mantis shrimp, smashers and spearers. Smashers would eat your snails,crabs,etc...as with the spearers they would go after your fish. I doubt a 1/2 inch mantis could kill a healthy naso or damsel (both fish are pretty quick swimmers).

Do you know what kind of mantis you have in the bucket?

What size was the naso and damsel, and did you exaime their body for any trauma?

[ctdrummerguy]

I'm not sure exactly what kind the mantis shrimp is. He is black and white, but I'm not sure if that helps at all. I'll post a picture if i can when I get home later today...

When I did find the fish, there was pretty much nothing left, I have plenty of blue legs and a few small emerald crabs, so I'm sure they took care of it once it was dead.

The only reason I think that it could possibly be the mantis is that I found thier remains right at the entrance to his "hole"...
Coincidence??

[Thurge]

As a keeper of mantis I don't think that it was your real problem. As stated a 1/2" mantis killing a naso would be hard to believe. If there are snails, crabs and hermits for it to eat, that is where it's going to go first because they are much easier prey to deal with. Damsels are pretty adept at living with mantis's because they are rather quick and stay in the water column, away from the mantis. Also I am not familiar with a black and white smashing mantis (but that doesn't mean that there isn't one), but I used to have a 1/2" Pistol that was black and white striped.

When you get a picture post it in the Mantis forum where the other mantis freaks like me hang out. We should be able to ID it, tell you what to keep it in, and probably even find a good home for it.

[reiko1078]

if youve caught the bugger i want him!

[ctdrummerguy]

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Sorry they're such bad quality... I had to take them with a camera phone... but here he is. now that i look at him, he's closer to an inch in size...

[ctdrummerguy]

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[TNTREEF]

it's a pistol shrimp not a mantis.

[ctdrummerguy]

Thanks, I just looked up the pistol shrimp... That would be him!

[ctdrummerguy]

Would he be a threat to my tank at all? (Tank contains- Yellow Damsel, blue/green chromis, wild percula, hippo tang, blenny, cleaner shrimp, Blue maxima Clam, blue leg hermits, a few emerald crabs, snails, tons of brittle stars, bubble tip anemone and various types of coral) should I just throw him back in? and does it have any special care requirements?

[DylanE]

no he's not a threat... definatly not whats making your fish disappear.

[Thurge]

Thats the Pistol I had. It's definately not what is taking out your fish. They have no real special requirements I know of, but add a small shrimp gobie with it and you may get a symbiotic pairing. I would try and form the pairing in a critter keeper then add them to the tank together.

[ctdrummerguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10403583#post10403583 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Thurge
Thats the Pistol I had. It's definately not what is taking out your fish. They have no real special requirements I know of, but add a small shrimp gobie with it and you may get a symbiotic pairing. I would try and form the pairing in a critter keeper then add them to the tank together.

Thanks a lot, you've been a lot of help!

[RichConley]

Okay,


first, NO ONE gets spearers as hitchhikers. They dont live in rock, they live in mud flats. You get smashers because they live in live rock. Smashers dont kill fish. I've seen some really small fish kept with smashers, and they dont seem to care.

Crustaceans? Yeah, but not fish.

[mr_o98]

Put the pistol shrimp back in your tank, it is not a threat to anything.

[ctdrummerguy]

alrighty, thanks guys, he's back in and happy as can be!