Little Mantis Shrimp

[bfenimore]

I see them lil b@st@rds in my reef and I'm a little concerned.....! I have a 30g cube.... Any suggestions to get rid of them?

Thanks in advance!

[bfenimore]

bump

[Ehgemus]

can I have him when you catch him?

[bfenimore]

How fast do they grow? These guys are small... 3/16" maybe.

[DawnOctopus]

They have "mantis traps" that you can buy at the LFS

[Simran]

You can use the bottle trap method http://www.coralcorral.com/id19.html
or if you know what rock they are hiding take out the rock and do a fresh water dip.
also this should be posted in the mantis shrimp forum and if you do catch them, dont kill them im sure one of the people on the mantis shrimp forums would be more than happy to take it off your hands.

[bfenimore]

Interesting Dawn.. Do you have any experience with the traps? Or have you know of anyone who has?

Thanks.

[kar93]

you say they, how many do you mean? how big are we talking like finger nail size or smaller. If they are really small they could be pods/.

[Simran]

in order for them to grow they have to molt, when juvenille they can molt up to every 3 weeks as they get older, it takes longer up to 3 months. either way they wont turn into monsters overnight

[bfenimore]

kar93 they're real small. less that a 1/4 inch (at most). They have no color.. clear. I can make the shape out and they look like mantis. I've had a large one before and did the fresh water dip. Which worked! So I support that method. I never though of pods..... Do they look similar?

[macronut]

You might try removing the rock they are hiding in. Put it in a bucket. secure the rock via egg crate or pvc piping so the rock and the hole they are in just sits above the water line. Let it go and don't watch it continually. In time they should leave their home and head for the water. If the rock sits above the waterline in the bucket they should not be able to climb back on board. They are very intelligent.

[bfenimore]

Thanks for the reply Simran!

[bfenimore]

Thanks for the reply macronut.

[kar93]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11928334#post11928334 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bfenimore
kar93 they're real small. less that a 1/4 inch (at most). They have no color.. clear. I can make the shape out and they look like mantis. I've had a large one before and did the fresh water dip. Which worked! So I support that method. I never though of pods..... Do they look similar?

They sound like pods, they do look similar many people have pods in there tank and start panicing because they think they have loads of little mantis in there. How many would you say was in there?

[bfenimore]

Too many to count kar93.

[bfenimore]

What kind of "bait" should I use in the DIY trap?

[Simran]

here is the best list of Stomatopods(mantis shrimp) available to us.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/

I suggest having a look through there and see if they are what you saw. another sure way of knowing wether they are mantis or not is if you hear any clicking noises in your tank. also how long have you had the live rock in the tank with the suspects?

[Simran]

any meaty substinance should work shrimp,krill, clam ect.. the thing with the bottle trap is you cant watch it, so either put it in when you are going to leave or when you are going to sleep. the thing about mantis shrimp is they have the best eye sight out of any creature in this world. they can see 12 different light bands as to humans which can only see 4. chances are they will see you way before you ever see them and just decide to hide hide in their burrow.

[kar93]

too many to count definitely sound like pods.

[bfenimore]

I hear ticking every once and awhile. Can't really pinpoint where its at. I haven't added any new lr lately. I have over 70 lbs!!!

[bfenimore]

SIMRAN u rock! Thanks for the links and all the advise!

[kar93]

clicking every now and again sound like pistol shrimp where as mantis click very rapid multiple stages.

[bfenimore]

kar93 I believe you may be correct. Thank you for all your comments!

[bfenimore]

I've heard rapid stages of clicking every now and then.

[bfenimore]

I just saw a video on youtube of a refuge and saw tons of pods.... Sorta looks like what I have. Can't confirm tho!

[Simran]

Clicking is only associated with mantis shrimp and pistol shrimp
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2183119778873488368&q=mantis+shrimp&total=209&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7282687094825448230&q=mantis+shrimp&total=209&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

the clicking noise is the sound that is made when they hit things with thier reptorial appendage. they do this when burrowing into liverock and when attacking thier prey. oh and dont worry the mantis in your tank will never get as big as these ones =)

[Tylt33]

Amphipods for sure. Mantis shrimp will kill eachother with extreme prejudice.

[Simran]

what you say is true but there have been cases where people pull out liverock with 10 or so mantis shrimp living inside

[kar93]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11928745#post11928745 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Simran
what you say is true but there have been cases where people pull out liverock with 10 or so mantis shrimp living inside
not saying it isn't true but i find it quite hard to believe

[LeslieH]

True. It depends on how much food & space for homes there is. In the field I've seen literally hundreds of small ones in a single rock or square meter of sand. Once they get larger the numbers drop.

[bfenimore]

I'll keep a close eye on everything! Thx for the replies!

[crabbejoe]

Do they look like this?
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o61/crabbejoe/Corals/pod.jpg