Need help with shrimp ID please!?!?

[thebkramer]

First off, I'd like to say THANK YOU! This forum is the only one that ever seems to reply to my threads! So I'm sticking it out here!! I guess I can still consider myself a newbie since my tanks only 18 mos old with a recent almost total crash! Thanks RC for all your help! :bounce3:

Anyways... Hi all and thanks for any and all responses!!
I have a shrimp who I think is a pistol. For months I've heard a loud popping sound coming from the tank...especially at night. In the very beginning it scared the heck out of me! I'd rush out to LR to make sure nothing bad happened. Had no idea what it was, thought maybe it was settling (yes..like a house lol) I don't have a picture so hope description will be good enough! Tried to photo him, but camera just not capable of good quality pic of him. He lives in a rock, makes the popping sound, he's clear with some black stripes on him, he's real small (like the size of a 2yr old pinky), he has a small claw and a larger one that has white on the tips. He always pops out when hermits crawl by, pretty sure he's hitting them, but to fast to really tell. It is hilarious though when it happens. I can see his antennaes here and there and sometimes see his little claw dropping out pieces of sand. I'm pretty sure I have a second one too, but haven't seen him..just heard him.
I've googled him, but only come up with colored shrimp. I hope someone can give me an idea of what I'm dealing with! Is he a threat? Will he get bigger? Should I be worried?
Also, off subject, I keep seeing exoskeletons of tiny...tiny! shrimp? They have a touch of blue and red with clear bodies? any idea?
Thanks again for your time!!

[Chiefsurfer]

if it looks like a shrimp, has one small claw and one big claw I would really tend to say it is a pistol shrimp. From what I have seen, pistols are less dangerous than mantis, but check out youtube. They pack a serious punch, and if they grow big enough(and they will eventually) they may hunt food, especially if he is not fed enough. He might easily be trying to hit the hermits with his popping sound.

The popping sound is not him wacking anything. He is actually just using his "big" claw. When he opens it up, it's like pulling the hammer back on a pistol(hence the name), then is SLAMS shut. When it slams shut, it creates an air bubble with VERYVERYVERY low pressure. The it's so low pressure that it implodes on itself. You are actually hearing the implosion. I have heard that the water right around the implosion can for 1/10000th of a second reach 10,000 degrees from the force of the implosion. This sends out a shockwave, and he can use that shockwave to stun it's prey.

In person I have only seen them "pop" as a defensive mechanism.