pistol or mantis fry?

[icyuod2]

let me start by saying i have hundreds of iso/amphi/copepods in my aquarium and these are very different. i also have a very large pop. of mysis shrimp. (free swimming)

the critters in question are crawling, not swimming. they dont role and flip like an amphipod and thier much slower.

they stick out amounst the other critters on my glass. they also have alot more color. its hard to tell in the pic's, but they have 2 pistol shrimp shaped claws (round in shape with a very stubby claw) they also have the swim fins on the underside of the body much like a shrimp or lobster (although i havent seen them swim)

if disturbed, the claws come out! snapping open and closed.
i'm sorry the pic's are better, but i have to hold a magnifing glass while taking a pic's with my camera zoomed in full. its very difficult at best :)
in the first pics it has the posture of a mantis.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7900.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7865.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7911.jpg
when i first saw these guys, i thought the back was the head and vice versa. it the next pic the critter is facing the left of the page
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7878.jpg
couple isopods in the shot for comparison
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7856.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7880.jpg
i have a recently added a lobster. i have a mantis thats been with me for 4 months (the only one i know off - hitchhiker) and pistol shrimp(not sure how many) the pistols are 1-1.5". brown/white claws black/grey stripes on the body.


so what do you think? pistol ?mantis? lobster fry?
or something else?

[icyuod2]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7929.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7936.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/icyuod2/IMG_7940.jpg

i'm thinking its pistol shrimp, unless the pro's say otherwise :)
to give you an idea of size, thats a pop bottle cap its swimming in.

[Thurge]

Holy cow thats small. Based on those darker pictuers I am going to go with Pistola also.
Very cool what ever it is.

You interested in getting rid of some?

[icyuod2]

yup very small. i'd say 2mm. i have to use the 10x zoom to the max on my camera, and photograph through a busnell 4.5x eye piece from a rifle scope.

im in canada, but i dont mind sending "water samples" (full of fry ) across the border :)

what the boarder dont know, wont hurt them :P

[gunslingerone9]

that looks like a miny tiger pistol shrimp. what type of pistols do you have?

[gunslingerone9]

yeah i wouldnt mind a water sample. i have one tiger. minus the fact that he moves my corals he if great and real fun to watch and observe. he and my yellow watchman are hilarious and real entertaining

[Dannyboy17]

Would you like to send me one? Im in Canada too :)