My order is going in this week for 240 pounds of rock from liverocks.com I want to know what and how to dip the rock to remove unwanted critters. I dont want to chase any mantis shrimp around in the tank for a month. I understand I have a high chance of getting them in a order of 240 pounds. Any insight would be appreciated.
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quarryshark
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With 240lbs, you will get some critters. I would not FW dip the rock, you will loose too much good live. You can use the SW soda water dip if you must dip the rock. You could also add it to the tank and catch the critters later.
If you choose to do the soda water dip, here is how it is done.
Get unsweetened soda water at the grocery store. Make sure you get enough to fill up a 5 gallon bucket. Fill it with the soda water and add SW mix to the normal SPG.
Have another bucket standing by with normal salt mix for your rinse and a container for the desirable creature that may come out of the rock.
Place each piece of rock in the SW soda mix for 1 minute. The critters will come jumping out. You then rinse the rock in the normal salt mix and quickly place it in the tank. Quickly remove the wanter critter to the container for later placement in your system.
Keep doing this until the soda water looses its carbonation. You may then need to mix up another bucket. The salt mix seem to lessen the live of the soda water. It's a pretty good method, but I still missed one Mantis, whom I later trapped.
HTH
If you choose to do the soda water dip, here is how it is done.
Get unsweetened soda water at the grocery store. Make sure you get enough to fill up a 5 gallon bucket. Fill it with the soda water and add SW mix to the normal SPG.
Have another bucket standing by with normal salt mix for your rinse and a container for the desirable creature that may come out of the rock.
Place each piece of rock in the SW soda mix for 1 minute. The critters will come jumping out. You then rinse the rock in the normal salt mix and quickly place it in the tank. Quickly remove the wanter critter to the container for later placement in your system.
Keep doing this until the soda water looses its carbonation. You may then need to mix up another bucket. The salt mix seem to lessen the live of the soda water. It's a pretty good method, but I still missed one Mantis, whom I later trapped.
HTH
jenpc
Aquarium Advice Activist
Why are they so bad? I am still very new to this.
quarryshark
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What makes it tough is that they can hide deep inside the LR. Some folks don't discover them for months.
I would try and get what you can and rely on the traps to catch the rest out later. Don't stress too much, 90% of what you will get from the rock will be desirable.
Mantis shrimp are predators and will (when they get big enough) start taking out your inverts. Most of the ones we get on our LR are too small to do too much damage, but given time you will start to see smashed snail shells laying around and eventually other animals like Cleaner Shrimp and Hermits.. Actually they are very cool animals, many people like to keep them in species specific tanks. They are just not desirable in community tanks.
I've never had them but from everything I've read they will kill just about anything they get close to ,snails,crabs,small fish etc. i have seen several discovery channel shows about them and they are one of the strongest if not the stronges animals in the world when it comes to knock out power. Sounds like somebody knocking at the door when they get to work.
quarryshark
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There are 2 kinds of Mantis Shrimp, spearers and smasher. The ones that come on LR are almost always smashers. The spearers are the ones that take out fish and they tend to live in substrate.
Very unlikely that you would get a spearer, they are HUGE 8O and tend not to live in LR.
Very unlikely that you would get a spearer, they are HUGE 8O and tend not to live in LR.
Those are extraordinarily large smashers, I doubt if you will get one that size.
Brad
Aquarium Advice FINatic
The smasher that I got in my LR.com shipment has now grown to nearly 2 inches and has become quite colorful. He's of a size now where I'm not comfortable putting my hand in his tank...
He was caught because he went after a newly introduced fish...jumping on the fish and chasing him around the tank. He must have sensed fear.
Anyway, in all the confusion he abandoned his home rock (huge) and entered a smaller rock. I quickly pulled this rock out and placed in a bucket. I drew regular tank water into the bucket, then repeatedly plunged the rock in and out of this bucket. After about 2-3 plunges, he abandoned ship into the bucket.
Another tip I can provide is that they will lose their timidness pretty quickly if you stick-feed them. Once they are less timid, they get a little easier to catch.
He's quite a pet now. Photo in my gallery.
Rock has been in the tank nearly 1 year now, and I think I may have seen another mantis just the other day.
He was caught because he went after a newly introduced fish...jumping on the fish and chasing him around the tank. He must have sensed fear.
Anyway, in all the confusion he abandoned his home rock (huge) and entered a smaller rock. I quickly pulled this rock out and placed in a bucket. I drew regular tank water into the bucket, then repeatedly plunged the rock in and out of this bucket. After about 2-3 plunges, he abandoned ship into the bucket.
Another tip I can provide is that they will lose their timidness pretty quickly if you stick-feed them. Once they are less timid, they get a little easier to catch.
He's quite a pet now. Photo in my gallery.
Rock has been in the tank nearly 1 year now, and I think I may have seen another mantis just the other day.
arminkropp
Aquarium Advice Freak
I guess I'll have to do da dip in a week or two also!
whats the best way to trap mantis shrimp once in the tank?
whats the best way to trap mantis shrimp once in the tank?
Salttanker
Aquarium Advice Addict
I finally got to see a mantis in action. I have seen pics, but never saw one snag a fish before. here'a link in case some people haven't seen it either.
http://www.vanaqua.org/aquanews/mantis_shrimp.html
http://www.vanaqua.org/aquanews/mantis_shrimp.html
stusclan
Aquarium Advice Activist
I had one two inch mantis and a smaller one with my liverock.com order. These were caught before I put the rock in the tank - as they were in the water at the bottom of the bag. I have started hearing a new popping noise after 6 weeks so I will be on the lookout for another. Just a fact of life with live rock.
quarryshark
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Actually, I have been hearing poping noises again too. Hopefully just a pistol shrimp. 
Here is a bad pic of the one I caught. He was a little guy and I really wanted to keep him in a 10 gallon. The wife convinced me that 1 tank was enough. 8)
BTW Brad, yours is a beauty!!
Here is a bad pic of the one I caught. He was a little guy and I really wanted to keep him in a 10 gallon. The wife convinced me that 1 tank was enough. 8)
BTW Brad, yours is a beauty!!
