mantis or pistol shrimp?

[SeymourJustice]

hello again, the start of this thread may sound like a repeat of my last post

i have a 37 gallon reef aquiarium, established for about a couple years now. about 4 months ago i decided to add some more liverock and i definitely got some hitchhikers with it, including bristleworms

but the funny thing is, i have heard a clicking sound in my tank ever since i added the rock. i'm sure it's either a mantis or a pistol shrimp, but i have NEVER SEEN IT, i just hear it about every day.

i'm really not too concerned, with the exception of my curiousity. i already own a peacock mantis in a seperate tank, but whatever is in my reef tank it has to be really small, for i have been hunting for it for months and have not even caught a glimpse of it!

my question here would be this: is there any other type of species that can make a clicking sound that you can hear from the outside of the tank? i'm not too concerned for no damage has been done, but if it's a mantis then he's gonna have to eventually leave lol

 

[Bige]

I have heard that clown fish can click. I don't know if you have any. But it is probably a mantis or pistol. I think that if your rock is on the bottom of the tank (not on sand), then you could be fine for a while. I think they dig a lot digging under your LR making it fall. It will be hard to get out. My friend had one that was 4 inches long. It took us 6 months to trap it.

 

[Jaybird]

I can't really comment much on mantis shrimp, but I do have a large pistol shrimp in my tank. From what I've heard, if it's mulitple, rapid, clicks then it is likely a mantis, or multiple pistols. Pistols only tend to click every once in a while, and then it's only one crack.

Not sure how loud mantis shrimp are, but my tiger pistol can be heard very clearly from a long way away. It's only ever one click.

 

[thincat]

I've had a pistol for ~2+yrs now and only seen it once. (single click)...sounds like it could be a mouse..Oh that would be a computer mouse. lol

 

[Jaybird]

I've had a pistol for ~2+yrs now and only seen it once. (single click)...sounds like it could be a mouse..Oh that would be a computer mouse. lol

Maybe you've got one of the smaller pistols. I've got a tiger pistol and he's actually larger than my watchman gobie that he's paired up with. When that guys sounds off it sounds like a loud finger snap,

 

[SeymourJustice]

yes i do have a maroon clownfish actually. i'm pretty sure that's not whats making the click however. one day i actually saw all of my fish FLINCH when we heard the click lol

it's mostly one click about once a day, but sometimes i hear 2 or 3 clicks in a row! i'm suspecting it has to be a really small mantis living in my live rock, i look underneath my tank and look at the sand and it looks the same every day, no holes or burrows have been dug by anything

for now i'm seeing no harm done, but man i sure do wanna catch it one day before it starts getting bigger and turning into a problem! i have many hermit crabs and snails, none have ever seem to have been messed with, that's why i'm thinking it's gotta be really small

every time i set a trap my snails just go in there immediately. how can i work around that?

 

[Jaybird]

If it's a small manits you could use a glass tube (like the API test tubes). They should be big enough to allow a small mantis to enter but not a snail.....unless you have tiny snails. Won't stop the bristleworms

 

[SeymourJustice]

hmmm that's a good idea. i'd just have to figure out how to keep it from escaping if i trapped it

i'm only assuming it's small because i've been looking for it every day for a long time now and have not found it lol

 

[thincat]

I only know that it's around by seeing sand being kicked up from under my rockwork. I only saw my shrimp once.

 

[Kmatt08]

A couple of months ago I had one in my tank. Didn't see it for weeks and only heard clicking noises almost every night. If it is a mantis you should be see a small pair of eyes that seem to stick out of nowhere, they spook easily so you might have to be a little patient.

 

[SeymourJustice]

yeah being that i own another mantis in a seperate tank i figured i'd be familiar with their behavior but alas wherever this guy is it is bewildering me on figuring out how to catch it

i figured it would have a cave in the sand, but judging by where the clicks are coming from i'm assuming it HAS to be in my life rock. the clicks are coming from the upper left side of the tank.

still can't find it though, been looking so hard for it! i used to have the X-TERMINATOR trap but the cheap thing broke, truly a $20 rip off and i am definitelty not buyin another lol

i've contructed the plastic bottle trap with the inverted opening. anyone know if baiting a trap with tiny live hermit crabs could work? it may take time but if i use any other type of food then my entire tank is trying to get into the trap lol

its just so frustrating because i've never seen it but i know it's in there, but it absolutely refuses to come out of it's cave! it'd be nice if i knew it was peaceful but i love my inhabitants and don't want this mantis shrimp to grow up and eat them haha