good guy?badguy? pic.

[reneeanneb]

i've been hearing a tapping sound(or maybe i'm hearing things) i threw 2 of these guys in a one gallon tank along with 2 crabs and something is making alot of noise in there,i thought i heard it in my big tank but thought i was crazy,can anyone id they are very small maybe just hatched.and can i expect more?
thanx

 

[Fluff]

It's very hard to tell but the body shape looks more like a pistol shrimp than a mantis. Do they have claws?

 

[reneeanneb]

i cant say i'm 100% positive because they are so small but from what i can tell it looks like they have 2 antenna sticking out in front of their head,then two arm with black at the end that look like claws on either side of the antenna looking things. now one of them the one in the pic is definatly red in color the other is too hard to tell maybe they are different but something is making noise in there sounds like rock scraping or snapping.the little tank is plastic.i know they have a shell because i heard it fall out of the rock before i saw it.
thanks for your help. i dont know what to do with these guys.

 

[Fluff]

mantis don't have claws so, I'd say pistol. The mantis has a club or spear type appendage. And would see prominent eyestalks. I wouldn't worry much.

 

[Fluff]

Also, have a look here for mantis pics. Toirtis posted a nice mantis ID link and there is a great pic of Phyllis' mantis. HTH

 

[reneeanneb]

i would rather be safe than sorry so i gave them to the pet store.they'll probably make a good snack for some fish.the crab is what is making the scraping noise because i heard it after i took the shrimp out.i planned on putting them in my 55 gal at least until i put fish in there,would that be ok? I still have 2 more in my tank and one of my snails is dead this morning,that makes 2 mysterious snail deaths ,think the crabs are the culprit?
water is ok
nitrate 40ppm
nitrite 0
alk 300
ph 8.4
sg 1.022
thanks your a big help!
temp 79-80

 

[Fluff]

I think putting the crabs in your 55 is fine and yes, it could be them eating your snails.