how to tell a mantis from a pistol?

[blazeyreef]

well I dont know that I have either..but at night sometimes I hear this little "popping" sound coming from the tank....so does anyone know how to tell the difference?

 

[FloridaNewbie]

If it is a Mantis, this might be the answer to you Hermit Killer!!

 

[Sadielynn]

Check to see if it is a snail or a crabs shell clicking against the glass ...
As for telling I am not sure if it is multi pops suggests mantis , or single ..our pistols IME do single pops ....

 

[blazeyreef]

well its multiple...over and over..but it only happends at night when the lights are off.... and if it IS a mantis...how do I get rid of it?

 

[hc8719]

its really hard, no technique is really good, best scenario, you try every night with a net for months and catch him

 

[Devilishturtles]

There are also mantis shrimp traps that you might want to look into. The soda bottle trick sometimes works well.

http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/DIY/diyMantisTrap.shtml

 

[Sadielynn]

if it is a mantis and you know what rock it is comming from you could do a fresh water dip to get him to shoot out. Or place rock into a container feed when he comes out remove him ... There are folks that will pay for a mantis if that is what you have ... so dont kill him .. Also IME my pistols popped more at night time ... But that is my experience it may not be the same for all out there