Baby Mantis

[MikeyB]

Well last night I decided to take a look at my tank with the night shot on my Sony DV camera. I saw a couple of very tiny mantis shrimps. They were way smaller then 1/8 of an inch. The thing that bothers me is that I can hear clicking in my tank and every once in a while I will see some whiite stuff come out of the rock. I have had two snails die but they didnt have any damage to them. Anyway do you think there is a way to catch that small of shrimp, or should I not worry.

[TCTFish]

There are mantis traps available. Talk to someone at your LFS or look online.

[Florida8]

Yes, you can trap them many ways and all sizes. If you see approx. where they live you can place a trap very close to that spot/rock and you should catch them easily... all mine were easy anyhow... but i have read that some have had to remove and FW dip their rock.

Warmly,
Kimberly

[Fluff]

Are you sure they are mantis' and not just amphipods? The popping in your rock could be a mantis but the other shrimps sounds like pods.

[MikeyB]

Ok I think they are PODS I didnt even know about those things. They are crazy looking. Are they bad to keep in my tank. Anyway thanks for the ID, makes me feel better. Can anyone suggest a good mantis trap.

[quarryshark]

Are they bad to keep in my tank.

No way, pods are one of most desired types of life in our systems.

Here is the mantis trap I use. The X-terminator.
http://www.ultralifedirect.com/traps.htm

[MikeyB]

This is off the topic but I Just placed 70 lbs LR in my tank yesterday from Tampa Bay Saltwater which brings me up to 95 lbs. My ammonia was 0,nitrite 0, Nitrate 0 before the roc,. Today tested my water and my amm. .50 nitrite .35, Nitrate 20. and SG 1.023 Is this normal for adding this ammount of LR there is lots of life and coral on the rock. I transported the LR underwater for 1 1/2 hr drive in a large cooler, so i dont think there is would have been much die off. Also the rock had no funny smell to it. I guess im gonna do a Emergency water change or am I just over reacting. I would hate to see my fish and stuff die.

[Brad]

The water change is a good idea...there is little downside in that anyway.

No matter how carefully you transported or obtained that LR, there is going to be some stuff that dies in the process. So some spike is very normal.

Do you have additional bio-filtration beyond the 25lbs of LR that you already had? If so, make sure you DON'T clean the filter or anything for the next short while. As you are adding LR to an existing system, the capability to handle the new ammonia is dependent on that existing 25lbs of LR and any other filtration you had established.

An established tank should be able to adapt quickly enough that you're not likely to lose fish. More sensitive life might have a problem.

[MikeyB]

Thanks for the info thats what I figured was going on. I just wanted to make sure. All my critters seem to be doing ok after the water change. I did a 25% change.