How do I know if I have mantis shrimp?

[arminkropp]

Got my LR 3 days ago and I was wondering how do I know if I have mantis shrimp? Every night about a hour after I turn my lights off I hear what sounds like a crunch or like a cricket cricking(<---I know it sounds dumb!) coming from my tank fro about 1-3 minutes and then it stops.
Is a mantis just make the popping sound or are there other sounds to describe it?
If I do have one how long should I wait to trap it? How can I look for it to know if I have one?
I got Fiji premium LR.
Thanx

[StripesTheEel]

the mantis shrimp usually make a clicking noise..bloody annoying..rarely does it though.. i've left mine in my lr because my fish like to chase it.. but if u want to get rid of it..pull the rock that it is in out of the tank and put it in fresh water for a while and he'll eventually come out..

[copi]

Originally Posted by StripesTheEel

if u want to get rid of it..pull the rock that it is in out of the tank and put it in fresh water for a while and he'll eventually come out..

Won't this do serious damage to the organisms living in the rock?

[i have crabs]

Originally Posted by copi

Won't this do serious damage to the organisms living in the rock?

so will a mantis

[Vehl]

The mantis will come out mighty fast in a FW or carbon water dip, basically shoots out of the rock trying to escape the FW. Just have another bucket of SW nearby if you want to keep it, and dump the rock back into the tank after the Mantis is out. Most of your organisms will be fine.

[StripesTheEel]

its just like giving your fish a fw bath when they have ich, as long as ur not leaving it in there for hours it should be fine. generally the shrimp will scurry out in a minute or two.. maybe quicker..depends really..

[copi]

My question was regarding the beneficial bacteria in/on live rock -- I was under the impression that these bacteria could not tolerate fresh water... I was told not to rinse my filter media with fresh water for this reason.

Was I misinformed?

[RMPD109]

You can remove it and flush it out with salt water from a turkey baster. Seltzer water that you bring the salinity up on can also be poured onto the rock to evict the nasties very quickly.