Mantis Shrimp

[kellane1]

okies have seen the little critter, looking out of a hole in my LR, how do i get this monster out of it's hole without damaging my live rock.
Thank you in advance
Kell

[ReefRaff]

well if your quick enough, you need to get the rock he is in and remove it and dunk it into some room temp RO water, unsalted water. but you have to be quick so he dosn't see you and dash into a differant peice of rock.

[yaksplat]

is that a good way to remove unwanted hitchhikers?

[GrndHog]

Thats the way I did it

[Bearfan]

I think it's better to grab the rock, then use a turkey baster over a bucket with cold tap water (unsalted). This way, you don't shock the entire rock, just the section with the mantis. It's worked for me.

The best way to remove hitchhikers is to buy some carbonated water, adjust the salinity to match your tank, then dunk the LR in it for about a minute, rinse in another bucket of tank water, and replace in the tank. That way you can pick through and keep which hitchhikers you want. The fresh water method pretty much offs most of the hitchhikers.

[pecan2phat]

What kind of damage will a mantis shrimp do?

What kind of damage will a mantis shrimp do?

Ahh just kill snails and hermits while he is small.. The bigger he gets the bigger the food gets that he goes after..

HTH,
James

[HoopsGuru]

I would hesitate to call any of them "peaceful", but there are certainly those that are a bit more reserved and stay small, which could be pleasant tankmates fed prepared meaty foods. I would probably remove the critter, but this doesn't mean you can't attempt to observe its habits and make your own choice based on your livestock.

[kellane1]

okies, thank you all for your help, i took the LR out of the tank, carried it over to the sink, was about to dunk it when he fell out and landed in the fresh sink water..
Problem is now solved and i have relocated him to a small tank with just him in it..
He looked sort of cute and i want to check him out a bit more and if he cracks this tank then i can live with it lol..

[sacramentofish]

how big is it? any pics?

[pecan2phat]

Originally Posted by kellane1

He looked sort of cute and i want to check him out a bit more and if he cracks this tank then i can live with it lol..

Cracks this tank? Your telling me that mantis shrimps can do that? I thought those were pistol shrimps and that it was kind of a myth. Is it a mantis or pistol that can crack a tank and has this ever happened to anyone?

[cookiemn]

Pecan,
a mantis shrimp has two club like claws that they use to stun their prey with. It has been mentioned that the club has the same force as a .22 caliber bullet. I was unforunate enought to have to in my 65. The first one I caught after killing over $200 in fish. The second one I caught after that little F@^$@er cracker my All-Glass tank. I think they are cool looking shrimp, but if you want to keep them, put them in their own tank. I do not consider them reef friendly or fish friendly. One other note, the last mantis in my tank whacked me on my fingers as I tried to net him. It pretty much feels like someone hitting you as hard as they can with a metal rod.

[pecan2phat]

Wow, thanks for the info cookiemn. They sound down right nasty.

[ImLookinForNemo]

cookiemn, how big were the ones in your tank?