Click click
 

That is the sound in my tank the past few weeks. Usually one or two clicks at a time.

Some very live rock was introduced about 3 months ago. I have trapped and removed 1/2 dozen crabs and there are still more in there.

I haven't seen any mantis shrimp or pistol shrimp although I've looked and looked.

Is it possible the crabs could be making the clicking sound? Is the best approach to watch and wait, remove the rock and go on an aggressive mantis hunt, or continue to set traps?

I've had clicking in my tank for over a year now - and now in the new tank, after the move. Have never seen the culprit, but have a good idea what rock it's in. Not a lot of carnage that I can see - so I suppose it's a Pistol Shrimp or something similar. I just figure if it was a Mantis there would have been a decimation of snails, etc... evidence of considerable violence.

Stange thing though, my Cleaner shrimp DID disappear a little while ago, and it was quite mature... :confused:

Cleaner shrimps just seem to die spontaneously without any good reason. I read somewhere that they have a relatively short life span anyways?

What would be considered short lived. My two monsters have been with me a long time. :question: :eek:

I was wondering if my snapper got big enough to take the cleaner out...

:eek:

agreed ive lost two in the last two months both were eating well shed regularly,then found them half eaten by crabs in the morning.

for what it is worth neither of my two mantis ever attacked snails, only hermits. I figure that the movement of snails was to slow to trigger there hunting, plus I fed them. they did however eat a lot of fish and they were both smashers. a spearer which is more common I believe in rock shipments cannot break Shell's of snails or hermits.

Steve

Well, I haven't lost a lot of fish or hermits... pretty much just the odd snail. Didn't that high-speed video that someone posted a link to awhile back show a smasher going after a snail?

Steve, what and how did you feed your mantis? Were they in your sump? I can't imagine how I would feed a nocturnal ghost like this one I have...

For the people who have mantis shrimp, do you actually see them from time to time?

I remember awhile back Dez up in Edmonton had a pistol in his 150g, said he never did see it, only heard it. As for cleaner shrimp I,ve had mine now for over 2 yrs and at the price of them thats a good thing :mrgreen:

I'm not 100% sure on this but I do think some hermits can make the clicking sound. (more like I hope so ) I have a rather large left handed hermit and I'm positive it's him that makes the clicking noise most of the time. I have 2 pistols and I do see and hear them once in awhile.

OK so if I buy some assorted snails - Turbo, cerith,etc. and they live in my tank for a while can I then assume I don't have a mantis?

I remember once having the strangest piece of live rock. It was a small tonga branch that had this hole in it the size of a pencil lead. Every once in a while, I'd see this thin crustacean arm poke out and grab around the adjacent areas to the hold. When disturbed, the animal inside would make loud clicking noises. Anyway, that was a long time ago and I never thought to break open the rock to see what was inside. I always figured it was some form of pistol shrimp though, completely encased in an old tonga branch.

Actually, now that I think about it, this does pose a pretty interesting question. The hold did look like it was constructed. I figured the animal just kinda drilled into the piece of coral while it was alive (most animals that I can think of living in coral only live in live coral) and just spent the remainder of it's life there even after the piece broke off and ended up in the rubble zone where it was eventually collected as live rock. That all being said, I wonder how old that shrimp was...

Wish I still had that rock.

I always saw it, it used to come out and stair down my cat even.. kinda drove the cat nuts but it was funny. the little green one I only saw when the big one was baracaded in his hole at night.

AJ-77, I fed them krill, chunks of scallops, and the ocasional damsel :rolleyes: out of 7 yellow tailed damsels there was only 1 they couldent catch. I did feed the bigger one by hand once but he was still pretty timid at that point after wards I used a hollow acrylic tube that I could stuff 1/2 the krill into and then dangle it around his hole. he would wack the stick a couple times then come take the food.

Steve