Need help with mystery noise

[asylumdown]

Is it a single noise? Or is it a sequence of cracks? When it's really loud it sounds like the tank is about to bust open, but it's always a series of them. The first one is usually slightly quieter than the rest as well, almost like the thing that's making the noise is 'warming up'.

[doch]

DO you ever notice any piles of sand where a burrow has been dug? Either way, I'd say it's gotta be a pistol. The piles of sand would somewhat verify that (IMO). One of mine fires rapidly several times... the other is an occasional single crack.

[pirate]

Sometimes it just one, and some times its a lots. I think it depends on what he is doing? If he is out looking for food then usually its multiple snaps. He stuns what ever he is going to eat, and then eats it. But if its in a shell like a snail or hermit crab be breaks open the shell with his claw. I have found broken shells arouond the old tank. If he is making his home (under the rock work) he will push out all the sand in to piles by his entrance to his home, and he will drag little bits of rock and empty snail shells to make a solid entrance way for him. And then its usually just 1 snap.
Before I moved into the new tank I use to see my shrimp and gobi all the time. It was neat to see, if you saw the gobi you saw the shrimpa few mins later and the gobi would just watch him to make sure it was safe for him.

[paddyob]

What ever is in mine has NEVER shown itself. I kid you not... it came on a rock in my original 20 gallon. I have since moved the rocks 3 times (tank leak, moved, upgrade to larger tank) and he comes along for the ride.

I never have broken shells and as for dead hermits or snails... nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone loses a snail here or there... and in almost 5 years I have only added extra snails since upgrading.

I am wondering if maybe he is a super small species or something? HUGE sound from the cracking though. It used to worry me, but now I could care less.

Anyone know how to find these buggers? I have no leads to a burrow or anything.

I am interested to find him as it seems this topic comes up quite frequently.

[pirate]

When mine was in my biocube I saw him regulary, but now that I moved into the 150 G I havent seen him at all. I dont even know where is burrow is! I know he is still alive as I hear him clicking. I also did not see the gobi for almost a month when I added new fish to the cube and its been almost another month with out see him in the 150 G, I saw him for the first time in almost 2 months at the start of the week.
If its a pistol shrimp you will not see him unless he is paired up with a gobi. But there is no garrinty you will see him after he is paired up with a gobi, they could only show up behind the rock work where you wont see them.

[pirate]

As well if the gobi is scared in the new tank you wont see them. When mine were in the cube if the gobi got spooked they both went back into the burrow and waited till the gobi thought it was safe again. He is the eyes for the two of them. Its a strange marriage.

[kien]

my tank makes knocking noises too and it is typically always a large hermit crab banging his shell on the glass.

[globaldesigns]

I would say a mantis shrimp, but the fact you have a frog's croak sound baffles me.

I too have the knocks, I have had it since the beginning, so I think I got a mantis from the LR, never seen it, nor have I ever seen any piles of sand. So I am thinking it lives on the backside of my rockwork.

The Frog's Croak really baffles me, I don't shrimp croak!

[abcha0s]

I get the loud clicks/knocks coming from the rocks in my sump. I've never seen the source. I've always been curious though.

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by globaldesigns

I would say a mantis shrimp, but the fact you have a frog's croak sound baffles me.

I too have the knocks, I have had it since the beginning, so I think I got a mantis from the LR, never seen it, nor have I ever seen any piles of sand. So I am thinking it lives on the backside of my rockwork.

The Frog's Croak really baffles me, I don't shrimp croak!

I suppose frog's croak was the wrong way to describe it. I mean that it sounds like more than just two hard surfaces tapping together, there's a resonance to it that gives it an extra "something". It might just be the echo the sound makes bouncing around the inside of the tank.

At first I was terrified that it was something banging on the glass of the aquarium and that it might break, but I couldn't reproduce the sound by knocking against the glass with anything (I probably looked like an idiot trying to do it too).

I suppose I shouldn't worry about it unless things start disappearing.