lanman July 25, 2009 Share July 25, 2009 I have a mantis shrimp in my 33-gallon frag tank. I really thought he had died - hadn't seen him for a year. But - the other day, I saw him hanging out near the top of the tank, kind of wrapped around a snail. He was there for quite a while, but when I went to get my camera, he vanished again. He is about 1.5" long. Couldn't get close enough to determine if he is a slasher or a smasher. What dangers are associated with this beast??? To me? To the two fish (lawnmower blenny and royal gramma)? To my inverts? i.e. - is this why I haven't seen my emerald crab and sally lightfoot lately? Thanks for any info - and suggestions on what to do about it. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 25, 2009 Share July 25, 2009 To my inverts? i.e. - is this why I haven't seen my emerald crab and sally lightfoot lately? Yep. That's his nature. I have a hitchhiker N. Wennerae that I captured out of my main tank quite a wile ago and now keep in a small 15. Mostly, he's fed scraps of shrimp, squid, and such but occasionally he gets treated with a pest crab or a moderately sized snail. I've got a mexican turbo snail in the same tank that's too big for him to do anything with so he leaves it alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman July 25, 2009 Author Share July 25, 2009 I like my crabs... suggestions on catching him? bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay July 25, 2009 Share July 25, 2009 Unless he is a really big sucker (way bigger than 1.5") I wouldn't think he took out an emerald or a sally lightfoot. Mantis shrimps are overly demonized and blamed for way too much. I have a video showing my 6" peacock having a hard time with am emerald crab. A Sally lightfoot is just too big (and too fast) for a 1.5" mantis and emeralds have really tough shells. If you have gone over a year with very minimal or no loss, why not just leave him. You could get some of those cheap snails from ebay that are like $10 for 100. They will clean you glass, stir your sand, and provide ample food for your mantis. tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 July 25, 2009 Share July 25, 2009 Bob, I would try to bury a tunnel in the bottom with PVC for him. If you do catch him and really don't want to keep him in your menagerie, let me know as I can add it to the school systems. I have a peacock in a 15 gallon but one as small as yours would easily fit into a 10 gallon without problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar July 25, 2009 Share July 25, 2009 I think he's probably too small to do any real damage. Maybe a mantis shrimp that size could bring down a neon goby sized fish, but I don't believe they can hurt a regular size fish. I would simply enjoy the biodiversity! Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller7 July 25, 2009 Share July 25, 2009 For that length of time, it is almost certainly a smasher vs spearer. Fish will not likely be its primary choice, although mine enjoy pieces of silversides/lancefish the anemones don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 25, 2009 Share July 25, 2009 I don't know, my little guy is about 1.5" long and took out a 2" gorilla crab. He started out by knocking off his pincers and, the next day, finished him off. It took a while, but he eventually prevailed. Are emerald shells really that hard by comparison? Like I said, I have him in a separate tank and he does just fine. Given the type of mantis he is (a smasher), I would not be overly concerned about adding fish to the tank if I needed to. I do need to add some sand sifters, though, and would prefer not to have to add something the mantis thought was lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw July 25, 2009 Share July 25, 2009 Bob- Just stick your hand in there and grab him.......it couldn't hurt too much........or at least, not for too long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VA_Reefer July 26, 2009 Share July 26, 2009 If he's a smasher you'll hear him busting shells. It's a loud clicking sound. We have one that is about 2.5 inches long. We suspect he took out about a dozen hermits, 2 mithrax and possibly a cleaner shrimp before we were able to get him out of the tank. The tank is near my home office and I would often hear the loud clicking. It was loud enough that it was annoying at times. We have a pistol shrimp and I always thought it was the pistol making the clicking noise, until one day I happened to see the mantis moving in a hole while examining the tank with a flashlight at night. Apparently he came as a hitchhiker on our LR and lived in our tank for a year before we found him. We tried trapping him but never worked. Found him in an easily removable top rock one day so we took the rock out and poured club soda into the hole. He came scampering out pretty quickly. He now lives in an 8 gallon bio-cube all by his lonesome. We put in a couple of large snails that he doesn't seem to bother. When I make a trip to the LFS I pick up a few cheap hermits and drop them in. He makes pretty short work of them. greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite July 26, 2009 Share July 26, 2009 Unless he is a really big sucker (way bigger than 1.5") I wouldn't think he took out an emerald or a sally lightfoot. Mantis shrimps are overly demonized and blamed for way too much. I have a video showing my 6" peacock having a hard time with am emerald crab. How is that fair considering that the crab was carrying a sword? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman July 26, 2009 Author Share July 26, 2009 Well... based on all of the above, I will just leave him be for now. And start watching more closely to see if my emerald crab is still in there somewhere. I don't have a valonia problem, so he might very well be. And I'll see if I can get a photo. Being hard of hearing, and the tank room being noisy - I don't ever hear noises like that. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay July 26, 2009 Share July 26, 2009 How is that fair considering that the crab was carrying a sword? Life isn't fair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capsfan July 26, 2009 Share July 26, 2009 How is that fair considering that the crab was carrying a sword? As I remember, he almost took tooth's finger off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay July 26, 2009 Share July 26, 2009 As I remember, he almost took tooth's finger off. Yeah, not to mention the crippling psychological damage. Here's a link to refresh your memory: Maybe later I will post a video of my mantis avenging me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 27, 2009 Share July 27, 2009 How is that fair considering that the crab was carrying a sword? Was it a sword or a light sabre? LOL. I remember the vid well. Very entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay July 27, 2009 Share July 27, 2009 Was it a sword or a light sabre? LOL. I remember the vid well. Very entertaining. Hm, he was short and green. Could of been a jedi... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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