Cleverness Needed

[Justintaylor62]

I've got a Mantis shrimp in my tank (at least I hear the signs at night), and I need him gone now before he becomes a problem. Anyone got any clever ideas/inventions to get him without tearing down my finally tuned in reef?:mad:

[TheGreatAukSociety]

Squirt tonic water into it's hole. It will emerge dazed and easy to catch.

[VegasFish]

What time at night Justin? They're almost all diurnal. If its a while after lights out I don't think its a mantis. All of ours are/have been dead silent at night. When new they do some pounding just at lights out. Plus, the small ones do very little damage.

How loud is it at night?

[Narazbad]

Mine knocks away while there is some light from the computer screen usually, or ambient room light.

[Justintaylor62]

What time at night Justin? They're almost all diurnal. If its a while after lights out I don't think its a mantis. All of ours are/have been dead silent at night. When new they do some pounding just at lights out. Plus, the small ones do very little damage.

How loud is it at night?


It starts at about 9ish once I've turned off all the lights, and just the lunar light is on. Goes all night. I've yet to hear anything throughout the day, and I have spent a whole in the vicinity of the tank before. And its loud enough that I can hear it from the other side of my bedroom. (its inside my room). Almost the sound similar to if someone walked up and hit the glass with a coin......and Mike thats a no-go, cause I can't find the thing. I think he's hiding on the bottom backside where I can't see or get to without tearing stuff apart.

I tried to looer (sp) him out at night with a piece of krill stuck in the sand out in the open: however, my terd of cleaner decided that he needed it more.

[Narazbad]

Try again with frozen food, eventually it will work. At least get an ID on the thing so we can help more.

Where did the rock come from?

[Justintaylor62]

Try again with frozen food, eventually it will work. At least get an ID on the thing so we can help more.

Where did the rock come from?

Ya I've tried a few times, even after I fed the shrimp. He's just a S head and keeps taking em to his hideout. Eventually I'll have too much free floating food in there rotting :/

And it came from a couple locations.

[VegasFish]

The cleaner shrimp takes the food or the mantis/thing? You haven't seen it though? If you did how big is it? How rapid is the knocking? Very strange and doesn't really sound like a mantis to me. I have to say that all or our mantises are loud - we can hear them anywhere in our two story house once they start. And generally it doesn't go on for long - either to kill a hermit or snail or to work on it's burrow.

I don't really know of any way to get a mantis out if you don't know which rock it retreats to. Any trap I think would need to have a system to manually shut the entrance (very quickly) once it was in. Could make for a long night.

[Justintaylor62]

The cleaner shrimp takes the food or the mantis/thing? You haven't seen it though? If you did how big is it? How rapid is the knocking? Very strange and doesn't really sound like a mantis to me. I have to say that all or our mantises are loud - we can hear them anywhere in our two story house once they start. And generally it doesn't go on for long - either to kill a hermit or snail or to work on it's burrow.

I don't really know of any way to get a mantis out if you don't know which rock it retreats to. Any trap I think would need to have a system to manually shut the entrance (very quickly) once it was in. Could make for a long night.

My cleaner shrimp steals the food before I can even begin to bait the msytery popper out. No I haven't seen it, and this is the first time I've ever dealt with this too. Knocking is very random. I'll hear like two knocks in a row, then nothing for an hour, then like 5-10 across a few minutes.....so on and so on. I'm just concerned because I haven't seen any of my snails at all, and I'll normally at least see them moving around some.

[tomgl]

You can try putting the food in women's nylon and it may get caught on the material.


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[mesafire]

You can try putting the food in women's nylon and it may get caught on the material.

The ole monkey trap!

[Justintaylor62]

I just did my feeding and started hearing the popping, which I guess kind of seals the fact that it is a mantis?

And I like that idea Tom. Gonna have to give that one a shot.

[VegasFish]

It does sound like a mantis now Justin, especially with the missing snails and intermittent tapping. The nylon trick may work (I've read that they can get caught up in chaeto although I haven't seen that before). You may also be able to get it used to stick feeding (so it's greedier, used to you, and easier to catch eventually) by offering food items on long tweezers around holes at the bottom of the rock. They can smell it anywhere they are and should pop up where it's offered (as long as there is cover). My mantises eventually swim to the top of the tank to get offered items on the sticks and tweezers, but I also don't have any offensive, mantis eating fish in the tank.

[tbone74]

You can try putting the food in women's nylon and it may get caught on the material.


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After some of the things I saw this last week with the adult video awards in town, i suppose you could use a dude's nylon too!! :eek:

[VegasFish]

Nah, Tony, a dude's nylon has bling (metallics). Wouldn't work.

[tomgl]

Dudes wear nylons? I have lived too long.


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[Narazbad]

I'm with you, tom. And I really don't need to know why ande knows these things lol

[mesafire]

I'm with you, tom. And I really don't need to know why ande knows these things lol

I was thinking the same thing. LOL

[VegasFish]

I live in Vegas and shop at the Mac (make-up) counter Nordstroms!

[Justintaylor62]

Ok now that I'm creeped out back on topic. Trapping unsuccessful to this point. I don't think anything touched that trap at all......This morning I found my beautiful, expensive, perfectly healthy, true perc dead in a little cave. I WAS VERY MAD, but I thought I had finally found where the little buger is hiding. No such luck. So I tore apart my entire tank and went over every rock with a flashlight to see if I could find him. All I found was a flatworm and my ****ed off emerald crab. So I let the rocks sit in a bucket to try and coax him out. Again nothing. Anyone got any advice on what I should do now? Cause I'm gonna start dropping m80's in this thing if it kills another fish.

[tbone74]

May I suggest if you decide to drop m80s please take a video! Sorry I have no advise about matis as I have never kept one. Sorry to hear about your perc too. Are you sure its a mantis? I thought the perc would have been dinner....

[Justintaylor62]

Ya he(or whatever it is at this point) had started chowing on the tail.

[VegasFish]

You can try a 2 liter bottle or other container. Add some hermits and a good sized rock for cover. It may head in for the hermits and choose to stay on until you check since it has cover.

[Narazbad]

That little bugger is causing a nuisance to you, isn't he Justin.

If you have an idea of what rock he is in, try taking a squirt bottle or something with fresh water, putting the rock on a piece of plastic or in a dry bucket, and dousing it with a little fresh. Maybe it will chase him out and you can grab him?

Depending on what type he is when you get him, you might be able to sell him for a penny or two..maybe make back some of the cost of the perc.

[Justintaylor62]

You can try a 2 liter bottle or other container. Add some hermits and a good sized rock for cover. It may head in for the hermits and choose to stay on until you check since it has cover.

A 2 liter will be way to big for inside the nano, but I guess I can try it with a smaller bottle lol

[tomgl]

Since it's a nano maybe scape the rock. Sounds pricey now but after looses it may be a better choice.

[Justintaylor62]

I'm guessing you mean swap out all the rock Tom? If so that thought already crossed my mind at the very begining lol My only problem with that is the frags that I have attached to all the rock.

[Troylee]

well im taking it you don't have much rock in that tank being it's a nano i would remove every rock that dont have a coral on it and place them in a bucket and feed your tank like you normally do and see if he is gone if so you can play process of elimination with the other rocks in a few buckets untill you locate the clicking and your good to go....;)

[Justintaylor62]

well im taking it you don't have much rock in that tank being it's a nano i would remove every rock that dont have a coral on it and place them in a bucket and feed your tank like you normally do and see if he is gone if so you can play process of elimination with the other rocks in a few buckets untill you locate the clicking and your good to go....;)

You thinking dry in a bucket, or in water?

[Troylee]

Well in water to keep it alive... At least you can hear if it's a bucket or the tank...

[Justintaylor62]

I'll give that a try next if I need to Lee. Honestly I haven't heard any popping in a couple days since I started stabbing at the rocks randomly :D lol I'm hoping I killed the little $#!&

[Narazbad]

Its just laying low. If you know a general area, maybe cover the rock with net or panty hose. That might keep it from getting more, and possibly trap it.

[tomgl]

I agree with Narzi. I chased a crab for years and I caught him with the pantyhose method. You may need to get an invert trap (http://www.marinedepot.com/Ultralife_Fish_Trap_Fish_Containers_Traps_for_Salt water_Aquariums-Ultralife-UL1511-FIMISC-vi.html).

[armywife022]

I found which rock ours was hiding in...pulled the entire rock out and put it in a bucket. I then just squirted fresh water into the various holes until he jumped out. I then put him into a hastily set up 15 gallon where he happily resides today...