[CaptainK]

OK so maybe it really wasn't the door, but the glass of my tank.
Over about the past 2 weeks I have randomly heard the sound of something tapping on my glass. This morning I was finally looking at my tank when I heard the noise. I have located the sound behind a large bunch of sargassum algae.
So I am thinking worst case here.... mantis shrimp!!!
My tank has been set up for almost 1 year now and have not added any new rock into my tank.
Are there any ways to tell if it is a mantis??

Thanks,
CaptK

[Biomanjcs72]

YOu got to find the critter first, if he looks mean (like a boxer, mean) then he's a mantis shrimp. The archives here may have some pics (I bet they do) to help you out. If not, try Dr. Ron's site.

[cod]

Capt.K ; Here is some info about mantis shrimp

Stomatopods

[ravenmore]

could be a snail or a hermit clanking their shell against the glass....

[Tim]

It may be a pistol shrimp. Fairly harmless interesting little fellows. Usually live in burrows underneath the rock. If the bottom of your tank is visible you may be able to see it beneath the rock/sand. If it was a mantis and had been in there for a year you certainly would have lost significant amounts of livestock.

[Tim]

It may be a pistol shrimp. Fairly harmless interesting little fellows. Usually live in burrows underneath the rock. If the bottom of your tank is visible you may be able to see it beneath the rock/sand. If it was a mantis and had been in there for a year you certainly would have lost significant amounts of livestock.

[ravenmore]

quote by tim:

If it was a mantis and had been in there for a year you certainly would have lost significant amounts of livestock.

Not necessarily - there have been several reports of mantis shrimps living for quite a while in a reef tank without disturbing anything. Dr. Shimek is one such person, I believe. He suspects that some species of stomatopods are good at foraging and if they can find enough food and are smaller may not start taking out live stock. I certainly wouldn't have one by choice though.

[Firefish]

My LFS is selling a Mantis for $30

[Fcamdog]

I think most people convince themselves that they don't have mantis because they tend to be hard to remove and are considered pests. I keep them and find them facinating. In my 40g, very well established beautiful tank, I have a philippine mantis that has been in there since day one. Having said that, a few days ago I spotted a second mantis that I had no idea was in the tank. The little guy is about 1/2" long and I saw him after I had fed the tank with live brine shrimp, he was chowing down. I keep my tank stocked with 1-2" blue-eyed crabs, as that is what I see them eating in the wild, and I have NEVER lost anything in my tank to a mantis. It was nice to see someone post that a LFS was selling a mantis because more and more hobbyists are keeping them, but they are hard to find. Check out this site...
www.backlashx2.net
The site is a little slow but this guy buys mantis and has links to help remove them from your tank.

[petpoor]

Years back I caught one in our 75 gal reef and my wife went out and bought one of those 2 gallon hex aquariums to put him in. He lived in there for several years and actually he was kind of neat, would come out of his rock to take pieces of shrimp off of a cake tester and then haul butt back to his hidey-hole. Unfortunately he died when an LFS employee insisted to her while I was at work she could have another mantis they found in a rock shipment to put in with him. From the story I heard there was 2 hits in that fight new one hit the old one and the old one hit the floor. Needless to say she was pretty upset and took the new one back to the LFS.
Tom

[Tim]

I searched the net and Reefcentral for the reports of Mantis co-existing with other animals. I only looked at the first couple of pages on the returns, but I didn't find any. On the other hand I did find the following stories/links of interest:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The SplashZone, a normally tranquil children's section at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, has become the scene of underwater carnage at the claws of a killer shrimp.
Prized sea snails, barnacles and hermit crabs have been reduced to piles of broken shells by the lightning-quick claws of a single mantis shrimp - a voracious, salt-water scourge that for months has eluded captors and reduced a coral reef exhibit to a killing field.

Links:
http://members.tripod.com/~scott_har...uariamain.html

http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/film/secrets.htm (really interesting story about a Mantis attacking an Octopus!!!!)

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin...=mantis+shrimp

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin...=mantis+shrimp

So while there are exceptions to every rule I stand by my original thought that, fairly certainly, should you have a Mantis there would either be missing livestock or dead bodies.

[ravenmore]

Here's one thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin...=mantis+shrimp

There's one other that I can recall on RC but frankly simply got tired of looking for it. My boss has this thing about me working...... (some nerve right?)

-Mike

[Tim]

Looking at your Photo's I figured you to be self employed. Really Nice work!

[ravenmore]

Thanks! - took me a sec to figure out what you were talking about.

Photography is just another one of my "hobbies" right now - unfortunately. I make my livin' fixing computers.

-Mike