Can't be 100% sure but think i've got a mantis shrimp, seen it about 4 times now but boy is it quick. Started cycling new tank with live rock last week so it can't harm anything but me so far. It's really freaking me out knowing it's there, but where? Any help on getting it out please

taken from my marine invertebrates book......

....mantis shrimps are unmistakable. they have what appears to be a lobsters abdomen attached to a preying mantis's thorax, topped by a head all thier own.....

...these are predatory, highly territorial an reasonable intelligent...

basically they eat fish and other crustaceans if theres no other food around.

grow to aout 2.5 inch long x 0.4 inches wide, in an aquarium.

it goes on to say they can hit with the force of a 0.22 caliber bullet and have been known to smash tanks.

also they aint reef safe.

also says they are intelligent, and if you can catch it, its worth setting up a seperate tank as they fully capable of learning to know their keepers and respond to them.

Not a bad book this :)

It deffo looks like 1 from what i've seen of its head,(not what i'd call pretty either), I don't want him/her but how do i catch it, any tips?

find out where its lair is. normally a crevice in a piece of rock you have. witness where it hides, you may have to space yur rock out and just keep an eye on where it goes.

get a bucket ready with saltwater in it. and a second bucket empty - also a bottle of sparking spring water (bout 30p from asda :P )

once you've established which rock its hiding in, whip the rock outand drop it into the bucket of salt water.

two things can be done now. watch and hope he ventures out and quickly take out the rock and put it back in your tank.

or

establish which hole he's hiding in, take the rock in one hand, hold the rock over your empty bucket, and tip some of the sparkling spring water into the hole. The mantis shrimp will dash out of the hole, and fall into the bucket.

- becarful, if they can potentially break the glass of yur aquarium, imangine what they can do to your fingers




if you find its burried in the substrate, you'll need a net and a large scoop. (like the scoops you use at the cinema to scoop out pick n mix)

move the rock from arround the burrow, hold the net in the water, quickly scoop into the substrate lift and drop into net. hopefully, you'll catch him first time.


its a shame to kill him though, maybe someone on here would like him? you could always keep him in a plastic betta (siamese fighterfish) breeder box within yur tank for a while to see if anyone fancies him. the boxes are only about 3 quid.

Yeah if you catch him, dont kill him.. i'd give him a home.. i like wierd creatures...

Thanks for the advice Taz, will give it a go 2mo, luckily theres only 5 rocks to choose from and have seen it in the biggest one every time. Hope the neighbours don't hear me screaming, it's bad enough with spiders, moths & daddy longlegs an they don't hurt.

P.S Coralline, you're welcome to him/her, if it doesn't die from the shock of my screams

Having just looked these things up myself and found this, those things look really cool!
I hope you can manage to catch him and send him to Coralline. They're beautiful if bizarre looking.

mantis shrimps are like rocking horse s##t in england,put it on e bay i think you might be suprised(sorry coraline)

ROFL

did you catch him?