Mantis Shrimp....

I believe I have one in my tank. I hear lots of clicking at night sparatically.
Can you guys give me your ideas of the best ways to find and catch this bugger alive.... I would like to dedicate a tank to him for fun =-)

Look for a hole in your tank! Seriously though, if its not in acrylic I would be worried. Lucky you though, those little guys would be very entertaining to watch.

They don't bust tanks THAT often. Figure out a treat he can't resist, and put it in a bottle with an opening slightly bigger than him(the misses says Crab, they use their claws to pop crab shells in the wild). Catch him eating in the bottle and VERY carefully remove the bottle with him in it. Just be gentle so as not to disturb him and you'll be fine. Best wishes. ^__^

first off, hello fellow kitsap fish hobbyist! lol
I wouldn't be too worried about your mantis shrimp breaking your tank...

An orange juice or wine decanter would work good. Set it in the bottom of your tank with the opening propped up on the rocks so its at an angle. Bait with some shrimp or clam and darken the tank and watch for it.

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onetwothreeDEATH!!!

to bad that site only shows the peacock mantis shrimp

the brown or red colors are more common in the hitchhikers.

So have you caught it yet?
I'd like to see pics of it. I hear clicking every once in a while too, but I know I dont have a manits shrimp in my tank.

is this the same thing or similar to a pistol shrimp? if so yeah it could break your tank, cant remember the FPS that little tiny bubble travels but man o man can it do damage.

Similar to the pistol, but while the pistol has asymmetrial claws (the large one makes the loud click), the mantis' "claws" are either more of a spear or a club (depending whether it's a "Spearer" or a "Smasher").  It can launch it's claws at up to 23 meters per sec and an impact of 1,500 newtons.  The tiny bubbles is called cavatation, which is the formation and then immediate implosion of cavities in a liquid, caused by liquid being subjected to rapid changes of pressure.

@Billiethekid:  It's possible you can have either a pistol or a mantis, both will make a clicking noise, but you wont know for sure till you catch the bugger, take picture when you do  .  And if you plan on housing him in a seperate tank, make sure the tank is acryilic, because they CAN break glass.

mantis shrimp looks like a praying mantis/cockroach shrimp thing.

pistol shrimp looks like.....well, a shrimp. =P

bump... for update!

More than likely he has a pistol shrimp. Back in the day, (1992-93) I used to unbox live rock from the Florida region, and the Mantis/pistol shrimp would fall off the rock. The owner would tell me to feet the triggers with them. He let me take as many home as I wanted. I had a 10 gallon tank with only rubble as substrate. I'd dump 5-15 manti in and let them duke it out. They were only 1/2-3/4" long. I kept the pistol shrimp separate. I don't think mantis can break a tank. I know they couldn't break one of mine! Those were the days! J