# trapping a mantis shrimp



## im_a_clownfish

Hi all!
Im pretty sure that I have a mantis shrimp in my reef tank (think I even saw him one time late at night - ugly thing witha green front, weird mouth, and purple rear end) Anyways, I got a suggestion to use a water bottle, with the top cut off, and inverted, and then to put a piece of ****************tail shrimp inside as bait. I put it in my aquarium and it works pretty well - on my fish and cleaner shrimp! lol! Any way I can dissuade my fish and cleaners from entering it? Can i bury it half in the sand so the opening is very small and it would take a mantis shrimp to burrow through the sand to get into it? Or can I stand it upside down (with the opening at the bottom) so that only a burrowing mantis shrimp can get in?

Also, one other thing - I do hear some clicks sometimes coming from the tank (quite audible at times) mostly during the day actually, and hear this is a trait of a pistol shrimp. My question is that would this occur during the day, and would a pistol shrimp be killing all my hermet crabs, arrow crab, and snails? I see some smashed shells, or more often mutilated snails/crabs most commonly and not sure if a pistol shrimp would do this or more likely a mantish shrimp. Also, my two beautiful clams were eaten recently too -overnight actually - all that remains is their shells...

Comments? Suggestions? Thanks so much!


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## fishfingers

Regarding trapping the mantis, it's possible that if you've already had your trap in for a few nights that the mantis will not go for it at all. Mantis are very intelligent, if they know something isn't safe then they won't go near it. This could be the problem your having with your trap, which renders it practically useless. If you can find the whole in which the mantis lives, then it is easy enough to remove then piece of live rock and once it out there are many options for destroying the mantis. You can put the rock in boiling water/soda water and this generally does the trick however sometimes they can be tricky buggers to remove.

Otherwise try some different types of traps, or try to coax the mantis out with some shrimp on a fishing line then catch him with a net.


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## Reefneck

Mantis Shrimp Click just like pistol shrimp do. Pistol shrimp are harmless and did not kill your snails/crabs. You have a Mantis!


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## Damon

There is also no need to destroy the mantis. Remove him and either put him in your sump, or give/sell him off. Many people actually desire these creatures. Destroying sea life is almost never a good idea either. We are depleting the inhabitants fast enough already.


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## TheOldSalt

Boiling your rock tends to have a somewhat detrimental effect on it, so I would advise against it.
Instead, i'd come up with a new kind of trap.
Also, use a red light so you can see but the mantis won't think the lights are on, and you'll see him come out to hunt. Then you can observe the trap and nab him before he has time to escape it.


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## CollegeReefer

If you catch him am am sure fishfirst would b very grateful if you give it too him.


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## CollegeReefer

If you catch him am am sure fishfirst would b very grateful if you give it too him.


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## flamingo

lol yeah i'd love a mantis shrimp also


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## im_a_clownfish

thanks all!
Old salt - you mentioned a new kind of trap - any suggestions? Im all ears  Also, I see that my cleaner shrimp can escape the trap so theres a good chance that the mantis does too. How long after the lights are off do they come out to hunt? I like the red light idea. Do they sense vibrations very easily and so you must be slient and careful not to scare them back in their burrow?


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## TheOldSalt

Something that doesn't look much like the old trap should work. Maybe some contraption made from a breeder net and a a piece of pantyhose, for example.

Of course they sense vibes, so yes, be smooth.


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## im_a_clownfish

Will a mantis shrimp come out each night to hunt or only accasionally? ie if i sit there one night with a red light and a net long enough one night will I be able to see him and possibly catch him?
Old salt - I am trying to picture your net - a plastic breeder barrack with pantyhose over the open side (open/pantyhose side up), and a slit in the pantyhose so it can crawl in but have a hard time getting out?


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## TheOldSalt

Well, not exactly. I was envisioning something more akin to a piece of hose with some bait wrapped up inside it which was then put into the trap. The shrimp would get itself a little bit stuck trying to get the goodies from the hose, thereby giving you a couple more seconds to grab the trap before he escaped.

Oh, by the way, these guys are QUITE capable of causing serious injury to a human whose hands get too close, so be sure to not let that happen.


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## Fishnewb1

What would be the advantage to having a mantis shrimp?? They can hurt your snails, crabs, clams, small fish?? and even you..


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## flamingo

Fishnewb1 said:


> What would be the advantage to having a mantis shrimp?? They can hurt your snails, crabs, clams, small fish?? and even you..


They're cool if you can give them a seperate tank. I have two spare ten gallons that would be great for a number of species.


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## TheOldSalt

True. They really do make nice pets on their own, and many species have absolutely gorgeous colors. Some also get HUGE.


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## Fishfirst

If you get it clownfish, I'd buy it off of you to ship it to me... I've got a 20 gallon awaiting its arrival.


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## im_a_clownfish

How fast are these shrimps? My cleaner shrimp dont exactly move super fast, so if their speed is similar, i imagine I could catch it with a net if I tried to catch it at night waiting with the red light.... 

ANy way to see where his burrow would be ? Im assuming under a rock and not just open somewhere in the sand right?


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## Ice

I think they move pretty quick. Try looking for him with red lenses on a flashlight at night. They usually hide in the rock somewheres.


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## TheOldSalt

They are very fast, and pretty smart. You won't catch him in a net unless by pure, dumb luck. 
He's either in a burrow he dug or in a rock crevice.


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## s13

I heard of a trap which required a powerhead with the safety screen taken off with a piece of krill shoved in the intake and when he got close, turn the powehead on (food for the fish now) but that is just cruel. What kind of liverock do you have? If it is florida liverock it is either a wennerae or a havenisis <sp?> They are wicked fast and extremely clever so what I would recommend is if he has a crevis in a rock that he stays in, wait till he goes in it and remove the rock from the tank.


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## s13

^ wow, didn't even read the dates.


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## TheOldSalt

That's okay. It's still a good idea. Finding out which rock is his and then pulling it out of the tank will remove him, and then you can shake the rock until he comes out, or you can also squirt kalkwasser into his little hole until he comes out crying.


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## Ice

I wonder if anyone has attepted to remove the rock and only to have the mantis attack you while doing so. Kind of a scary thought thinking about it ... LOL !!!


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## TheOldSalt

Yes, it's happened lots of times, hence the knowledge we have of how much they can hurt you.


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