Was that a tapping in my tank!!!! Oh no!!!

[Blodlizrd]

:shock: I heard a single tap on my glass last night. And then about two hours later I heard another one. At first I thought, "oh... a snail must have fallen off the glass or something." After the second one I though... uh oh... it might be a Mantis Shrimp. What is the best way to find out if I have a Mantis? Do I need to look after the lights go down or should I go ahead and get a trap and see if I catch one in the trap? Any other suggestions?

[ssgibby]

It could also be a pistol shrimp. Have you noticed an strange or unexpected deaths?

[Blodlizrd]

No... I don't have too much live stock in my tank right now though. No dead snails or crabs though and my Goby is fine too.

[Zack]

hmm, keep an eye out and watch your livestock!

[Blodlizrd]

Man I just heard it again... Well this time it was a snail that is on top of a rock. When the current hit his shell it moved and tapped the glass. *wipes forehead* I hope that is all it was... I'll keep an eye out though anyway.

[volitan]

Have any hermits? I know my bigger hermits clank there shell on the glass from time to time

[Blodlizrd]

Yeah I have some Hermits... It could have been that also. I have one that is pretty big so it may have been him playing a prank on me. :P

[BigFish]

set the trap you have nothing to loose worst case you have to release one of your fish...... :P

[Chryocon]

try putting a few shrimp otu and see what come to eat it.........

[RazerCorals]

If you have a mantis I don't think it will come out in the light. They are pretty smart creatures.

[phistio]

not just smart...they're freakin' aliens!

i'd bet it's a pistol though...sounds like snapping under water...

[Chryocon]

Yah....mantis are pretty creepy :?

[killroysrevenge]

Wait til night and drop a peice of shrimp on the substrate. Sit patiently with a red light of some kind (flashlight with red plastic lens). You will be able to see all of your nocturnal creatures. Then you will know if you need a trap.

[REEFER]

what the hell is a mantis?
I have had a couple of fish vanish lately?
Does anyone have anypictures of this creature?

[killroysrevenge]

http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/weekly/aa110498.htm?once=true&

Here is a link about mantis shrimp along with a pic.

[Samurai]

Great link Killroysrevenge :).

[REEFER]

Could this "mantis shrimp" take a queen angel down?
My tank is about 6 months old & I have lost the following fish w/o a trace.
1 maroon clown
1 queen angel
1 orange clown

They all disapperared w/o a trace.

[killroysrevenge]

I guess this could be possible. How big was the queen angel? I would imagine that a decent sized queen angel could fend for itself.

[Chryocon]

A mantis shrimp could and would take a Queen Angel down if given the chance, some of the cutting species could easily kill as many fish as you describe....imagine have a razorblade come at you at the speed of a .22 calibur bullet....I think you get the idea......they are in my opinion the scariest and worst things you could possibly get in your reef tank, although most are just small ones that live off the coast of florida that are mundane, have almost no collor, and usually can't be found till they get much bigger......although if you end up with a EVIL one from some place like fiji...etc best of luck, MOST LIKELY YOU DON'T HAVE A MANTIS SO DON' WORRY

[Samurai]

MOST LIKELY YOU DON'T HAVE A MANTIS SO DON' WORRY

Why do you say that? Where else would his fish have gone?

[Chryocon]

from what I have read, there are many more things that are more likely to be a problem than the mantis, it could be a mantis, but chances are it is something else....

[Samurai]

Okay that's fair, but it really is strange that the fish just vanished. Sounds like something ate them to me.

[Chryocon]

there are several, more likely larger species of crabs that could have killed the fish, even parasites could have finished them off then there body's would have been devoured by your inverts....I am going with crabs....just because that is very likely....have you seen any large crabs in your tank REEFER?

[Chryocon]

forgot to mention evil starfish...I was reading about a small type that is carniverous that can reproduce to amounts enough to kill larger creatures as well as some larger evil starfishes......

[Chryocon]

Sounds like something ate them to me

Forgot to mention that just about all of his snails, starfish, worms, pods, and any other inverts will start to eat a dead fish very fast....

[on_fire_8]

www.transfishsupplies.com has mantis traps for 18 bucks after shipping. If anyone has a legit worry about a mantis, this may be the best 18 bucks you ever spend.

[REEFER]

Na haven't seen any large crabs, i have 3 little ones like the size of nickels.
Moved a lot of my live rock around tonight looking for a carcas. Found nothing. On tuesday I am moving my 75 to a 90 setup. Will let you know then. I f by some chance I foungd one of these these thing I'll throw it on the barbie!

[killroysrevenge]

Starfish will eat your fish. I watched a friend peel a chocolate chip off of his dead yellow tang one time. Just about everything in the hobby will eat a dead fish. Some faster than others. At that speed and with no carcas left, I would think crab. They can hide in tiny places. You never know what is in your tank, because the LR can hide so many creatures.

Last night I was admiring my tank and saw some kind of trunk or something in my substrate. I tried to dig it out but it was slicker than me. I also have these little purple things all over that no one knows what they are. They seem to eat algae and breed like crazy. Maybe by division and sexual also.

[surgeon67]

I've been losing a war of attrition in my tank for months. One fish disappears after another. I'm down to one regal tang and one banggai cardinal in addition to the inverts : 1 emerald crab, 1 cleaner shrimp, several hermits and snails, 1 sand sifting starfish and 1"cleanup" starfish (green brittle star look-alike, about 2" central disk and 10" armspan... quick little bugger)
I have never heard a tapping but I assume SOMETHING is eating them since they disappear one at a time -clown gobies, then ocelaris clowns, catalina goby, then engineer gobies, then firefish x 2, then lawnmower blenny, then dragon blenny, and now purple firefish. (hat over heart)

I have a mantis trap, but all I catch so far are the starfish and occasionally a hermit. Next I gotta find a place to remove them to so I can try again.

Any other thoughts?
8 months old
My water tests out well (amm-0, nitrite-0, nitrate 10ppm, phos-0, alk 3ppm, pH 8.2-8.4, ca 360-400, SG 1.023
lots of healthy reproducing tubeworms, sponges and tunicates, palythoa hitchikers and sessile snails
algae getting to be a problem since all algae eating fish gone exept tang
aiptasia- 5 little ones killed today, not much trouble

[Samurai]

I know it's off topic, but Catalina Gobies do much better in colder tanks since that's what they are used to in the wild.

[Pineapple House]

Most of the fish you meantioned you had were all jumping species. They could have easily jumped out of your aquarium when they were frightened. Have you ever checked outside the aquarium for missing fish?

Graham

[surgeon67]

Re:catalina goby... yes you're right. I found that out after I put it in the tank. The LFS didn't tell me that beforehand. He did well for several months though before the disappearances.

Re: jumping fish. The tank has a sealed top with 3 covers for access. at most about 5mm space between the lid and cover. not likely a jump. Aeration is via overflow, sump and skimmer. I HAVE found one in the overflow before (one of the three clown gobies), but none since, nor in the drip plate over the sump. No ammonia spike either after the disapppearances, so the carcasses are being eaten, I think. I just don't know if they are being killed.... but I suspect it.

[Adam]

When you hear this clank, is the heater on?
I have noticed popping sounds as a micro thin layer of water around the heater boils.