Mantis Shrimp on tonga rock?

[wagnerke]

Hi,

I was wondering if mantis shrimps can be inside tonga live rock? I've
had my tank setup for 2 months now and the other morning before the lights came on I noticed this thing dart across the bottom live rock very fast. Never really got a good look at it. If I had to estimate the size i'd say 1/2 inch or so. I have the normal "pods" and was also wondering could it be a large pod? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-Kevin

 

[Kara]

Could be a mantis shrimp, more likely it is probably a pistol shrimp. If it is a mantis, you most likely would have inverts and possibly fish dissappearing. Do you ever heard sharp clicking or cracking noises in the tank?

 

[wagnerke]

Kara, Thanks for the reply.

I can't say that I have. I can say that I never have any left over food
waste on my sand bed. But I always thought that was from "pods". Would a pistol shrimp piggy-back on LR?

-Kevin

 

[Kara]

absoloutely! And yes, they will scavenge food.

If it is a pistol shrimp, they are harmless and won't disturb your corals or fish. They do tunnel under rocks and will push sand around a bit. If you ever positively ID it as a pistol shrimp, you can add one of the Shrimp Gobies (watchman, high-fin.. etc) and the goby will pair up with the pistol. I have an Atlantic Pistol and a Yellow Watchman that have paired up.

 

[wagnerke]

Kara,

Your tank looks great. I trying to get my tank to look just as good.
Where do you buy your corals? LSF or On-line?

-Kevin

 

[Kara]

Thank you! :wink:

I'm still muggling through learning about all this stuff! My tank is now at 8 months old.. I was told it will be amazing at 2 years but it is so hard to have that kind of patience!!

Most of my corals have come either from LFS or other hobbyists. I try to stick with propagated stuff. Fortunately, we have some amazing LFS here and a really large, active club! I hesitate to buy corals online. I always check corals I want to buy for health, color and hitchhikers. I do buy a lot of zoanthids from www.thelogicalreef.com but I have met the owner and seen his set-up and I know he has healthy, amazing zoos.