How will I know if I have a Mantis .....

[CHILL]

Yesterday I added 22 lbs of LR from a local LFS. Nice pieces of Fiji. Last night I was reading this site and heard an odd snapping sound from the tanks direction. It happened about 2 hours after lights out and was an audable clicking/snap/popping sound that would come and go at irregular intervals. I have read that mantis shrimp will make a popping noise somehow and want to know how I can tell if what I heard was a mantis. Do I wait and hope it is not, or is there something I can do to tell rightoff?

I do NOT want a mantis running around and killing my fish or shrimp. The tank is empty except for LR and some clean-up crew.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Find any empty shells this morning?

Try setting a trap..

 

[Kevin Lloyd]

Doesn't sound good. You'll just have to wait till you hear the popping again and then try to look around and perhaps get a visual on him. They are a pain to get out. I set up a couple of homemade traps but they didn't work. Evidently the mantis is too intelligent. I caught a lot of snails and peppermint shrimp but no mantis. I finally had to tear my whole reef down, 150 lbs. of live rock, and dip the rocks in tap water. I ended up finding the big one I saw, about 3 inches long, and also two very small babies. Good luck.

 

[waterfaller1]

It could be a pistol shrimp also..watch your clean-up crew..if it's a mantis you will soon have a pile of shells and they will all go missing.
p.s. the pile is a clue to where he hangs out..if you can catch him in a certain rock,soda water will send him out.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, mantids are very intelligent. They mostly just crawl right out of the trap. But I'd give the DIY mantis trap a try (look it up on seahorse.org if you need to find out how to do it).

As mentioned, the mantis will typically leave the busted up shells near the entrance or exit of its burrow. You'll be able to see them all busted up. Unfortunately, it can have multiple entrances, a veritable network of tunnels.

 

[Anonymous]

Hay where are you located? I might be interested in acquiring your mantis if you can catch it in the trap (or some other non-stressful way). I'd happily pay for shipping and whatnot if you'd bag the thing up and airmail it to me

Lemme know.

 

[CHILL]

So far no pile of shells, and I did not hear the popping sound last night. Doesn't mean he wasn't there, maybe he got active a little later.

Time (and dead snails) will tell.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Keep any eye out and your ears open. Mantids go into "stealth mode" just before and after a molt - they will reduce activity pre & post molting as well as seal themselves in their burrow for a a few days to a week during actual molting. Several times now I have feared the demise of my little mantis only to discover her out and about a few weeks later