Hitchhiker Mantis Shrimp! With video

[PurplePeopleEater]

Please ignore the bad algae that's for a different post.

I just fed my tank hoping to see my only fish, a yellow watchman goby that has been missing for 3 days. But instead I saw this guy coming out to eat.

I'm assuming my goby is toast after seeing this little hitchhiker.

This is just a 10 gallon nano wanna be reef with a few easy corals in it. There are some cleanup crew inverts, snails, and blue legs. Also 2 peppermint shrimp. 1 sexy shrimp and a red/green bubble tip anemone.

So... what if I want to just keep the mantis shrimp? What should I feed him? Will he likely break my glass aquarium?

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

Just remembered... I havnt seen any of my 3 green emerald crabs for a while either.

The last live rock I added was about 2 months ago. The mantis shrimp must have come in then. An interesting fact also is that I caught and removed another mantis shrimp from that same shipment before I put the rock in the aquarium!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

If you decide to keep the mantis, there's a good chance that you may find your CUC and shrimp disappearing over time - just something to keep in mind. If it's a spearer (as opposed to a smasher), then there's a decent chance your goby had a bad run in with it, but sometimes fish just disappear for days/weeks for no apparent reason. A smasher likely wouldn't have offed your goby, but it's still a possibility.

Food wise, I've heard that clam on half-shell is a good choice, as is crab. Some of the advice that I've seen is to offer the mantis a little "buffet" of options and see what it prefers. I'd personally say to do this a few times just to see if it consistently takes the same thing(s) or if it likes to change things up a bit every now and then. Just be sure to remove the uneaten food after a while (don't let it just sit and rot in your tank).

As far as the glass breaking goes, some of the bigger species are technically capable of breaking glass, but it's a very rare occurrence (as I understand it) for them to actually do so. Personally, I wouldn't be too concerned, but there's still a small risk.

 

[DaJMasta]

It's big enough that it's probably already a threat to everything else you've listed in the tank (except for the nem). That said, if it's a species that doesn't get too big that size may be sufficient, and I don't think concerns with the glass breaking are that legitimate - if it's a large smasher type then perhaps it's possible, but even then actually doing damage would be unlikely.

If you want to keep it, do it, they're fascinating creatures and are pretty smart too, but I'd try to rehome the shrimp, at least, before it eats them. Should do fine feeding meaty food regularly (they'll eat every day no problem, don't know if they need it but it should cut down on predation).

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

I went out and bought some krill for him. Is there anyway to know if he is a smasher or a spearer?

 

[TheDragonsReef]

I have a mantis, theyre awesome critters to watch and feed. Although he may hurt alot of stuff most species stay small and you might be able to keep him in a 5 or 10g tank seperately

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I went out and bought some krill for him. Is there anyway to know if he is a smasher or a spearer?

Yes - assuming you don't know the species, the "claws" or front appendages will tell you which type it is. If it has a little "spear" it's a spearer, if it has a little "hammer" it's a smasher. See below for what appendage I'm talking about and for examples of the two types.
(Image from: http://themantisshrimp.weebly.com/feeding.html )

(Image from: https://www.reed.edu/biology/course...WEBSITES/LC_MK_final_thurs/adaptivevalue.html )

(Image from: )

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

Yes - assuming you don't know the species, the "claws" or front appendages will tell you which type it is. If it has a little "spear" it's a spearer, if it has a little "hammer" it's a smasher. See below for what appendage I'm talking about and for examples of the two types.
(Image from: http://themantisshrimp.weebly.com/feeding.html )

(Image from: https://www.reed.edu/biology/course...WEBSITES/LC_MK_final_thurs/adaptivevalue.html )

(Image from: )

Wow! Thank you for all the info!

 

[PeterEde]

Mantis are cool critters.
Mine has been in for most of the tanks life.
I lost a Sleeper goby that I suspect was due to the mantis mine is still small and I think won't get any bigger

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

I am keeping him. He is not shy or afraid at all. He does stay mostly in his cave but you can always see his face/head staring out of the opening during the day. He comes out half way to grab any food floating by. And when I give him krill with the tongs he will bring his entire body out to reach it. He has a rock or shell inside the cave that he uses to close his front door at night which i find very amusing!

Reefcleaners.com has affordable cleanup crews that I figure I can just use to restock once in a while.

I still havn't seen my yellow watchman goby. That parts a bummer.

 

[DaJMasta]

They are pretty bold hunters, but they are... shrewd? They will hide when they are threatened or scared, but will peer out to try and figure out what's going wrong, and they won't really shy away from doing as they please when not scared.

If it was a smasher type, you probably would have heard it by now. Mostly in the afternoon and early evening, they'll be out and knocking on whatever seems like it could be a clam on live rock (and there are probably more than you think, jewel box clams can be tough to spot), and it should be a similar sound to a pistol shrimp.

I had three smasher type come in on my live rock and tried trapping them, and remember seeing one just thumping on the edge of the plastic trap and making noise. Eventually caught them by scaring them into a rock and then pulling the rock, dousing with water, and leaving it in the air, then dousing again until they ran out. Kept them in plastic boxes on the side of the tank until I could rehome them, and they kept thumping the boxes too haha.

 

[knightnsd]

Well since there are several that like them on this post... BUY MINE THAT I JUST POSTED FOR FREE Ill even ship it at cost if you want it since it came in with a clean up crew today. Id rather give it a home than flush it. Im in Prescott Arizona and will be in San Diego end of the month and will try to keep it in a small quarantine till I find it an owner. its a baby, roughly 1.25 inches

 

[PeterEde]

Well since there are several that like them on this post... BUY MINE THAT I JUST POSTED FOR FREE Ill even ship it at cost if you want it since it came in with a clean up crew today. Id rather give it a home than flush it. Im in Prescott Arizona and will be in San Diego end of the month and will try to keep it in a small quarantine till I find it an owner. its a baby, roughly 1.25 inches

That looks like mine when I first found it. But I believe my Mantis colours have changed to green/pink

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Atlantic live rock? Would love to see the mantis in white light and at full body length for a better chance at IDing the species.

 

[knightnsd]

Atlantic live rock? Would love to see the mantis in white light and at full body length for a better chance at IDing the species.

Ill try and get a good picture later today and post it, I ordered hermits, snails, blue macro, and some crabs, a favia frag and noted it hiding after sorting bags. It all came from the East Coast, it has tiny bright white spots on its back if that helps at all. I think I have a taker on it in San Diego that is doing a dedicated tank

 

[knightnsd]

The mantis was rehomed and as it grows out I ll try and get a better picture of it to post.