How to catch a pistol shrimp

[fishywishy]

So I got live rock a while ago and I’ve started hearing clicks in my tank at night, so I’m assuming it’s a shrimp because I’ve checked all my equipment and it’s not the equipment, so is there anything else that could be clicking or if it is a shrimp is there a way to catch it because I haven’t seen it yet.

 

[KING KONG]

So I got live rock a while ago and I’ve started hearing clicks in my tank at night, so I’m assuming it’s a shrimp because I’ve checked all my equipment and it’s not the equipment, so is there anything else that could be clicking or if it is a shrimp is there a way to catch it because I haven’t seen it yet.

Don't know is it really a shrimp but if it is a shrimp then get a net and a small box and force it to go to a corner and with the help of the net,force it to go in small box. U hv to remove all your rockwork but it mostly works for a small tank. They r really hard to catch

Try to get it's pics if u can

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

I caught one with a bottle with a raw shrimp in it. They will come out at night to eat. You also can slice the bottle top like a pizza so it can crawl in but not out. You will bend the slices in. Hope this helps.

 

[fishywishy]

Don't know is it really a shrimp but if it is a shrimp then get a net and a small box and force it to go to a corner and with the help of the net,force it to go in small box. U hv to remove all your rockwork but it mostly works for a small tank. They r really hard to catch

Try to get it's pics if u can

If I saw it I would catch it but Ive never seen it

 

[JGT]

I’d leave it in there and pair it up with a goby. What size tank and how much rock? Could also be a mantis shrimp.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Could be pistol or mantis. Pistol is fine mantis depends.

 

[KING KONG]

If I saw it I would catch it but Ive never seen it

U may see it in night. It may come out to search for food. U may also see it hiding in rock holes. If it is not disturbing anything, let it be there. As soon as u see it, try to get pics.

 

[fishywishy]

I’d leave it in there and pair it up with a goby. What size tank and how much rock? Could also be a mantis shrimp.

55 gallon with 30 pounds of rock, I need to see what kind of shrimp it is first because some don’t pair with goby’s.

 

[fishywishy]

Sometimes there are 2-4 clicks simultaneously, can a pistol shrimp or mantis shrimps do that?

 

[scottkoji]

Sometimes there are 2-4 clicks simultaneously, can a pistol shrimp or mantis shrimps do that?

Do you mean in quick succession or simultaneously? bc 2-4 in quick succession would not be abnormal for a pistol. However, I'm unsure about a Mantis - I actually didn't even know they made a noise when they snapped until reading this post.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

If you're dead set on identifying it, take the rock out and put into qt without sand until the shrimp climbs out to explore. If it is a pistol, it could come out on it's own or stay hidden for years in the dt. I have one that's out all the time and one that I never see. I actually thought one of mine died until I spotted it months after an upgrade/transfer.

 

[fishywishy]

If you're dead set on identifying it, take the rock out and put into qt without sand until the shrimp climbs out to explore. If it is a pistol, it could come out on it's own or stay hidden for years in the dt. I have one that's out all the time and one that I never see. I actually thought one of mine died until I spotted it months after an upgrade/transfer.

The rock is in a quarantine tank so I haven’t put the rocks up yet, but i have no idea where the shrimp is so i cant take the rock out where the shrimp is if i have no idea where it is.

 

[fishywishy]

Do you mean in quick succession or simultaneously? bc 2-4 in quick succession would not be abnormal for a pistol. However, I'm unsure about a Mantis - I actually didn't even know they made a noise when they snapped until reading this post.

Simultaneously, like 2-3 right after the other.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Simultaneously, like 2-3 right after the other.

Yep they're both capable of that

 

[Pridedcloth3]

I have both in a reef and they both go insane, the pistol shrimp at night and the mantis early mornings.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

The rock is in a quarantine tank so I haven’t put the rocks up yet, but i have no idea where the shrimp is so i cant take the rock out where the shrimp is if i have no idea where it is.

You can separate the rocks into different partially filled buckets and listen for clicks and narrow it down from there. You could try traps but nothing ever worked for me when trying to catch my pistols. I tried to catch them to transfer them into my 125 upgrade but ultimately they hitch hiked on the rocks into the new tank. I swore one died in the process but I found him weeks after the upgrade. Good luck

 

[fishywishy]

I have both in a reef and they both go insane, the pistol shrimp at night and the mantis early mornings.

Does the mantis kill anything and ive been seeing little mounds of dirt everywhere is this something a pistol shrimp does?

 

[killer2001]

Sounds like a pistol shrimp to me. If you really want to catch it, pull the rocks and start sifting through the sand, it'll be there somewhere.

 

[fishywishy]

Sounds like a pistol shrimp to me. If you really want to catch it, pull the rocks and start sifting through the sand, it'll be there somewhere.

Do they live in the sand or under rocks?

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Does the mantis kill anything and ive been seeing little mounds of dirt everywhere is this something a pistol shrimp does?

It's a pistol, my mantis only goes after nerites. Funny enough months in and it has never crossed paths with my pistol in a 45 gallon