Who Dunnit? A Murder Mystery

[kittenbritches]

Okay. I have been blaming my enormous scarlet hermit crabs for the disappearance of several fish, frequent comrade crab corpses, and other crimes against the reef.

I've also noticed a lot of clacking during lights out, and assumed it was their shells hitting the glass while they wrestled to the death.

Is it possible, or even more likely, that a mantis shrimp hitched a ride in on my live rock? Could one have escaped my gaze for however many weeks it's been since I set this tank up?

Were my hermit crabs framed?

 

[MaxTremors]

Okay. I have been blaming my enormous scarlet hermit crabs for the disappearance of several fish, frequent comrade crab corpses, and other crimes against the reef.

I've also noticed a lot of clacking during lights out, and assumed it was their shells hitting the glass while they wrestled to the death.

Is it possible, or even more likely, that a mantis shrimp hitched a ride in on my live rock? Could one have escaped my gaze for however many weeks it's been since I set this tank up?

Were my hermit crabs framed?

I’ve had a mantis go undetected in a tank for almost 2 years. They’re very reclusive and can be hard to spot.

 

[Jeffcb]

I have a mantis shrimp that hitched a ride on a rock about a year ago. He was white but now he has changed colors and is totally black. Not colors but? I have tried to catch but to no avail. Yes they snap. They snap loudly. He has killed and eaten several diamond gobies . I personally watched him stalk a cleaner shrimp. He ate a couple of those.

They are killers but the are fast and very hard to catch.

 

[sp1187]

 

[kittenbritches]

I'm tearing this tank down, and right now it's down to the hermit crabs, rock, and sand. Sounds like I'll be building a trap this morning.

 

[Goaway]

Stuff... You'll get em!

Ghawd I am tired.

 

[jgirardnrg]

I'm tearing this tank down, and right now it's down to the hermit crabs, rock, and sand. Sounds like I'll be building a trap this morning.

You are the queen of tank tear downs. Personally, I dread when I have to do a tank tear down. For you, it's Tuesday lol

 

[kittenbritches]

You are the queen of tank tear downs. Personally, I dread when I have to do a tank tear down. For you, it's Tuesday lol

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Were there any signs of predation on the crab corpses?

 

[fishface NJ]

Okay. I have been blaming my enormous scarlet hermit crabs for the disappearance of several fish, frequent comrade crab corpses, and other crimes against the reef.

I've also noticed a lot of clacking during lights out, and assumed it was their shells hitting the glass while they wrestled to the death.

Is it possible, or even more likely, that a mantis shrimp hitched a ride in on my live rock? Could one have escaped my gaze for however many weeks it's been since I set this tank up?

Were my hermit crabs framed?

Very possible. I have one in my tank from rocks that I QT from KP Aquatics. The sound started for months a very soft snap. Now the snaps are as loud as an adult snapping their fingers. Killed two of my fish a week apart(wrasse and firefish). Set bottle traps and that hasn't worked. Saw it once in a rock hole and I grabbed the rock. Took the rock out to the garage and started running water from my RODI hose into the holes....nothing came out. Killed a few SPS doing that. Then I saw it a second time and repeated the RODI trying to flush it out. This time the rock went into the QT tank. Three nights later I hear the clicking sounds from the DT and the other rock was still in the QT. So it must have ran to another rock while I was trying to remove the supposed rock with the mantis

 

[kittenbritches]

Were there any signs of predation on the crab corpses?

Just that the sandbed was littered with 1-2 corpses (well, the legs and claws) every morning who looked like they'd been torn from their shells.

Very possible. I have one in my tank from rocks that I QT from KP Aquatics. The sound started for months a very soft snap. Now the snaps are as loud as an adult snapping their fingers. Killed two of my fish a week apart(wrasse and firefish). Set bottle traps and that hasn't worked. Saw it once in a rock hole and I grabbed the rock. Took the rock out to the garage and started running water from my RODI hose into the holes....nothing came out. Killed a few SPS doing that. Then I saw it a second time and repeated the RODI trying to flush it out. This time the rock went into the QT tank. Three nights later I hear the clicking sounds from the DT and the other rock was still in the QT. So it must have ran to another rock while I was trying to remove the supposed rock with the mantis

Yeah, it is loud and happens way too often, and is too clear sounding to be shells tapping on the glass. Thankfully I've already taken all of the corals off of the rock, so I can rinse or shake the hell out of it if my trap fails.

 

[shwareefer]

I had a snap in my 90 gallon for almost 9yrs that I never identified. I lean more to a pistol shrimp in my case since there was no wide spread destruction. I did however catch two mantis shrimps in the same tank that fortunately went into my sump and were hence easy to catch. Fed them to the pacu at my LFS. Gulp. Very satisfying.

 

[blaxsun]

Everyone loves a murder mystery (finding an elusive predator is the murder equivalent for reefers).

 

[Adrift]

Okay. I have been blaming my enormous scarlet hermit crabs for the disappearance of several fish, frequent comrade crab corpses, and other crimes against the reef.

I've also noticed a lot of clacking during lights out, and assumed it was their shells hitting the glass while they wrestled to the death.

Is it possible, or even more likely, that a mantis shrimp hitched a ride in on my live rock? Could one have escaped my gaze for however many weeks it's been since I set this tank up?

Were my hermit crabs framed?

You to to higher Dog the bounty hunter.

 

[MONTANTK]

It very well could be a mantis shrimp but just to play devils advocate, I’m not sure that crushing mantis shrimp would have as much success killing fish. A spearing mantis would but in my experience they don’t make the snapping noise as frequently unless they were praying on hermits/snails rather than fish

 

[shwareefer]

Btw, mantis shrimps play dead in the bucket. They are ridiculously clever.

 

[Lavey29]

Kitten versus the wiley mantis shrimp. Let's start a voting pole on who the winner of this battle might be. Sorry but I'm going with the shrimp on this one.

 

[kittenbritches]

It very well could be a mantis shrimp but just to play devils advocate, I’m not sure that crushing mantis shrimp would have as much success killing fish. A spearing mantis would but in my experience they don’t make the snapping noise as frequently unless they were praying on hermits/snails rather than fish

The victims in question were two baby Banggai cardinalfish, a magenta dottyback, about ten hermits, two snails, and a teeny crab.

 

[Lavey29]

The victims in question were two baby Banggai cardinalfish, a magenta dottyback, about ten hermits, two snails, and a teeny crab.

That's a lot of cold Killin in the tank

 

[kittenbritches]

Kitten versus the wiley mantis shrimp. Let's start a voting pole on who the winner of this battle might be. Sorry but I'm going with the shrimp on this one.

It's no match for me.

Mantis shrimp:

Kittenbritches: