A clicking noise in my new aquarium

[Jonas Bergkvist]

Just after i had cycled my aquarium i bought 10 kg of live rock. A couple of days later i hear clicking noises from it. Just like it would come from a pistol shrimp, at least i think that is the sound. I have only heard them from Youtube.

I have tried to lure the little bugger out with two pieces of shrimp, but he or them won't come out and grab it. There are no tunnels either and my water is clear as the water from my tap. Since i did not wash my sand i figure if any of them shrimps would dig i would definitely get a cloudy water.

Is there any other animal that makes a clicking noise? I mean it is pretty frequent that i hear it, once or twice every ten minutes. What else could it be? Static electricity? I have tried to locate the sound and i am pretty sure it is coming from the middle back of my scape, and that is where i have one 6 kg live rock. Rock is from Asia.

Any ideas of what this sound might be? I am very curious!

Oh, and one more thing - if they make a clicking noise i suppose they are in fact attacking something, right? The problem is that i have nothing alive in my tank accept for a Corys Wrasse and one tiny snail, and my aquarium is 150 gallon. Odds are small that a shrimp would encounter this snail on daily basis and snap at it

 

[homer1475]

if you bought actual live rock, very good possibility its a pistol shrimp. And it's probably killing copepods, not your snails.

 

[Crashnt24]

+1 on pistol shrimp

They don't kick up too much sand when they dig. I don't notice any sand or cloudiness when mine is digging.

 

[Jonas Bergkvist]

if you bought actual live rock, very good possibility its a pistol shrimp. And it's probably killing copepods, not your snails.

I guess i got lucky then I just hope the little shrimp isn't stuck underneath the rocks. Maybe i should lean the rock a little to see if he comes out or something. I would imagine he would come out before when i added two shrimps there for 24 hours. Isn't that odd? What shrimp could resist a tasty shrimp?

 

[Soren]

Just after i had cycled my aquarium i bought 10 kg of live rock. A couple of days later i hear clicking noises from it. Just like it would come from a pistol shrimp, at least i think that is the sound. I have only heard them from Youtube.

I have tried to lure the little bugger out with two pieces of shrimp, but he or them won't come out and grab it. There are no tunnels either and my water is clear as the water from my tap. Since i did not wash my sand i figure if any of them shrimps would dig i would definitely get a cloudy water.

Is there any other animal that makes a clicking noise? I mean it is pretty frequent that i hear it, once or twice every ten minutes. What else could it be? Static electricity? I have tried to locate the sound and i am pretty sure it is coming from the middle back of my scape, and that is where i have one 6 kg live rock. Rock is from Asia.

Any ideas of what this sound might be? I am very curious!

Oh, and one more thing - if they make a clicking noise i suppose they are in fact attacking something, right? The problem is that i have nothing alive in my tank accept for a Corys Wrasse and one tiny snail, and my aquarium is 150 gallon. Odds are small that a shrimp would encounter this snail on daily basis and snap at it

I have no personal experience, but it could also be a mantis shrimp based on my research. Also, the pistol shrimp (or mantis shrimp) may be clicking at other life forms that came in on the live rock?

 

[Jonas Bergkvist]

I have no personal experience, but it could also be a mantis shrimp based on my research. Also, the pistol shrimp (or mantis shrimp) may be clicking at other life forms that came in on the live rock?

I did not think about a mantis shrimp, but yes i supposed it could be that to. I hope it's not one though because i will add fish and i wouldn't want to lose any fish.

 

[Billldg]

I bought 20 pounds of live rock and soaked it in high salinity salt water a few times to get rid of unwanted critters. On the 1st soak I found several pistol shrimp. Then I put the rock in my 40b to get it ready to move some corals over to it for my upgrade. As I started to move corals over and the live rock started to show some life I also noticed a clicking noise. It is no doubt a Pistol Shrimp. It sounds like it is clicking on the glass. Congrats!!!

 

[Jonas Bergkvist]

I bought 20 pounds of live rock and soaked it in high salinity salt water a few times to get rid of unwanted critters. On the 1st soak I found several pistol shrimp. Then I put the rock in my 40b to get it ready to move some corals over to it for my upgrade. As I started to move corals over and the live rock started to show some life I also noticed a clicking noise. It is no doubt a Pistol Shrimp. It sounds like it is clicking on the glass. Congrats!!!

Cool story, thank you for sharing! Yes, it does sound like it is clicking on the glass! Judging from the rate of the clicking it could actually be two of them. But what is strange is that i have not seen any of them / the shrimp in two weeks. I have really been staring into the tank for like two hours a day for sure. No sign of it, no burrow... just sound. I fear it has been trapped under the rock to be honest I am thinking of moving the rock a little bit to see if he would come out. I somehow doubt it.

I'm not really to keen on taking it out now and put it in a bucket with high salinity because my BTA is stuck to it now and i also got some bonus coral that i don't know what they are. Lesson learned, i will dip any future live rock in higher salinity!

 

[Billldg]

LOL, trust me when I say I am a 46 year old kid when the live rock started to come to life. I stare at it daily to see what else is there. I have found 2 brittle stars, and few fireworms, and from the sound, at least 1 pistol shrimp.

The high salinity is mainly for use during the curing process. KP Aquatics recommends doing in at the start, in the middle, and at the end of curing the live rock. I wouldn't do it after the fact.

Now, having used live rock for the first time, and I already planned on using it in my upgrade, I will always recommend using it to new reefers in the future. The life that comes on it is second to none.