Pistol shrimp problem

fishywishy

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So I’ve tried everything to catch a pistol shrimp that i cant id because i still haven’t seen it that came in on some rock so im wondering can i just put a goby in there and see if it finds it and pairs with it and i was also wondering if i put a big pistol shrimp in there like a tiger pistol shrimp will the tiger pistol find it and kill it or is there and other fish or invert that will find it and kill it?
 

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Hopefully it is a pistol Shrimp and not a mantis. I’ve seen some people set up traps, type it in the search for references
 
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So I’ve tried everything to catch a pistol shrimp that i cant id because i still haven’t seen it that came in on some rock so im wondering can i just put a goby in there and see if it finds it and pairs with it and i was also wondering if i put a big pistol shrimp in there like a tiger pistol shrimp will the tiger pistol find it and kill it or is there and other fish or invert that will find it and kill it?
I agree with the others. Are you sure its a pistol shrimp? I have a tiger and he is pretty small compared to a cleaner shrimp. I wouldnt put a goby in there cause if youve never seen it, its possible its not a pistol and if it is a mantis that goby will be dinner. But if it is a pistol and you put a goby in there you probably wont be able to catch them without tearing the tank down. My goby and tiger live in their hole and the goby only peeks for food.
 
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fishywishy

fishywishy

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I agree with the others. Are you sure it’s a pistol shrimp? I have a tiger and he is pretty small compared to a cleaner shrimp. I wouldnt put a goby in there cause if youve never seen it, its possible its not a pistol and if it is a mantis that goby will be dinner. But if it is a pistol and you put a goby in there you probably wont be able to catch them without tearing the tank down. My goby and tiger live in their hole and the goby only peeks for food.
Dont pistols click at night randomly and mantis shrimp only click when they are hitting something?
 
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ISpeakForTheSeas

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Dont pistols click at night randomly and mantis shrimp only click when they are hitting something?
I’ve heard of mantis shrimp punching things like rockwork, pvc, and glass/acrylic on occasion in attempts to improve their burrow, so I’d guess it’s still a possibility.
 
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ISpeakForTheSeas

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How can i tell the difference between the pistol sound and a mantis sound?
I'm not sure. That said, you should be able tell them apart from snails, which can make a similar sound:
How positive are you that's a tiger pistol? They usually snap and retreat, successive snaps sounds more like mantis behavior.
I should also add that the clicking sound comes in twos or threes, always. And it almost faints more with each click.
Just to rule out the clicking sounds, that's coming from your snails. They shake their shell, usually when something's crawling on them. It's always the same 3 click pattern when their shell hits the glass.
 
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littlefoxx

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Dont pistols click at night randomly and mantis shrimp only click when they are hitting something?
To be honest Ive never heard my tiger pistol snap. But I also dont have anything in the tank that bothers him and his goby is very vigilant in watching for other fish. Mantis I have no experience with other than knowing they click a lot for no reason, and are scary as hell looking in my opinion! Also I have halloween hermit crabs and some scarlet legs that like to climb my aquarium walls and their shells constantly hit the glass and make a clicking sound too thats actually pretty loud. If youre worried its a mantis I honestly would take the rocks apart and see if you can find it, nasty things!!
 
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Mantis repeatedly hit something, either they're mining the rockwork in which they're going to be mining for awhile, or they're agitated and trying to destroy something (like my powerhead). When they're killing something usually you can associate the sound with something also disappearing.

Pistol shrimp is usually only 1 instance of the noise, and I rarely heard mine ever and the most I heard was 3 in a row shooting my plate coral for some unknown reason. Usually it'll just randomly be a loud click I might notice if talking in the room. Sound pretty much identical to this but rarely as successive.

Worth mentioning mantis hits might sound slightly different eat time just because the angle+distance+surface they attack can add variance. Pistols are pretty much identical each time because they're not contacting anything and its the bubble mostly creating that noise.



And can confirm she does this all the time

Actually one of my biggest regrets was building this tank in my room because she can pull an all-nighter on the rocks when I have work in 6 hours. Its worse cause I keep getting up to check whats agitating her and its usually the powerhead or she's expanding a narrow spot in the rock she just wants to fit through lol.

I agree with the others. Are you sure its a pistol shrimp? I have a tiger and he is pretty small compared to a cleaner shrimp. I wouldnt put a goby in there cause if youve never seen it, its possible its not a pistol and if it is a mantis that goby will be dinner. But if it is a pistol and you put a goby in there you probably wont be able to catch them without tearing the tank down. My goby and tiger live in their hole and the goby only peeks for food.

Agree with ditching the goby idea, hitchhiking pistols don't typically bond with gobies. There's a very select few alpheus sp. that actually pair, any hitchhiking ones are pretty solitary or one of the colonial sponge groups.

Mantis are easy to find cause you'll see them actually come out, and usually always have their eyes peeping out. It'd likely even come out for mysis floating by.
 
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fishywishy

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Mantis repeatedly hit something, either they're mining the rockwork in which they're going to be mining for awhile, or they're agitated and trying to destroy something (like my powerhead). When they're killing something usually you can associate the sound with something also disappearing.

Pistol shrimp is usually only 1 instance of the noise, and I rarely heard mine ever and the most I heard was 3 in a row shooting my plate coral for some unknown reason. Usually it'll just randomly be a loud click I might notice if talking in the room. Sound pretty much identical to this but rarely as successive.

Worth mentioning mantis hits might sound slightly different eat time just because the angle+distance+surface they attack can add variance. Pistols are pretty much identical each time because they're not contacting anything and its the bubble mostly creating that noise.



And can confirm she does this all the time

Actually one of my biggest regrets was building this tank in my room because she can pull an all-nighter on the rocks when I have work in 6 hours. Its worse cause I keep getting up to check whats agitating her and its usually the powerhead or she's expanding a narrow spot in the rock she just wants to fit through lol.



Agree with ditching the goby idea, hitchhiking pistols don't typically bond with gobies. There's a very select few alpheus sp. that actually pair, any hitchhiking ones are pretty solitary or one of the colonial sponge groups.

Mantis are easy to find cause you'll see them actually come out, and usually always have their eyes peeping out. It'd likely even come out for mysis floating by.
What food do pistols and mantis like the most so that way I can make a trap? Also the video isn’t working for me can you post it again because I would really like to hear it?
 
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ISpeakForTheSeas

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What food do pistols and mantis like the most so that way I can make a trap? Also the video isn’t working for me can you post it again because I would really like to hear it?
To my understanding, with mantis shrimp you have spearers which mainly eat fish, and smashers which mainly eat inverts - I believe (possibly inaccurately, as I haven't looked in much depth at mantis shrimp just yet) that both would take things like shrimp though. For pistol shrimp, it depends on the species, but some are filter feeders (basically eating whatever food ends up in reach of their cave) and others seem to be omnivorous detritus feeders/scavengers (such as the tiger pistol shrimp, which has been demonstrated to feed on it's goby partner's feces).

So, if it's a pistol shrimp, it'll probably be a lot harder to entice out of hiding with food.

Sources:
 
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fishywishy

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Mantis repeatedly hit something, either they're mining the rockwork in which they're going to be mining for awhile, or they're agitated and trying to destroy something (like my powerhead). When they're killing something usually you can associate the sound with something also disappearing.

Pistol shrimp is usually only 1 instance of the noise, and I rarely heard mine ever and the most I heard was 3 in a row shooting my plate coral for some unknown reason. Usually it'll just randomly be a loud click I might notice if talking in the room. Sound pretty much identical to this but rarely as successive.

Worth mentioning mantis hits might sound slightly different eat time just because the angle+distance+surface they attack can add variance. Pistols are pretty much identical each time because they're not contacting anything and its the bubble mostly creating that noise.



And can confirm she does this all the time

Actually one of my biggest regrets was building this tank in my room because she can pull an all-nighter on the rocks when I have work in 6 hours. Its worse cause I keep getting up to check whats agitating her and its usually the powerhead or she's expanding a narrow spot in the rock she just wants to fit through lol.



Agree with ditching the goby idea, hitchhiking pistols don't typically bond with gobies. There's a very select few alpheus sp. that actually pair, any hitchhiking ones are pretty solitary or one of the colonial sponge groups.

Mantis are easy to find cause you'll see them actually come out, and usually always have their eyes peeping out. It'd likely even come out for mysis floating by.
The fact that I’ve never seen what’s popping and that the sound of the pop is the same every time does that mean it’s probably a pistol shrimp?
 
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It's not a mantis. Your cleaner shrimp would be toast.
 
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fishywishy

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I just heard the it clicking super fast like snapping you fingers 3-4 times really fast and the clicks are usually really loud but rarely the click is a little quiet, are these things pistol shrimp can do?
 
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