Tiny baby mantis shrimp

[Lebski]

Hi there,

apologies as it can’t get a picture as it’s so small. I picked up a large GSP colony attached to some live rock. That is doing well and I am happy with it!

However, I looked underneath the chunk with my phone light as I saw something scuttling upside down under the rock, It is about 5 MM long and looks like a shrimp.

I have only been able to Identify that it has a shiny/reflective eye and it has a slightly red colouration.

as it’s soo small and under the live rock it’s impossible for me to catch as as soon as I move the rock it darts off somewhere.

I am fearing it was a baby mantis shrimp that has hitch hiked on the rock.

Any Ideas on how to catch it as I don’t want it in my display tank as I have hermits, a YWG and a firefish.

ideally I’d like to catch it and put it in my small temporary QT tank and grow it to see what it is.

Or are there any other possible hitch hiker shrimp.

any advice on how to catch it?
Many thanks

 

[GaryE]

most likely just a pod of some sort.

 

[Lebski]

most likely just a pod of some sort.

I really do hope so but, it really does look like a shrimp of some kind.

looks a lot like a baby cherry shrimp in FW but see through.

I’ve seen some of the pods people mistake for mantis shrimps but it doesn’t really look anything like them ie no brown computations as far as I can see

 

[Lebski]

Colouration*

 

[Lebski]

Any ideas on how to catch whatever it is?

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

You can try the pop bottle fish trap, or a net. Just leave the net in the tank for a little while waiting for it to go near it, then slowly catch it.

 

[Lebski]

These little guys are crafty I have tried shrimp traps, the bottle trap even the nets and trying to use a large pippet to get one so I can ID it but still no luck and it does look like there is at least 2.

I am ashamed to admit I’ve even tried to epoxy over a while I’ve seen them in but they seem to always escape. I have a video and this is by far the best I can do without being about to catch them!

 

[Rmckoy]

A mantis shrimp doesn’t resemble a shrimp in many ways .

when you say like a cherry shrimp ( fw ) could it be a cleaner shrimp , scarlet or peppermint shrimp ?

 

[Rmckoy]

Attached are google pictures of a mantis shrimp .
Does it look similar ?

 

[Lebski]

They are only around a cm big so it’s hard to tell if it looks like the above, it is largely clear/brownish as far as I can see. The eyes are reflective like that of the mantis when I shine a torch on it

 

[Rmckoy]

Do you hear a loud clicking sound ?

wave a snail shell around the hole ( with long tongs )
It will come out and attack it if it’s a mantis

 

[Brady4000]

I successfully caught a mantis using a bottle trap, with some type of raw fish meat inside. I used a piece of raw shrimp.

Contact Support

 

[Brady4000]

Do you hear a loud clicking sound ?

wave a snail shell around the hole ( with long tongs )
It will come out and attack it if it’s a mantis

Mine won’t touch snails, and just watches the hermits eat his/hers leftovers. But they can’t resist raw meat. They are opportunistic scavengers.

 

[Brady4000]

Also forgot to add, if it ends up being a spearing mantis. It most likely doesn’t care about your CUC. It will be eyeballing small fish. But will still eat raw fish meat.

That is if it’s a mantis at all. Keep us updated!

 

[Scoob]

I've had a hitchhiker mantis shrimp in my tank for over a year.
He hasn't touched my cleaner, or peppermint shrimp. Not even the firefish.

I think he's probably killed some snails or hermits

 

[Lebski]

So after trying for 2 weeks to try and catch these in my tank, I have attempted bought traps, the net trap, the bottle trap and just plain leaving a large holed turkey baster at the entrance of the hole and sucking it in as soon as I see it move. I am still yet to catch it.
However, upon observing it appears there are around 3-5 of them all living in a small cave between two of my rocks (annoyingly glued together and that form the base of all my rocks)

they appear to have gotten slightly bigger and have a slightly more brown colourations. They are around 1-2cm now.

they are definitely shrimp but still can’t get a great picture or catch to confirm that it is a mantis or not.

I don’t know whether baby mantis shrimp will stay in a group of if this helps the ID?

I can confirm they are definitely not amphipods.

 

[Lebski]

I don’t hear clicking but I believe 1 they would be too small for that atm and 2 I have two small blue legged hermits who love to climb the silicone at the corners and a large snail who taps the glass quite often so would be hard to tell

 

[Lebski]

Hey guys,

Just thought I’d post a quick update on this thread as I’ve not been as active recently.

last week I actually managed to catch one of the little guys, I put it in a pot and took it to a LFS who have ID’d it as a mysis shrimp!

Must have had a clutch of eggs that snuck in on some live rock!

A bit of free food and fun for the fish.
Many thanks for all the help and info guys!!