Mantis shrimp in the live rock plus photos of his capture!!

[Wingnutt021]

I've had my ten gal reef tank since February. Today while enjoying the tank, a noticed a shadow lurking within the live rock. Both of my fish are accounted for, the shrimp is hanging out back, and the snails don't fit in the crevasses. I put my nose up to the glass to get a better look and there it was!

It was a long slender thing slinking along the sandbed. Long being about the length of your pinky tip to the first knuckle, and a bit less wide than a pencil. It was either dark brown or black. It looked most like a worm of some kind, but I have never seen it in six months and I pay close attention to all the livestock.

It didn't really crawl along the sandbed, rather it kind of swam like a tadpole type thing would swim. It moved fast, almost in a darting manner.

I couldn't snap a photo as I only saw it for about 10 seconds before it disappeared back into the live rock. I didn't see anything similar in the HHFAQ page.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Wingnutt021]

OK, I just spotted the loch ness swimming under some shrooms. It has a bristleworm type appearance, but the bristles are underneath it in a centepede foot kinda way. Moves too fast for a photo...

 

[Wingnutt021]

It looks like this thing boroughs through the rock in the tank. It just got fresh with t is fearful of me. I've spotted it a few times now with just its face sticking out of a gap in the rock, or out of its self made tunnels, but receeds as soon as it spots me.

I snapped a shot of it but its not clear and won't help.

Stay tuned! I've pulled up a chair and am not moving until I get this thing on camera.

 

[Wingnutt021]

This is the little guy sticking its face out of a tunnel. Does this help anyone? Some kind of shrimp?

 

[Wingnutt021]

After hours of internet research, its all coming together...

MANTIS SHRIMP

I've been hearing the tell tale "clicking" for months, not knowing what it was.

My tiny hermit cleanup crew went from 10 to 3.

My turbo snail crew was cut in half. I can't even find the shell to one of them.

Now the battle begins. I'll try to get pictures so you can put this guy up on the FAQ page.

 

[Wingnutt021]

Captured at 8:30 tonight, using a commercial trap. He is still alive and if he survives the night in the trap, which I partially submerged in the filter water to keep warm, the LFS wants him.

Here is a pretty good picture of him after the capture. Boy, am I relieved, and so are my little hermits!

 

[Wingnutt021]

Here is the best closeup I could get

 

[cyro]

looks like this: http://www.akvaryum.us/mantis-shrimp.html
i guess Haptosquilla glyptocercu. he was my hitchiker for 2 months. did not eat anything in my tank (hermits, snails, crabs, fishes). but my all fishes were jumped. he is a cute little guy.
he looks like loves his hole. you can take the rock out and break his hole because he wont leave his rock anyway.