Mantis shrimp id.

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>:(

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 10, 2007
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Elsinore
Alright, a pretty long while ago, I saw some sort of creature I couldn't identifiy in my tank. It looked like an arthropod of some sort, and I was afraid it was a mantis shrimp. I noticed two burrows against the glass on the sandbed and I thought they were feather dusters. I found two of the little creatures in the burrows.

The burrows are "u" shaped and made from bits of sand. Each creature is less than half a centimeter long. They pretty much look like this blurry photo.

resizemantisoutlineoi0.jpg


I haven't managed to get any new photos of it that aren't blurry. However, I think they may be this thing, which you can see here: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthro...acostraca/royslist/species.php?name=g_affinis

Is that a pretty accurate id? Probably not lol.

I'll try to get better photos up, but the camera has a hard time finding what it wants to focus on with these things, even in macro mode.
 
I have no idea if it's dangerous. If it is the creature from the link, it shouldn't be, but it's scary and ugly; I'm sure someone on here would love to have it :ROFL:.

I think it got into my tank from a piece of liverock I got at a lfs. They had some liverock from an unlit tank in the back that they sell, but the guy pulled a very nice piece out of the display for me instead. He also gave me a free crab and some coral lol (I didn't even flirt this time :confused:). Anyway, whenever I take live rock, coral, etc home I clean it with a toothbrush and tweezers and then toss it in a bucket with a powerhead and the lights from my old 10 gallon for a week so I can watch it and see if scary things come out. I change the water everyday so that I can get rid of creatures that exit the rock. I guess these never came out? There were also some tiny brittle stars on the rock when I put it in the tank, but then I decided I wanted a six line wrasse and he ate them all. He also took care of some nudibranchs that were on a coral.

Lesson: QT better than I do.
 
Thanks. Wow. I'm happy that I properly ID'ed the thing, but.... aw man. I'll leave them be for a while, because they're not a threat now. I think the wrasse will eat them before they have the chance to become dangerous.
 
i'd just leave them in for life, i've got an N. wennerae in my 29g that lives quite peacefully with a YTBD, chromis and many snails and crabs. and if you decide you don't want one(one will eventually kill the other) then put me on the list.
 
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