Mantis shrimp or crabs?

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aznfish

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 29, 2009
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Australia
about 4 weeks ago, one of my small maroon clownfish went missing, no body found.
then today, the other one went missing, no body found.....in a matter of a few hours just gone, it was alive when i got up and i've been home all day.
i also found that the starfish is missing 1 leg............
could it be one of my little dark green crabs? or a mantis shrimp?
the clownfish are no bigger than 3cm and the dark green crabs are very small, 2 cm max.
there is also a mandarin goby, but he's still ok.
I do see some things pop in and out, but i can't tell what it is, because im usually a few feet away and my eye sight is pretty crap.

Also the previous owner of the live rock and inverts, didn't have problems with mantis shrimps ( or he didn't know), his setup had been running for years.

:irked:
 
Crabs are oportunist, but I doubt they could succesfully nab two maroon clowns. What are the crabs again?

At this point, I am tempted to say a mantis shrimp, but thats nothing more then speculation.
 
Do you every hear a clicking or ticking noise from the tank? If you do then you could have a mantis. That is how we found out we had a mantis shrimp, but it has been living with a clown fish for about a year and doesn't ever bother with it.
 
i do sometimes hear clicking in the rock. the crabs are emerald crabs i believe.
if theres a mantis shrimp in the tank, how come the previous owner of the inverts and live rock never had a problem with them? =/
im hoping it was just the crabs
 
Its very unlikely that emerald crabs would do this.
 
ok so if it isn't the crabs, how would i have a mantis shrimp, if the previous owner didn't have problems?
 
i highly doubt its the crabs and yes i believe there emerald crabs if there green but to the question i bet and best bet is the mantis shrimp i can see a mantis shrimp doing that and getting away with it i mean im not a saltwater owner but i do know a mantis shrimp is a ninja..so in that sense the ticking is a mantis..but i as well dont understand why the previous owner didnt have a problem very odd..
 
aznfish;4781844; said:
ok so if it isn't the crabs, how would i have a mantis shrimp, if the previous owner didn't have problems?
Click to expand...
How mature was the tank when you got it, and did you add any live rock?

Mantis shrimp come in all different sizes, its likely he could have hidden and played nice while he was in the other owners possession.

Another sign of a mantis is that they will re-arrange rocks in the aquarium to their liking, they may also take time to become comfortable in their suroundings, and may not be seen for a while.

If I were you, I would put a hermit in a clean jar and set it upright. He will come out for his din din, if you have a mantis.
 
the guy had the live rock for years, the tank had been setup for atleast 3 years.
I didn't add any live rock into the setup.
note, i did move most of the live rock from a 180g into a standard 3 foot, because i am doing adjustments to the 180g and its 65g sump.
there is also live rock in big buckets of water, but i don't here clicking from them.
 
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