Help! Mantis shrimp??

[rossikey]

Can anyone help

We believe we may have a Mantis shrimp in our tank..WE have lost around 8 fish in as many weeks.....hear a clicking noise almost every night when the light is turned off. We sit up till 1.30am some nights trying to find him under the blue moon light but Nothing......he sure must have a good hiding place...We are desperate to find it as it is killing all our fish...we have now lost without trace a yellow tailed damsel.....
We have taken out 90% of our live rock and just left in the corals and have heard nothing so are led to believe he must be hiding on a rock we have taken out and is now sitting in a seperate bucket.......with heater and the works going.......
Question.....

How on earth do we find this thing.........is there a secret to finding it and catching it.....I have read there are mantis shrimp traps ..would our LFS have one.....

Hope someone can help....any suggestions would be greatfully received.....

 

[Salt Freak]

Ya heres one

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...4&N=2004+113169

 

[Navarre]

OK firstly, dot use blue lights use red. They cannot see red light so you can sit and watch whilst they are not even aware you are shining a light on the tank.

Now it sounds like it may well be a mantis (might be a pistol but your deaths seem more mantis orientated).

These shrimps are really intelligent and they wont come easily.
first you must try and find what rock its hidning in. This might be easier with the red light as you might see him moving around. If you can isolate the rock its in then seperate this rock in a bucket of tank water and slowly raise the temperature. This willl decrease the oxygen in the water and make the mantis look for more suitable water. This will do the least damage to the liverock. Altering SG is alos effective but this can also harm other life on the rock.

As far as the trap is concenred, i would estmate you have 1 shot at catching it in there. if you fail the first tim ethen it will simply not try and go there again, these shrimps are real crafty so imsorry to say you have to think smart and be patient. )