Pistol Shrimp

[gumbyri]

Is this a bad guy? Could he be the cause of the clicking I hear every night and dead crabs I see every morning?

Should I flush him, or does anyone out there want him? I live in Neenah.


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/63516mantis_or_pistol.JPG

[nellie54914]

I don't have one but kass does, she says they make noises so I'm sure that's what the clicking is. She has a ton or corals so they must not do anything to them, don't think she has any crabs though.

[Stigmatic]

They are often confused with a mantis. They are reef safe and pair up extremely well with some gobys.

[gumbyri]

I've read on this board that the pistol shirmp will take out porcelain crabs.

I'm mosing porcelain crabs pretty frequently so I suspect he is the culprit.

I've quaranteed him for now, and if I stop losing crabs I'll have my answer.

[Zombies026]

I'll take him if no one wants him..I have another in my tank some where,I have seen him and thought it was a mantis but its a baby pistol..

[kass03]

Yes Ive had one for many years.
My current one is a large orange and purple. I've had it for about 6 years. I had a red one before it for about 10 years.
I bought both of them to live with my watchman goby which they did until I lost my goby recently (had it around 9 years).
I have hermit crabs and several different snails and it doesnt bother them at all. Ive never seen it bother anything but I have lost some mithrex crabs mysteriously so really not sure if it would bother them.
Actually I used to have a porcelain and it was ok for quite awhile. I dont remember how long I had it but the shrimp didnt kill it.
Porcelains are filter feeders so need to be fed accordingly. I think theyre harder to keep for that reason. They also need the shelter of an anemone usually and if you have clowns they will kick it out of the anemone.
I doubt the shrimp is hurting anything but you never know.

So many people have these small ones come in on live rock and think mantis right away and destroy them when usually they are harmless.
Pistols do snap their claw thats where they get their name. Its sounds like the aquarium glass is breaking.
Mantis usually make a more mashing sound when they are killing something because they smash it or stab it. They also dont look alike at all.
Pistols look more like tiny lobsters and mantis look like a praying mantis the way they hold their legs and their eyes have seperate stalks.
Ive gotten mantis already in shipments also. They are cool to watch. My kid kept them in a jar with an airstone in it lol.

kass