could it be a mantis?

[ham helper]

ok i just set up my first saltwater tank, a 55 gallon. today i bought the first bunch of cured live rock (25 pounds). well i was repositioning it in the tank and a creature about the size of a grain of rice, and brown, dodged out of a rock crevace and scurried into the crushed coral like a bolt of lightning. i was just warned to watch out for mantis shrimp and did some reading on the little buggers. could this possibly be a baby hitchiking mantis that will grow up and wreak havoc?
thanks guys,
kimberly

[ziah]

Pretty hard to tell without a picture. Even if it is a baby mantis, there's not much you can do about it yet (at least I think there isn't). I'd be more worried about grown mantis. Let your rocks cure for a week or two and then start night watching (with a flashlight). Try to identify all your hitchikers. Trust me, this part is just as fun as putting your first fish in! Good luck!