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Diana’s build

diana a

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Could it be a small pistol? I've had 2 mantis over the years, both clubbers. Neither ever attacked a fish. Inverts were in the 'light snack' category for both. Both would, however, burrow down into the sand under the rocks and smash at the glass on the bottom of the tank to try to get deeper. If you don't have paint on the bottom of the tank and can look up from underneath, a visible area of missing sand might indicate one is digging and punching. Just a thought to help try to figure it out.

You can also put a piece of raw meat on a skewer and drop it so the meat is on the sand near the front of the tank then move away so it cant see you. If its a mantis it'll probably be out in a few minutes after it scouts the area.

If you do have one and catch it, and would like rid of it, I'd be happy to set it up in its own place.

And, HMD :)
Both nights before going to bed I had seen the two fish that are now gone with no trace the following mornings. Still hear a click sounds in late day. My clown fish use to sleep on the sand next to the glass panel. Now the female is always inside the Elegance coral. So now it looks like one fish inside the DT :rolleyes:

I can't look from the bottom since the tank is sitting on a pvc board.

"You can also put a piece of raw meat on a skewer" Meat as in beef or a clam? Do this when the lights are out for the night or can this be done during the day?
 

diana a

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Tried for the past two night trying to catch it with a bottle trap. Used a square bottle that was 16" long. First day/night I placed a raw shrimp chunk inside. Woke up yesterday to find it still there. Yesterday I placed a frozen cube of mysis inside the bottle and placed it inside the DT around 8PM. Went to bed at 1 AM and it was still untouched. Woke up this morning at 6 AM and all the mysis was gone and no critters inside the bottle. There was a sand trail at the mouth of the bottle around the cap area. The mouth of the bottle was up against the rocks. There was no way the two fish could have gotten in. The clicking has gotten louder. More like a loud finger snapping. The two fish still left, only stay on the far side of the tank. One in the back corner and the other inside the Elegance coral. I am going to try a clam today.

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MadReefer

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Tried for the past two night trying to catch it with a bottle trap. Used a square bottle that was 16" long. First day/night I placed a raw shrimp chunk inside. Woke up yesterday to find it still there. Yesterday I placed a frozen cube of mysis inside the bottle and placed it inside the DT around 8PM. Went to bed at 1 AM and it was still untouched. Woke up this morning at 6 AM and all the mysis was gone and no critters inside the bottle. There was a sand trail at the mouth of the bottle around the cap area. The mouth of the bottle was up against the rocks. There was no way the two fish could have gotten in. The clicking has gotten louder. More like a loud finger snapping. The two fish still left, only stay on the far side of the tank. One in the back corner and the other inside the Elegance coral. I am going to try a clam today.

View attachment 38833
Make a pot of coffee and stay up all night.......LOL

Good luck.
 
Go buy a batch of ghost shrimp or a few fiddler crabs and toss them in. If you have a mantis shrimp you will find out quickly. They are usually very aggressive towards other crustaceans and not shy about hunting them down. Not sure you need to wait til twilight.
 

diana a

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I will go to Petsmart and see if they still have ghost shrimp in stock. If not, will check Petco for saltwater shrimp
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
Diana, you need a wide mouth jar. Make a funnel out o a PVC screen or something like that. Glue gun it in. Make sure there is a hole in the end that is inside the jar. Put rocks or something over it as those shrimp won't come out in the open. They hunt from under rocks. Bait the thing and change the bait every night.

Thats how I catch bristleworms and crabs. It's basically a lobster trap
 

MadReefer

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Diana, you need a wide mouth jar. Make a funnel out o a PVC screen or something like that. Glue gun it in. Make sure there is a hole in the end that is inside the jar. Put rocks or something over it as those shrimp won't come out in the open. They hunt from under rocks. Bait the thing and change the bait every night.

Thats how I catch bristleworms and crabs. It's basically a lobster trap
Paul, read your book and remember the DIY for this. Nice read by the way.
 

diana a

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Go buy a batch of ghost shrimp or a few fiddler crabs and toss them in. If you have a mantis shrimp you will find out quickly. They are usually very aggressive towards other crustaceans and not shy about hunting them down. Not sure you need to wait til twilight.
Bought a Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp yesterday morning. Dripped acclimated it, and then placed it in my sump since I wasn’t going to be home to watch it in the dt. I removed him to the DT this morning, and placed it on the rock pile where the clicking sounds comes from. 20 minutes later I returned to my tank to find the Cleaner Shrimp on its side, inside one of the caves in question
 

MadReefer

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Bought a Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp yesterday morning. Dripped acclimated it, and then placed it in my sump since I wasn’t going to be home to watch it in the dt. I removed him to the DT this morning, and placed it on the rock pile where the clicking sounds comes from. 20 minutes later I returned to my tank to find the Cleaner Shrimp on its side, inside one of the caves in question
Damn! That sucks.
Maybe get a cheaper shrimp and place it in a trap. Hopefully, you can catch the pistol that way.
 
If you starve it out, it might be willing to go inside the trap with live bait. I'm not sure how long they go without food before they start coming out in the open.
 

diana a

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If you starve it out, it might be willing to go inside the trap with live bait. I'm not sure how long they go without food before they start coming out in the open.
Do they eat amphipods? If it eats amphipods, then it will be fed well. I have them all over my rocks and some are massive in size.
 

diana a

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Damn! That sucks.
Maybe get a cheaper shrimp and place it in a trap. Hopefully, you can catch the pistol that way.
Yes does suck in so many ways. He had a $42 shrimp lunch ( Scarlet Skunk Cleaner) and I had a peanut butter sandwich :confused2:

I have a list of fish I want to buy and I just can't because of him
 
View attachment 24050

So I finally got someone to help me get the 40b tank down the outside steps (3 steps :oo:). Added water and pump to circular water yesterday. IT HASN’T CRACKED yet:ohnoes:. It’s still running. I was very very nervous about the acrylic expanding after it was exposed water. So now I can order the tank, purchase the pvc and valves.
Just learned why my 40B cracked years ago.. Didn't know about it expanding. LOL.
 

diana a

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Was just looking inside a cave I had created and saw a black worm with 5 antennas on its front mouth area….black Bobbit worm. Lifted the rock out of the water. Threw the rock into my Brute can that had a gallon of salt water. I added additional salt and got the water to 1.050 salinity. The bobbit wiggled out of one hole and back in. The bristleworms came out of the rock and died. How do I get bobbit out of the rock? Will the high salinity kill it? Yes there are corals attached to the rock but I don’t care now
 

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MadReefer

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Was just looking inside a cave I had created snd saw a black worm with 5 antennas on its front mouth area….black Bobbit worm. Lifted the rock out of the water. Threw the rock into my Brute can that had a gallon of salt water. I added additional salt and got the water to 1.050 salinity. The bobbit wiggled out of one hole and back in. The bristleworms came out of the rock and died. How do I get bobbit out of the rock? Yes there are corals attached to the rock but I don’t care now
Maybe throw the rock in fresh water.
 
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