Mantis shrimp or Stomatopods .x

Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are marine crustaceans, the members of the order Stomatopoda. They may reach 30 centimetres (12 in) in length, although exceptional cases of up to 38 cm (15 in) have been recorded.The carapace of mantis shrimp covers only the rear part of the head and the first four segments of the thorax. Mantis shrimp appear in a variety of colours, from shades of browns to bright neon colours. Although they are common animals and among the most important predators in many shallow, tropical and sub-tropical marine habitats they are poorly understood as many species spend most of their life tucked away in burrows and holes.


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these are so fast seen them on tv xx

Can actually break the glass of an aquarium if you are unlucky enough to get one that has stowed away in some live rock - pretty but not wanted in an aquarium.

Wow that is a great snippet of information .. Helen do they just charge the glass ?

They can break it by the energy released when they snap their pincers to stun their pray - some of them are capable of breaking your finger

While investigating the mantis shrimp, we found mixed emotions about these marine animals. Some aquarists feel that they make an interesting, intriguing, and enjoyable pet to have in an aquarium, while others feel they are the total scourge of any aquarium. Lets take a look at their characteristics and nature to learn more about them, then you can decide for yourself if you want to keep one or not.

They fit into the Crustacea phylum in the class Malacostraca, subclass Hoplocarida (which means "armed shrimp"), and order Stomatopoda.

They are most often referred to as Stomatopods.

They come in what seems like an endless variety of species .

They are found in tropical waters worldwide.

They are carnivores and will eat just about anything and everything.

They are experts at catching and killing prey, being very clever, stealthy hunters.

They are masters at hiding.

They are not related to shrimp, but are referred to as shrimp because of their front appendages and how they use them to capture food.

They are called a "Mantis" Shrimp due to the fact they resemble the appearance and have the same hunting characteristics of a praying mantis insect.

There are two hunting categories, the "spearers" and the "smashers". The "spearers" use their spear-like claw to silently stab soft tissued prey. The "smashers" use their forceful, club-like claw to hit, crack open or pulverize harder bodied prey. It is interesting that the power of the "smashers" appendage can produce a blow close to the power of a .22 caliber bullet and are notoriously known as "thumb splitters ". It is rumored that because of the tremendous strength these animals have, they can crack aquarium glass. From a story about how a pet Mantis Shrimp broke 1/4 inch aquarium glass , that was posted in The Daily Mirror (a British Newspaper) on Friday, April 10, 1998, page 11, this documentation leads us to believe that this is possible.

These animals are burrowers, and can create tubes or cavities in sand, rubble or mud.

They will adapt to living in holes, cracks or crevices in rocks, and may take up residence in snail or hermit crab shells as well.

They are solitary animals, and unless you have a VERY large tank, they should be kept alone.

The Mantis Shrimp is no wimp, Some species can reach up to a length of about 12 inches.

We find a very large six to eight inch, black and white striped species here in Moloka'i waters on the mud flats that are not to be taken lightly. We also have a two to three inch green species that may be small, but still very powerful.

So how does a Mantis Shrimp get into your tank, aside from intentionally putting one there?

By hitchhiking in on live rock.

That is pretty impressive thanks for the extra info I like them lol x

They can be very 'pretty' looking. However, I remember years ago when having a marine set up where I lived, we could sometimes hear a great crack within the tank and we knew then that we had a Mantis Shrimp in there and that the crack would quite often be some poor unsuspecting crab, or that we would have some tank tenants going missing... that's when we really suspected that one of our little friends had 'moved in'!

xoxox

Pistol Shrimps can make the same sound Mel but without the power of a mantis shrimp - you can team pistol shrimps up with gobies - great additions to a marine tank.

i love gobies .. had a couple in my set upx

Pistol Shrimp

Pistol Shrimps are tiny creatures with a deadly weapon. They are capable of shooting supersonic blasts from their fingertips with enough force to instantly stun or kill their prey.

You may notice that one claw of a pistol shrimp is much larger than the other, and very strangely shaped. This claw serves as both its lethal weapon, and its voice. This claw can be forcefully snapped shut, shooting a jet of water out at such a high speed that it actually vaporizes the water. This causes a small air bubble to form. The bubble collapses with enough force to send concussive shockwaves capable of stunning and incapacitating prey.

A pistol shrimp will lie in wait under a rock or in a burrow until food comes along. When it is in range, the shrimp will forcefully snap its oversize claw shut, shooting out sonic waves that incapacitate its prey. The helpless victim is dragged unconscious into the burrow and eaten by the pistol shrimp.

Another unusual thing about pistol shrimps is that they often allow a fish to live with them. Certain kinds of goby fish often share burrows with pistol shrimp. The fish serves as a guard dog, protecting the shrimp from bigger predators. In return, the pistol shrimp works hard to keep the burrow clean and excavate their home.

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The loud blast created by a pistol shrimp's claw can be heard from great distances. Because of this, they also use their claw for communicating with other pistol shrimps. When you listen underwater you may hear a lot of popping sounds. Some of them may be made by pistol shrimps firing off their sound waves to communicate with each other.

blimey deadly little buggers then x

I think they are pretty and cute.

Hugs

JO xx