Mantis shrimp vs pseudochromis fridmani., good idea?

[plancton]

Hi, I think I have a mantis in my 175gal, I lost 4 royal grammas, one by one I introduced them in the tank and they were dissapearing right away so my thought was that I bought them sick and kept buyting more, until the last one was kept in the fuge for 2 weeks, then added to the main tank and dissapeared overnight.

Then a small mimic lemon tang was attacked by something since it was covered in cuts, it got better and 2 weeks after that dissapeared.

Someone suggested it wasn´t a mantis but many problematic crabs, since the mantis was not likely to eat that many fish. So I bought an X-terminator trap and capture 3 gorilla crabs, about 1.5" in size.

I thought I had got rid of the problem but then I started hearing clicks on the rocks at night, probably a mantis, and the trap is not working to capture it, I can´t take that rock out since its a huge rock and there´s an anemone attached to it, plus never really seen where exactly it is.

And I just bought a pseudochromis fridmani, a bit expensive and hard to get here in Mexico, I´m keeping it in the fuge for the momment, would it be a good idea to place it in the main tank?, would it get attacked by the mantis?

[Aquadam]

If you really think you have a mantis shrimp, I wouldn't put anymore fish in the tank until the mantis is gone...especially something as expensive as a fridmani.

[Anemonebuff]

A mantis will kill and eat any fish you put in there...eventually.

[plancton]

damn, I just checked my fuge and I couldn´t find the fridmani, I checked the fuge and sump and it isn´t there, weird, what happened to it?

[MrPike]

what happened to it?

Im not a detective...but?

Hi, I think I have a mantis in my 175gal,

[Jenisiz]

Did you check around the floor...and the best way to catch a mantis is to break down your tank. If it's avoiding your traps, then your kinda limited. Good luck...and if you value your fingers, I'd be extremely cautious...

[91yota]

interceptor...

[snorvich]

A fish trap (with controllable door) baited with table shrimp will catch it. Been there, done that, several times.

[chimmike]

Originally posted by 91yota
interceptor...

IMO, the only way without breaking down the entire tank, a healthy dose of interceptor.

[plancton]

interceptor?, what the hell is that?, anyways I think I lost the fridmani, worst thing is that I had it in my fuge which is safe, I can only think it was so small that it swam towards one of the holes that lead to the sump and was sucked by a pump and totally desintegrated cuz I can´t even find his body, there are no mantis in my sump. it was about $40, this is the last time I buy small fish.

[91yota]

interceptor is a heartworm medicine for dogs... incidentally, it also kills marine crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs

[chimmike]

Originally posted by 91yota
interceptor is a heartworm medicine for dogs... incidentally, it also kills marine crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs

and red bugs, and other marine parasites.

[Amoore311]

Most of the Mantis Shrimp that come in L/R are not really well adapted for killing fish. They are "clubbers" so to speak. Very good at killing crabs, snails, clams, etc.

The mantis that eat fish are adapted with spears on their front limbs, instead of clubs. These guys, I'm pretty sure are, exclusive to the the substrate in the ocean, so you won't get them in your liverock as a hitchiker very often.

Not saying it definitely isn't a mantis, but I would probably attest the death to those gorilla crabs. You probably have more in there as well.