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christyf5
06-01-2006, 03:20 PM
Soo...if one had a pistol or mantis shrimp in their tank it would make a clicking noise right? Kind of like a tapping sound against the glass? Is it fast or slow? Anyone have any experiences with this?

Reason is, something is in my tank making that sort of sound. Most times it is a single click, then sometimes followed by another a few seconds later. The clicks are never super close together, I'd say they'd be about a half a second apart or longer and theres only ever one or two. It happens more when the lights are off (ie. the morning) but sometimes when the lights are on as well, and of course never when I'm standing in front of the tank looking for the damned thing. I thought maybe it was something knocking around in the current but I can't find anything.

Am I just paranoid? Wait, don't answer that :razz:

*sigh* I never seem to just be able to sit around and enjoy my tank these days. Its always something :razz:

WaterLogged
06-01-2006, 03:26 PM
Thats interesting... Sometimes when there is a little peice of sand that gets sucked up in a pump it makes a little noise when it hits the impellar. Just a thought though.

i have crabs
06-01-2006, 03:42 PM
i just cought a tiny pistol after 6-8 monthes of not buying any rock

Delphinus
06-01-2006, 03:45 PM
I hear the clicks too in my crab infested cube tank. My guess is that anything with claws can probably cause the occasional clicking sound.

danny zubot
06-01-2006, 03:57 PM
Sometimes when a snail is near the edge of the tank the current blows it up against the tank wall, and its shell makes that clanking noise. I have a pistol shrimp and the sound is subtly different. Next time your hand is in the tank snap your fingers under water, that should be close to the sound a pistol makes.

TheReefGeek
06-01-2006, 04:16 PM
My red pistol makes clicks exactly as you described. Most often one click, sometimes two, rarely three. And usually more often when the lights go out.

Pistols dig a lot, so you should notice large amounts of sand moving around if you have a pistol, otherwise I would suspect a mantis.

Jason McK
06-01-2006, 04:36 PM
Ya from what I have learned Pistol shrimp are single clicks and mantis are multiple clicks.
I've had a pistol in my 75G for 4 years now. didn't do anything to anybody.

First piece of rock into my new tank. I watched a small pistol shrimp jump out and race around the sand bed.

TheReefGeek
06-01-2006, 04:40 PM
I love the fact that pistols and watchmen gobies pair up.

Put in a watchman goby, if they pair up it would tell you it is a pistol, not a mantis.

I just got a second watchman for my pistol with the death of my first, and they paired up the second day.

niloc16
06-01-2006, 05:37 PM
i've actually had the same problem for awhile and by fluke i heard it while i was at the tank. it was a turbo snail on the glass at the corner and switching to the other pane of glass and it was his shell hitting the glass at it was swinging over. i also it it again when 2 turbos were trying to pass each other on the glass and there shells were hitting the glass

TheReefGeek
06-01-2006, 05:41 PM
How loud is the snapping?

My tank is downstairs in a noisy fishroom, and I can hear the snapping of my pistol from upstairs, no problem.

I don't think I could hear a snail hitting the glass from that far away, especially with all my pump noise, but maybe I am wrong.

niloc16
06-01-2006, 05:51 PM
its quite loud, to the point that i was researching the sounds of pistol shrimp. i would constantly try and spot the pistol with a flashlight at night with no luck

TheReefGeek
06-01-2006, 05:54 PM
I guess they can flick their shells pretty hard when they want to.

If it happens almost every day though, I would suspect a shrimp.

GMGQ
06-01-2006, 07:21 PM
Y'know, I've had clicks in my tank before I even got my pistol shrimp & striped goby.

For the longest time, I thought it was a crack under my tank, and droplets of water were falling onto the foam under the tank. But then again, there's only about 1" of space under the tank and around the plastic frame, so a droplet of water shouldnt have enough distance to make that noise.

Of course now that I have the pistol shrimp, I just tell myself he's the culprit. What sucks is that the pair are under this LR that's behind another piece. So I can only see them occasionally when I peak behind the LR in front from the side of the tank :S

danny zubot
06-01-2006, 07:38 PM
Jason said: didn't do anything to anybody.


Your lucky, mine always steals my zoo frags to renovate his cave network. When I try to dig them out he comes after me like I'm the thief!

Bob I
06-01-2006, 07:59 PM
There is something else that makes clicking sounds. That being Trochus snails. They sit on the glass and twist their shells back and forth. So if you have any Trochus snails you can suspect them too.:mrgreen:

christyf5
06-01-2006, 10:03 PM
Hmm, no trochus snails, sandbed or sand/rocks getting sucked into powerheads. I've noticed it every morning this week when I come down to the computer and the lights are still out. At first I figured maybe it was my PVC nori feeder clanking in the current but it wasn't in the tank, I've searched a few times but to no avail. All my fish are accounted for but I have had someone munching on various zoo rocks over the past few months. I thought it was el monstro crab I got out of there awhile ago but the zoo munching has persisted. Guess I'll just keep looking. Hopefully its a pistol shrimp of the harmless variety. Either that or my wrasse finds him soon :twised: