Occy and Pistol Shrimp

[george]

Hi

Im a new member to the site.

Ive got a question that you guys might be able to help me out with. It involves a shrimp....

My fish and sea horses are currently in my 10gal, and have just cycled a new 40gal tank which will be their new home.

I noticed a shrimp hitched a ride with the rock, and have decided i want him out. Im currently not sure whether its a mantis or pistol shrimp. Havent seen him at all, just heard the clicking..

Picked up a mantis shrimp trap from the lfs the other week, and tried it, but with no luck. So, i took the plunge and went with my next plan. I introduced an octopuss to the tank which i borrowed from the lfs. I thought if anythings gonna do the job right, it will be him....seems i may have been wrong.....

The clicking was quite frequent and loud throughout the day and night. The octopuss has now been in there for over a week. The clicking is noticably less, which leads me to believe there may have been more than one, but the darn thing is still alive....
I dont know if the shrimp is constantly buried all the way at the bottom of the substrate and the occy cant get to it, or if hes just too small for the occy to worry about, but i want him out.
The occy was sulking for the first 6 days or so in his new home, and has only started to come out from under the rock when i lift the lid of the tank, he seems quite hungry, so i dont know if hes more inclined to go 'hunting' now.
Ive fed the occy only once in the last week, in hope that his instinct will kick in but i dont want to leave him without food for too long, cause i think its cruel...

Can anyone give me some advice on what to do next? maybe someone has had more experience with occys, or maybe pistol shrimp that could lend a helping hand...

Much appreciated

George

 

[mikeconstable]

Question?

Seahorses make a audible clicking noise when they feed - that's not what you are hearing?

 

[george]

Mike,

I may not have explained the situaton properly.

There are 2 tanks, the seahorses are safely tucked away in the little 30litre all in 1, but its the 120litre tank that im having the issue with..
Its definately a pistol or a mantis shrimp, because ive endured the dramas before...

If he doesent manage to find the little critter, maybe cause the shrimp is too small, then i'll just have to take mr occy out of the tank, to let the other guys into their new home.

Thanks for your response mike.

What sorta stuff do you keep anyway?

George

 

[mikeconstable]

I have kept seahorses with cuttlefish in the past, but nothing for several years
No experience with pistol shrimps, so don't know if an octopus is a suitable predator, or whether it could be intimidated by the shrimps (it may depend on the individuals in your aquarium.Other people may know.).
I would not keep the octopus too hungry - I have noticed that marine creatures can just stop feeding and fade away.

 

[joel_ang]

I was ust wondering is the noise irritating. I was thinking if it wasn't too bad, why not just leave it alone. If the octo hasn't eaten/found it by now, I would suggest the octo be returned soon or that it be fed daily.

 

[HooT]

I have had my Occy Morphius for 2 months now and still the pistol shrip lives... He is 3cm long... and in my experiance moves too fast for Morphius to catch. Well for now anyway.

 

[Colin]

Glad to see that they are both doing well...