real tiny Mantis shrimp, should I worry?

[DEADFISH1]

I have all these tiny Mantis shrimp in my new mini reef, their so small, the only way I can tell that they are what they are is by using a magnifying glass on the front glass, I can see their large front claws, I didn't worry too much about them until I saw one latched onto one of my sand bed worms, he was tugging & tugging at the poor thing until it ripped in half, their are so many that at first I thought that they were just Copepods, I have a ton of those too, I have no fish or any other type of predator, I'm just using my mini reef as a grow out tank.
should I get a predator?
if so, what would be good for a 7 gal. mini?
I was thinking about getting a Six Line Wrasse.

 

[Anonymous]

Do they look like this?

 

[DEADFISH1]

yea, some are green some are brown and some are just clear, I can't tell by the photo how small that one is but mine are real small, about 3 times the size of a copepod.

 

[Anonymous]

The amphipod pictured is normal in our tanks. My fish love'em

This is a full-sized adult at about ½". Some species get bigger but most are much smaller. They are harmless and make excellent fish food.

They also have an interesting habit of climbing out of the water and not being able to get back in...

 

[Chucker]

Always a good idea to check the HHFAQ. Compare the following-
amphipods (1st entry)
and
mantis (4th entry)

[ August 29, 2001: Message edited by: Chucker ]

 

[DEADFISH1]

ok, are amphipods supposed to eat worms?
mine do.