Mantis vs. Pistol

[Anonymous]

Yeah the title sounds like a bad Godzilla or king kong movie...anyways i was at the LFS about a week ago when i came across the snapping/pistol shimp...So purchased this little guy on a brave, risky gamble to pair up with my Prawn goby( they didnt know what species of pistol it was so I was unable to determine if it would be compatible with my goby).. i told the LFS guy if it doesnt work out then id feed it to my mantis...He informed me that that isnt necessarily the case..He said that the mantis and the pistol have about the same amount of force and the pistol could very well kill a mantis..OK a few possible factors and scenearios...I can see a large pistol possibly taking out a juvy mantis..it also depends on the species of mantis and the species of pistol..now this LFS guy i know ok and i like to think of him as credible and making an honest mistake with knowledge..My pistol is larger than my mantis, HOWEVER, im seriously doubting that this pistol of mine could take on my mantis...Rancor im willing to bet could take out my pistol easy! I held my pistol with out a problem.. The most it does is snap which i believe is for self defense...Anyways if anyone can confirm or deny this, much appreciated...Like i said, under certain circumstances and a few given factors involved it is possible, but im willing the odds will be in the mantises favor most of the time...(The LFS clerk made it sound like it was a 50/50 deal with it leaning more towards the pistol)

 

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that Mantis shrimp are exceptionally inteligent for a shrimp, this ought to count for something in a life and death sitiatioin. Also the most advanced eye on the planet. I have not read much about pistol shrimp though

 

[Anonymous]

True...very true...it turns out i hear that the pistol shrimp has pretty good eyesight too, as was though before they were thought of having poor vision..however its their acuity that lacks, hence them living with the more acuit shrimp goby ....

 

[Anonymous]

i was hoping atleast chockablock aka(slylie) could gimme a hand here! Can anyone substanciate these claims?

 

[Unarce]

Don't take the chance bud. Especially since your Mantis is smaller. Reason being, the manner at which Pistol Shrimp use that right claw. Now, it can't damage a finger the way a Mantis could, but it can wreak havoc on small prey. When the large right claw snaps, it actually produces a shock wave that is able to kill or stun a small fish as far away as 5 feet. Very capable of stunning a small mantis from a distance, and then eating it.

I don't want you to have to search for another one. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

NO..im not turning this into a Invert fighting Championship...I just happened to make a comment...and thats how this started..it got me wondering...Im not talking about the shockwave which can be produced...im talking physical damage..thats what was said to me...that the pistol could Physically take out the mantis...

 

[Unarce]

Invert fighting Championship

:lol: :lol: :lol:

My money's on "Tank Hermit"!

 

[HClH2OFish]

That'd be interesting....I think the winner would be who strikes first.

The pistol may be able to stun the mantis with the concussive force of it's 'snap'...unless the mantis is immune to those forces, and I doubt it is (but don't know for sure)
The mantis is just *fast* and hits hard...and often.
I'd still put my money on the mantis..just based on intelligence and I'm biased anyway

 

[M_Phobos]

My money is on the Mantis...seeing as how the pistol shrimp uses the modified claw for the shockwave and not to physically cause any harm. The mantis, with those sledgehammers would probably crack the shell of the pistol before it knew what was happening.

We need to write to the Discovery Channel so that they can do this battle on their next episode of "Animal Face-Off"..lol.

(Or we could pay Nikon to film the real thing for us..lol)

Cheers,
Fred

 

[Anonymous]

If the Mantis is a juvenile and the Alpheus sp. is an adult then I would say it is probably not going to be a good day for the Mantis as they have been know to attack smaller shrimp species. However if they are about the same size then a hungry Mantis would probably kill the Pistol Shrimp eventually.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

I think there would be more research into something like that..fortunately for me im not about to find out...Honestly i would have my money on the mantis...consider it has far better vision and is known to ambush its prey..i think the lack of acuity in the pistol would be its major disadvantage...besides like i said, there would be certain circumstances and given factors on which a pistol shrimp could win...i think the majority of the time, its gonna be the mantis

 

[dropped82]

I actually had a friend that had managed to get both in his tank thru hitchhiking in his LR...we had seen them both...well one day while watching TV we heard 2 popping sounds from the tank...we wondered what happened...there were many confrontations but nothing happened till now...the pistol was munching on the mantis...the mantis went for an attack and the pistol moved but took minimal damaged and then he reacted and dead mantis easy lunch...the pistol may not be as smart but he can take the mantis down from a foot away w/ out touching him...the mantis would have to get close to get the pistol and most of the time there is not a chance...jst my 2 cents...oh by the way this is my first post sorry for the book

 

[Unarce]

take the mantis down from a foot away w/ out touching him

EXACTLY!

Welcome to RDO, BTW.

 

[Gonodactylus]

The distance estimates for the effective range of a snapping shrimp pop are a bit extreme even for the largest species. It is definitely not 5 feet and probably not one. The lethal distance for a 6 cm alpheid is more like 10 to 15 cm.

It is true that when size matched, some of the more heavily armed snapping shrimp can kill a gonodactylid - and vice versa. When in the open, stomatopods will often try to circle or dive in from the top and knock of the major chela (not always the right one). On the other hand, if a ss is in a cavity, there is no way the stomatopod can enter head on - although I have seen Haptosquilla glyptocercus succeed using a tail-first entry.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to RDO, Gonodactylus. Good to see you here!

Thanks for the info!

 

[HClH2OFish]

But the question remains...

Are you feeling lucky, punk? Well? Are you?

LOL

(Please ignore my rants...I *really* need more to do during my work day)

 

[Unarce]

The distance estimates for the effective range of a snapping shrimp pop are a bit extreme even for the largest species.

I found that hard to believe as well, but 1.8 meters seems to be the most common distance used. I wonder what that's based off of?

http://www.reefed.edu.au/explorer/anima ... rimps.html

 

[Anonymous]

Thanx Gonodactylus..this is the kind of info needed here...Like i said, i agree, even though ive never put it to the test, that there are certain factors and circumstances in which one will prevail over the other...This is good information and really appreciate it as i/we expand our knowledge...

 

[chockablock]

i was hoping atleast chockablock aka(slylie) could gimme a hand here! Can anyone substanciate these claims?

lol :lol: in my experience of squaring off my mantis with different crustaceans... my un-scientific prediction is that it is possible for the both of them to inhabit the same tank... if there is enough room...

A good setup would be a 20g long, with a small 3" stomatopod, and a similar sized Alpheus species shrimp... with a rock structure with a cave for the mantis, and just a large rock with space to dig under for the alpheus (they dont make smooth tunnels like the symbiotic shrimp, they just dig out under rocks.).. and a patch of sand between the two piles.

Get a peice of acrylic, or a tank devider with holes, or some way for the water to flow through, and keep them seperate until both establish territory... then remove the acrylic, and i can imagine they will have run-ins.. but i think it could work. :twisted:

 

[Anonymous]

Understood, however the question is who would win, not if they could co-habitate