genuck Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 just wondering if you guys have any ideas on what this might be. there is no picture because it's inside a rock. description: series of pin sized holes in zoa rock where strings of powdered rock are ejected. have seen ant like leg protruding once. makes loud clicking noise if disturbed (ie. hermit walks over rock or i take it out of the water). usually two sets of three snaps. sounds like a shell tapping glass (i've looked for someone touching the glass but nothing) i've been watching for over a month now and it has never come out that i've seen, just the one tiny leg. any guesses?? Link to comment
tMoney Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 Possibly a pistol shrimp (good) or a mantis shrimp (not good, unless you want a species only tank). Just a guess Link to comment
genuck Posted June 4, 2005 Author Share Posted June 4, 2005 that's what i originally thought when i heard the clicking. but it lives INSIDE the rock, and i'm guessing it's also very small 2cm long at the very most but probably half that (judging from the size of the leg) Link to comment
tinyreef Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 maybe it's something like a gall crab. and maybe the zoanthids or coralline has now encased it into a chamber within the rock. ant-like legs sounds different tho. could be a honking big centipede-type worm with big poisonous pincers that snap in response when you rattle the rock. jk are you sure the pin holes are the only in/egress? i have something that's carved out a trapdoor on the rock itself which it uses to feed (filter feeder, i think). never seen the sob in the years i've had it but it always snaps shut when i knock. Link to comment
genuck Posted June 7, 2005 Author Share Posted June 7, 2005 ok, i'm revising my description. i'm thinking pistol shrimp. but do they get that small and can they burrow into rock? everytime a hermit climbs on this rock a small 'leg' that looks and moves like an ant's antennae comes out and feels around a little then from another hole a little white thing about the size of a medium ball point on a pen pokes out and snaps once or twice. then it all repeats until the crab is gone. just the little antennae comes out to double check. i've seen that centipede someplace else Link to comment
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