Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
Site Supported in Part by:
Polyp Lab 

Family Protosquillidae

Haptosquilla pulchella

(Miers, 1880)

Lagoon Mantis Shrimp

Not Reef Tank Suitable

Not Suitable for Fish-Only Tank

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean

Size: 2 inches (5 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits reef rubble areas.

Aquarium Suitability: Not collected for the home aquarium trade.

Will eat anything it can catch.

Taxonomy:

    Kingdom: Animalia

    Phylum: Arthropoda

    Class: Malacostraca

    Order: Stomatopoda

    Family: Protosquillidae

    Genus: Haptosquilla

FYI: May arrive hidden in live rock or stony corals.

Unsuitable for home aquariums.

Remove when feasible.

To safely remove, once you are sure what rock it's hiding in, simply take that rock out of the water and place on a piece of eggcrate that is covering an empty pail. Within a few minutes, the mantis will crawl out of its hole looking for another secure 'submerged' hole and fall into the pail.

Keep your fingers away from this creature!

Shown here for identification only.

 Haptosquilla pulchella (Lagoon Mantis Shrimp)
Photo © edge-of-reef.com
Site Supported in Part by:
Polyp Lab