Saw orange light in dark aquarium

A bit worried by very distinct clicking/tapping sounds coming out of the aquarium I just sat in front of my aquarium for a while since the tank is about to be stocked by a cleaning crew. The room was entirely dark and the aquarium had it's moon lightning on.

Now splashing water does make some sounds but I did hear the distinct sounds again. They are different sounds so this makes me worry. Then suddenly I see a single orange light. It came from a shadow and became bright then dim then bright again and then it was gone. It was very distinct. I don't see how this can be an optical illusion or a reflection. It is something generating photons all by itself. It was a single circular orange glow. It was a bit less then half a centimeter in diameter.

Now I like using my telescope and doing some astronomy but I never saw a UFO. But I guess I did see a USO, assuming it swims.

What is this? Searching for other people's experiences doesn't show up anything. I know a pistol shrimp's claw releasing heats up the water extremely, meaning it would also glow. But wouldn't that last extremely short? This was for more than a second.

BTW this is Indonesian live rock.

 

at night I use a mag flash light with red transparent plastic taped over the lens. red light usally wont scare sea creatures as much. next time try to hit it with the red light to get a better looky.

where you drunk?

 

where is your heater?

 

Actually I brought a red tshirt to cover over a flashlight but it didn't illuminate anything compared to the moonlight already in the tank. Maybe I should have used it. But I was kind of surprised/spooked out. Don't think it would have shown me more. Surely I will be able to see this phenomenon again or it is not real. Maybe I can cover an entire lamp with the red textile?

Aquarium is a Red Sea Max 250. I didn't install the aquarium but checking the manual it seems to be tucked away inside the overflow in the left corner. I saw the light coming from under a rock in the center of the tank. You can't see the back panel from that point and angle at all.

 

A few polychaetes (bristleworms) are bioluminescent. Many ophiuroids (brittle stars) are bioluminescent. There are bioluminescent hydroids. There are bioluminescent dinoflagellates.

Years ago before everyone started putting moonlights on their tanks, there were a lot more questions about this. Moonlights obviously make it harder to see this.

 

Use red cellophane. red cellophane - Google Search

 

I tested my patience but no more lights so far. But I am quite convinced there's something living inside the tank making those ticking noises. They usually occur consequentially and are so loud and distinct and I just found some thread of someone who also had a RSM with clicking, removed a mantis shrimp, then had no more sounds.

I guess I have to build a bottle trap even though it hasn't shown itself so far.

 

Clicking and tapping noise tell me that it could also be a pistol shrimp or a crab. The red light is the reflection from its eye or something. Catch it before you do anything to your tank. They are really hard to catch. You will probably have to remove all the rock and sift through the sand or CC. Otherwise, you will never know why your fish is missing all sudden.

 

I saw a shrimp-like creature about 2cm/almost an inch swimming near the surface and then disappearing in the overflow. It seemed to use it's tail to swim so that matches up mantis shrimp perfectly. It's going to be caught, hopefully.

I will try to ID what on the life rock is bioluminescent. But that will take some patience. Don't think it was a reflection before. And now I know how small the shrimp is. I saw one light that glowed up and down without changing shape or direction so not much like a reflection.

 

Dont waste your time buying shirts or celiphane and monkey rigging a light just go to the home depot and got to the flashlight isle and they have many including some of the headlamps that have red lights in them I bought one for 11.99 and its been working great for years and I dont have to retape celephane on it ever.