1 1/2 " Mantis in my reef........

[ReefDawg]

Well after a year, I guess he cant be all that bad :o) Havent even seen or herd any signs of him untill the other day when he poked his beady eyes out and gave the emerald a little 'thump' on da head, looked like a warning to leave his neighborhood ;o)
Anyway, this little guy is pretty much transparent, and I was wondering if he would get some color as he grew... Any thoughts?
TIA

[Raszagil]

Reefdawg>

Exactly 2 cents worth:

There are many species of mantis shrimp...I would assume that not *all* of them get to be the reef scourges that reputation suggests of them.

I would humbly suggest leaving him in until you actually have direct evidence that he's doing any harm. Some people (like you) have only found mantis' in their tanks after years of no prior additions...and they never noticed anything wrong.

Besides, they are a very interesting creature all to themselves...but it's up to you, because I'm not saying that many mantis shrimp species won't cause problems as they get bigger... :D

Here's a page that deals extensively with mantis shrimp: http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/

Raszagil

(pssst...If it were me, I'd leave him in...and keep a journal about him/losses in the tank if any. Maybe debunk a few myths... at least about the species in your tank. Oh, and your lucky. I've been looking for a mantis for quite some time...)

[ReefDawg]

Sorry if I was misleading.....I have no intentions of getting rid of him....may move him to the 6g and put the watchman golbie in with him.....I was just wonderin if he would ever get some color :o) or will he be transparent throughout his life...

[Raszagil]

Hey Reefdawg...does your mantis look something like this:
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pics/full/gonoasj6.jpg

If it does, then it's a smasher, of the genus "Gonodactylus" (I don't know the species name). I would assume that he will remain that color...it appears to be a species charactoristic.

Raszagil

[Tadashi]

I also have a mantis about 1" and he just stays in his rock. I put a BBQ stick next to his hole which he promply broke the tip off and slunk back in his hole. He usually covers his hole with rocks and stuff. I suppose if I did not feed him he may attack a fish that swims by.

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Sometimes the majority means that all the fools are on the same side.
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[Agu]

I lost three fish and two shrimp to a mantis in less than two months. He now lives at the biology department of the local high school in formaldehyde. Unless you're willing to set up his own tank, assume it will kill anything it can get close to.

[Raszagil]

"may move him to the 6g and put the watchman golbie"

Actually, I believe it's the pistol shrimp that coexists with the watchman goby...if your mantis gets big enough he'd probably just eat the goby.

A 6 gallon would be great for him...though I still think (my own opinion, nothing more :D ) that unless you know he's been killing stuff, that you could leave him be.

Remember all that hype about bristle worms awhile back? It turns out that only a few bristle worm species were really nasty. Some species of mantis shrimp might really not be so horrible, as I have read about many people having mantis' in their tanks that they never even knew existed, and without any losses.

My (uneducated) theory is that there are one or two species out that are not bad news, mixed in with species that fit the steriotype and then some.

Either that, or you get them little enough that they can't kill stuff *as of yet* and they really are all bad news! :D

I wish I could find a listing of all known mantis species with info and pictures...that would be so helpful...

Raz

[ReefDawg]

Yep, thats him Rasz... I belive him to be a pistol cause of the way he 'thumped' the emerald, think the emerald was too close.. hehe... now the trick is going to be getting him into the 6g....mabey a trail of brine shrimp across the living room ?

[Raszagil]

Here's a link to a site (lurkers' guide) that will help you catch the little booger. ;)
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pest/catch.htm

Good luck, and keep a list of emergancy phone numbers close by in case of .... accidents. :D

Raz