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Old 11/23/2007, 05:47 PM
Gonodactylus Gonodactylus is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Berkeley, CA, USA
Posts: 2,845
Males eat less than females and if not feed enough, will actually shrink the next molt. A typical meal for a 22 cm L. m would be a fish about 8-10 cm long every other day or so. If you feed more than they can handle, they through it out or don't strike; less and they will start taking the frozen stuff. I would suggest offering a frozen shrimp every 3 or 4 days until the animal starts to take it readily - then up the frequency to every other day.

While L.m will stay in a LR aquarium, they typically do not thrive in them. Living in a cave of LR causes cuticle abrasion and will eventually lead to shell disease. If you can't put in a a deep enough sand bed (I partially partition a tank and create a sand bed about 4 inches wide and 12 to 14 inches deep), use a piece of 2 or 2.5 inch black pvc. Place it on the bottom and cover it with sand. Once the animal starts to live in the tube, begin adding sand to cover the tube and and the entrances. The animal will mix the sand with mucus and start to form a vertical extension to the burrow. Usually they will be happy with a vertical leg of the burrow that is their own length or a little less. If you want to get really fancy, you can grind off part of the tube wall and seal it to the glass. Cover the opening with black plastic or tapel then begin adding sand. This way you can check up on the animal from time to time.

Roy