Howdy! New Owner Here.

lifemalfunction · #1 11/28/2007, 12:45 AM

Well, hey there folks!

I've been "lurking" here for info for some time now. And as of tomorrow I'll finally be getting my first mantis!

I ordered The O. Scyllarus #12 from www.stomatopod.com last night, and it will be here tomorrow! My tank is a 32G Tall with a 4" sandbed and somewhere of the neighborhood of 60Lbs of liverock (I'm in college on a budget, so bare with me, please)

I'm very excited! Doing a rather large water change right now via I've been behind on that. I'm taking the day off of work tomorrow to get it all acclimated I redid some of my aquascaping to be more "Mantis Friendly," providing a rather nice cave. The problem with the "tall" tanks is that they're well, tall. I think "Chucky" will be very happy with my tank and his new home!

I just wanted to introduce myself as a new first-time mantis owner here, and hopefully I'll be able to contribute with my own experience to these boards as well. Thanks!

-Ty

Dub1173 · #2 11/28/2007, 12:52 AM

Congrats I am sure he will love his new home.

gholland · #3 11/28/2007, 10:11 AM

Hey Ty,
You do of course realize that all annoucements of a new mantis arrival are required by law to be followed by pictures ASAP, right? =)
Greg

lifemalfunction · #4 11/28/2007, 11:49 AM

Well, he'll be within 3 hours according to FedEx! I'm really excited. There will be PLENTY of pictures, so don't you worry.

helipilot · #5 11/28/2007, 12:40 PM

Welcome, your in for a real treat and an addiction. Be sure you acclimate him right. Drip is the best. Enjoy!

lifemalfunction · #6 11/28/2007, 12:45 PM

Drip method over 2-3 hours. I've got the day off and nothing but time

lifemalfunction · #7 11/28/2007, 02:07 PM

So...I thought he was dead when I first got him, but he just looks shocked -- he is still responsive and slightly moving.

helipilot · #8 11/28/2007, 02:12 PM

Poor little guy, he's been through a lot. For me, this is the scariest time, getting him acclimated and in his tank. Don't forget to turn the lights off and leave him TOTALLY alone. Good luck.

lifemalfunction · #9 11/28/2007, 02:16 PM

Looking much better now, I'm pretty sure he was a bit cold, too; it's very cold outside!

lifemalfunction · #10 11/28/2007, 04:26 PM

He's in the tank and has already begun digging and wandering around! There's enough snails and hermits in there to last him a while, so he's free to start eating whenever he wants.

Chucky the Destructo (Chucky for short) seems pretty happy in his new home.

helipilot · #11 11/28/2007, 05:20 PM

ALRIGHT.....I love a happy beginning.

MTV · #12 11/28/2007, 05:34 PM

Beautiful mate! Good luck with him!

gholland · #13 11/28/2007, 05:38 PM

Congratulations!

Mr Stomato · #14 11/29/2007, 08:46 PM

Congrats! How is he doing? The fun thing I enjoyed doing when I first got my peacock was to take a hammer to several LR pieces turning them into rubble and placing them all about the tank. It was so much fun to watch the initial construction project. I watched her for hours, took pics, and laughed at her persistence and attention to detail.

Truly amazing creatures.

As a side note, my female lost her left antennae a few months ago. 2 days ago she molted and it's like new. I thought it might have taken several molts, but she showed me it only takes 1.

Once again, amazing.

gemini aquarius(t) · #15 11/29/2007, 08:54 PM

how is he?

lifemalfunction · #16 11/29/2007, 10:13 PM

Well, I think he's done digging his burrow. I have nearly a five inch sandbed and he's down the glass. He spent all day and night digging. Now he just sort of sits in there. I've put hermits near his burrow and he doesn't even really flinch. I figure he may be stressed due to the move and every thing -- so I hope he eats soon.

lifemalfunction · #17 11/29/2007, 10:39 PM

Well good news! He just took a thwack at one of my largest (and thickest) snails, but that was about it.

So at least we know he knows what to do :P

Any suggestions?

lifemalfunction · #18 11/29/2007, 11:45 PM

Another good shot of him... my camera doesn't focus too well through the glass

justinl · #19 11/30/2007, 01:37 AM

just let him do as he will. for the first 24 hours i had my peacock, he just sat in his hole and moved rocks. after that 24 hours three astreas and two hermits were toast in one morning. Ive found that my peacock is never happy with its burrow. it has all the rubble it could want, but it's always shifting it around and taking it down and putting it back up differently. quite fascinating actually. it takes an occasional whack at the conch, but it knows there's no food for him there.

lifemalfunction · #20 11/30/2007, 01:59 AM

Well he just finished his first (small) astrea. So I'm a bit relieved... I had to shove it down in his burrow, but he's eating.

tomorrow I'm going to go down to the beach to pick up some small crabs for him. And yes, I'll be sure to detox them in a holding tank for a while before feeding them to him -- who knows what's in our bay's waters!

justinl · #21 11/30/2007, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by lifemalfunction
And yes, I'll be sure to detox them in a holding tank for a while before feeding them to him -- who knows what's in our bay's waters!

good choice. how long do you plan to QT them for? Ive done this before and i would suggest at least three weeks. of course feed whatever is on hand. shore crabs aren't picky... at all. i fed mine whatever i was feeding my mantis at the time (cuttlefish, mysis, silverside and krill). it was a bit of work but definitely worth it imo for the mantis vs crab show. starve the mantis for at least three days before throwing in the crab and have a video cam ready...

Zestay · #22 12/02/2007, 01:24 PM

any new pix? howa bout a FTS?