mantis updates (and lots of pics!)

[medellia]

I got the L. macs moved into their new home, with a deeper sand bed (12"), and a U-shaped burrow (3" diameter plastic pipe, coated with sand). The male is 4.5", and the female is 5.5".
i keep the front of the tank covered with black plastic most of the time (unless i am taking pics or checking on them).

To start off with, i blocked the middle of the burrow with sand to divide it, so each mantis could have its own burrow. But they have paired up now, and are working together to dig out the sand and make it one large burrow. For the most part, each one will stake out one side of the burrow, and they meet in the middle and change sides occasionally. when i fed them earlier, the female retreated further into the burrow. she is usually a voracious eater. but then the male caught his sand shrimp and gave it to the female, who then ate it. He waited until she was done eating, then snacked on the leftovers. so it looks like the pairing is going sucessfully so far

male

female


the wennerae is now in her new tank, a 23" x 9" x 7" acrylic tank. It is designed to fit on a bookshelf, and holds 6.6 gallons. since she is not quite 2" long, it is a great size and shape to give her plenty of room to move around. (which she does not use, but oh well )

full tank shot--her den is toward the middle of the tank, above the ricordea in the foreground.


the new G. falcatus ended up going to Dr Roy, to help out with his research on the parasitic snails. so hopefully she will do some good there

and one last thing--i finally tracked down my peacock! woohoo! i can't wait until it arrives. It is a little one, too--only 2.5". so it will be fun to watch it grow

[nano7joy]

Very cool have been kickin around the idea to keep one myself great tanks IMHO!

[medellia]

thanks! glad you like them

just a warning though, mantis shrimp are extremely addictive! sure, you think you only want one, but before you know it, there is a mantis tank on every available horizontal surface (hmmm....honey, i was thinking...if we get rid of the TV, there will be room for just one more tank...(insert sound of heavy object being thrown )

a couple months ago i was planning on getting ONE, a peacock, and had a tank all set up and waiting for one. now, 5 mantids later...finally found a peacock. but this will definitely be the last one, and that's final! (unless i can get a really good deal on this P. ciliata i've had my eye on... )

[nano7joy]

O I know all about getin to deep into tanks . Its more about another excuse to set up another nano as sort of a Zoo frag garden .

[medellia]

yeah, i know the feeling and for me, mantids are even worse than regular nano reefs. they are such cool animals, and there are so many different species, so it is too easy to get more than one. then, you have no other choice but to set up a separate tank for each mantis...and then you can't help but feel obligated to fill each tank with corals too...it is a vicious cycle!

[deboM3]

great pics. I love the L. Mac's

[medellia]

thanks! the L. macs are really cool to work with, especially now that they have paired up

[OrangeKoi]

So you don't worry about them breaking the glass?

I suppose you can't keep any fish though too, right?

[medellia]

that is the cool thing about the L. macs--there is very little chance of them breaking the glass, despite their size. i am sure they have the strength to break the glass if they really wanted to, but when they lash out it is only in a spearing type motion to catch prey. if they feel threatened they just retreat into their burrow. their temperament is really peaceful compared to a smasher...like my chiragra, who likes to kill snails--when she is done eating, she bashes the shells into powder just for fun!
with the L. macs, i could keep snails and hermits without too much danger, but any fish are gone within minutes i feed them live damsels every once in a while, and it is really fun to watch them hunt.

[yankeereefer]

Those L macs are awesome - I love the front view of their burrow!

Keep up the fantastic tanks -

I agree with the addiction thing - I have a wenn and am picking up another tomorrow! Can't wait!!!

[medellia]

thanks glad you like them!
i like the new setups better too. i am always trying to improve their habitats (and tank upgrades just make room for more mantids!) heh heh heh...

[mattyice]

so where did you pick up those L. Mac's? and how much were they? and would the place ship lol

[Diet Plain]

Those L.Maculata's are awesome. I would love to have a pair in one tank! How large is tha tank? And it is possible to post a full tank shot?

[medellia]

mattyice--
i got the L macs from a LFS here in Portland. I was surprised to find them, as mantis are very few and far between here. i just stopped by the store on impulse as i was driving past, and just happened to ask them if they had any mantis shrimp. They had just gotten the male that day, and i had been looking for a mantis for months, so i got him. a week later i stopped by the same store to see if they got anything else cool in, and they had a 2nd, larger L mac. from reading Roy's list, i knew that most of the L macs imported are males, so i was sure this was just another male. i checked anyway, and saw gonopores! so i was really happy to have found a pair. they were $45 each, which seemed like a lot at the time, but reading on this forum it sounds like a lot of places are charging over $100 each for them. if i find any more i will let you know, because if anyone wants to pay for the shrimp plus shipping, i would be willing to ship. it would be worth it to see these cool animals go to people who really appreciate them!

Diet Plain--
the tank is a 33 gal oceanic cube. the tank is divided lengthwise with a piece of acrylic, and the front 6" or so of the tank is the deep sand bed where their burrow is located. the sand level comes up to within about 6" of the surface of the water. the rest of the tank is kind of a sump/fuge, with live rock and chaetomorpha (spaghetti algae). this setup is working really well, as it gives the L macs plenty of burrow space and a deep sand bed, while still keeping a good amount of water capacity.
i will have to get a full tank shot showing their setup. i should be able to take more pics this weekend

[venwu225]

AWESOME thread, please keep up the good work.

[medellia]

thanks! i see you are just up in seattle...what kind of stomatopods do you keep?

well, in the morning i will almost double my mantis collection in one day...not only am i getting my tiny little peacock, i also won the ciliata and the havanensis on E-bay. i was the only one that bid on them, and for $13 each i could not pass them up
and i am getting 50 blue leg hermits too...we will see how long they last with all these mantids...heh heh heh.
and i am DONE collecting mantids for a while...this time i am serious. (anyway, i am out of room for new tanks...just could not convince the boyfriend to replace the TV or the microwave with more nano-tanks. sigh...)

[Pea-brain]

Originally posted by medellia
i am DONE collecting mantids for a while...this time i am serious. (anyway, i am out of room for new tanks...just could not convince the boyfriend to replace the TV or the microwave with more nano-tanks. sigh...)

Ask him to replace the coffee table. or the bed.....or the kitchen....

[medellia]

you know, i tried that already these non-mantis people just don't understand. he likes reef tanks and has one of his own, but just doesn't get the idea of building a beautiful reef tank for a predator that may eat, bash, move or bury anything and everything in the tank (and possibly even destroy the tank itself!)

well, the day is off to a good start...just got the ciliata, the havanensis, and all the hermits...plus some freebie ceriths! they were packaged very well and made it here just fine. now it is time to get out the camera

[Pea-brain]

I just really can't immagine any sane straight man that doesn't like mantises. Most of the girls I know even think their cool. And I even know a gay kid who thinks its cool. The only people who don't think their cool are people who are from peta and vegetarians and stuff. And I don't think they are sane...They think they are above nature and expect animals to be too. Meat is evil...all that...I'll stop before I get ranting, but let's just say that they really really annoy me for alot of reasons...Good to hear that they survived shipping. I just got a new "peacock" mantis that I am keeping in a temporary ten gallon until I get home. I don't think it is a peacock of course. looks like a ternatensis or smithii. The water is cloudy cause the sand is still stirred up so I can't see it too well. I think it might have shell disease though All I really know about it is that it is dark green, has pink rapts and I think I see some white streaks on it's carapace and maybe some lines like on a ternatensis. That and it really hates a small piece of black plastic that came with a powerhead I bought. WHACK! WHACK! haha smashers are awesome....

[medellia]

well, he tolerates mantis shrimp...until there are 10 little tanks scattered around the house, that is he prefers reef tanks with wimpy stuff like little fish and cleaner shrimp...oh well. so that is why this forum is so nice--now i have lots of people to chat with that think my "evil shrimp of death" are cool

that is cool about your new mantis. post some pics when you can!

[medellia]

bad news...the peacock just got here and was DOA, and the ciliata did not make it. i was worried about the ciliata because of the high ammonia levels in the water it was shipped in, but it was alive when it got here. once it was acclimated and placed in the tank, it seemed to be settling in ok at first. it looked a little sluggish, but i assumed it was from the stress of shipping. i decided to leave it alone for a bit to let it settle in. but now it is dead looks like there was a big patch of shell disease on its back, too. so i am really bummed about that.
the peacock must have died pretty early in shipping, because i could smell it as soon as i opened the bag, and its body is already starting to fall apart.

on a happier note, the havanensis is doing great and is busy bulldozing all over its new home. it is a little male, about 2". he sure is a cute little bugger with those big round eyes. it is weird, the havanensis was the one i was most worried about during shipping, because it sounds like they are not as hardy as most species, and can't handle low oxygen levels. but he did just fine.

so after months and months of searching and waiting, no peacock but the havanensis looks and acts kind of like a little peacock...watching it is cheering me up a little. it is kind of funny, the wennerae is in the next tank on the same shelf, and she is usually just stays in her burrow. but she must be curious about her new neighbor, because now she is out watching the havanensis dig. so now i will have to get some pics.

[mattyice]

well if it so happens that i do have to sell my peacock, you will be first on the list, she is a happy female and is very very spoiled lol

i might be moving out and in that case will only be able to have one tank so if i do then you get first dibs, i will even have salty critter fill the bag oxygen and will make sure she doesnt eat much and will have perfect water shipped in

[medellia]

thanks mattyice--that is awesome of you. if you do need to find a new home for your peacock, i would be glad to give her a great home where she will also be spoiled

[medellia]

man, i think this havanensis is my favorite mantis yet. he is fearless and inquisitive, and has a lot of attitude. he is very active-- constantly running back and forth with "armloads" of rubble to build his den. when he sees me he stops working and comes out to take a look. and i love his huge round eyes--they make him look like a little bug personality-wise he is what i hoped a peacock would be like...so far in the half day i have had him, i have seen more of him than all my other mantids combined!

on a side note, does anyone else think his rapts look disproportionally small? it makes me wonder if he is re-growing them or something...or maybe this is normal in havanensis. even my wennerae, who is just a little bit bigger than him, has huge rapts in comparison.

anyway, here are a few quick pics. forgive the picture quality...i will get better pics when i have a bit more time to spend perfecting the photography.

here he is in the cup as he is acclimating, looking disgruntled






here he is carrying away a load of crushed coral...

[biomekanic]

Dr Fosters and Smith has O. scyallarus listed on their website. My Squilla rugosa was quadruple bagged, the back was surrounded by peanuts and 2 heating packs tapped to the lid.