I'll have to look more at it later, unless someone else wants to ID, but that is definitely not O. scyllarus.

What about a smithii?

Thank goodness I found this thread. Been wanting a mantis shrimp for some time now and nice to know other people like them too.

I found this really interesting talk/presentation on mantis shrimp and the forces they generate.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sheila_...st_animals.html

Fasinating really!!

He just spent the weekend molting, pretty crazy stuff. He ate a bunch of hermit crabs then dissapeared, I thought he was dead cuz I didnt see him for a while. He still looks the same color and size, his "claws" or whatever got a couple purple spots on them now that are pretty bright.

I can't think of any other mantids that have purple meral spots besides G. smitthi

does he look like this?

so i was in the LFS yesterday and someone brought in a mantis shrimp that he had killed out of his tank.



i wanted to shin kick him.

why would they even bring it in?

they wanted to know what it was

YES that looks just like him. I will have to go back and school them at the lfs! Also why would someone kill one of these? Thats just plain mean. He should have just brought it in LIVE so they could find a home for it

wow, that is the epitome of irresponsible reefkeeping

travissurfer...what's a good, current stomatopod forum? I've seen your user name pop up in a couple I visited, but none have any activity...

Just bought a G. tern that was mistakenly labeled a peacock mantis

returned your pm

Essentially, this thread is one of the more active places for mantis conversation that I am aware of. When I get some more time in the next few weeks (after AP tests), I'll work this into a more comprehensive guide to help people better care for their mantids and to simply give more information to beginner mantis keepers.

Finally, after two years, I got my mantis. I believe it's N.Wennerae, I thought it was G.Chigara (sp?) at first due to its abnormal coloration. He steals table shrimp off of a chop stick and hoards it, a very intuitive little fellow. I couldn't be happier.

what size tank is it?

I'm keeping him in my 10 gallon AIO. If you're talking to me, of course.

oh cool, mines a 10g too. got any pics?

What type of 10gal are you guys using? Is it the standard 10g fish tank or an AIO?

10g acrylic. Dont think you wanna use glass or plastic

I'm keeping mine in my AIO reef. It's also acrylic. With smaller mantis, I don't really think it matters if it's glass or not. I don't have any pics at the moment, but he's made a very interesting burrow system. I ordered 15 blue legs before adding him (not for him, ironically it was an accident) so he's busy decimating the population. I know it was a stupid idea, but I even hand fed him. Don't try that at home, kids.

Cool, i didnt know they made acrylic AIOs. I might have to look into that, what brand is it? Yea the smaller mantis probably couldnt get through glass but I rent my place so I cant take that chance with my smithii. Mine loves the blue leg hermits, but I have seen him go at a snail on occasion. I also put two larger emerald crabs but he hasnt touched those yet.

Just got my first mantis shrimp today. He's all red as far as I can tell. Small guy too!

Technically, acrylic holds up better to potential mantis attacks but I wouldn't worry about the mantis breaking the tank at all. There are a few legitimate stories of large, powerful mantids in small tanks(5g or less) that were able to break the glass, but I wouldn't worry at all about a smithii, wennerae, or similar in a 10g AGA due to their lack of power and thicker glass in comparison to 5g and 2.5g AGAs. Good luck with your mantids and whatever you decide to keep them in.

I keep my peacock in a 12 nano ,,with lots of rubble and 1 1/2 pvc tunnel system, <Link>

That mantis will get too big for a 12g. I would pay close attention to water quality and cross my fingers that (s)he doesn't do anything drastic.

I lost my ciliata to an unsuccessful molt. Knew this molt was going to be "special" because he absolutely tore up the tank like he's never done before. He moved every bit of sand around.... not a good thing for an established old tank. In one corner he had the sand up over 10". I traditionally do not disturb the tank while he's molting, but the activity cause a burp in the system and I had to change water water. Sosad... he was a great guy.

That really sucks. The same thing happened to Cozmo...

Sorry about your loss man.

Thats sucks about yours man . I finally got some better pics of mine, although he almost broke a mug i put him in! Does this help id him?


Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
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If the meral spots are purple as you said earlier, then I'd still go with G. smithii.

biocubes

biocubes are made of glass...

Formula462...are you saying Biocubes are acrylic? Your getting a fine reputation for bad info...my advice...know what your talking about or STFU

http://www.oceanicsystems.com/products/biocube.php

im picking up my guy tomorrow! (first ever)

i believe it is a G. Smitthi, but i'm not 100% sure.

it's going into a 10 gallon tank. right now i have about an inch of substrate in there (with up to 2" in some places). how much deeper should i make the sand so im not at risk of the little fella trying to burrow through the bottom of the tank?

there's about 10lbs of LR in there (a bit more)...not sure if that matters with this question

So, do you know what shell rot really looks like....

Can be just a little black dot just visible at the surface...

... but that's just the tip of the iceburg.






Removed the top looking down through.




From the side.




From the top down.

Thats just plain nasty! Looks like something out of aliens, but informative to the mantis keepers

You can totally see how they get trapped. The rot is attached to the shell and is also half way through their "meat". They can't get rid of it.

As it is, the sand should be fine. I wouldn't worry about the mantis breaking through.


Wow, very informative. Would you mind if I incorporated one of the pics into the guide at a later point?

Actually, the tank is a Boyu 10 gallon (give or take.) Made in China. Really hard to find around in America, the only one I've ever seen is sitting in my living room. I got it because it was cheaper than any of the cubes or pods commonly available.

Is there any thing unique to N.Wennerae? I'm trying to find something specific about it that sets it apart. Just want to get a positive ID.

If it was collected in the Caribbean, the odds are in favor of it being N. wennerae; however, there is always a slight chance of it being N. bredini. There aren't any distinguishing factors between the two but most of the mantids available to us are from the Caribbean come from the Northern Caribbean, which would lend the majority of them to be N. wennerae.

this thread always makes me want a mantis

Then I suppose my goal is accomplished. We need more people to care for mantids than those who simply flush them down the toilet.

i agree. having just got my first one i cant believe why someone would flush it! i can understand space limitations, but im sure others would take it. they're so freaking intelligent.

my one came in as a hitchhiker to my LFS. couldn't have asked for a more beautiful mantid!

WOW that should be your avatar. I can never get any pics of mine cuz hes such a wuss

Hey everyone, I couldnt help but want a mantis after reading this! I currently have two tanks cycling, one is a 36g that is all set up for a reef commutinty....BUT I also have a random 26g cycling that I just kinda am cycling for the sake of "just in case"..liikkee this! Is there any species that would "filll up" the tank? by fill up I mean that wouldnt look small compared to the tank and that would be out and about a lot!
The tank already has a dsb so it could build a burrow pretty easily.

O. scyllarus the Peacock Mantis
Photo Link

Yea I've been doing a lot of research and I decided to get a peacock, I just gotta find where to get one now! Its freakin impossible!

You have a few choices. Try your local fish store first but if that fails try....


http://aquarium-fish.liveaquaria.com/searc...&ts=results

Yea I dont have a lfs hahahaha at least not that I know of! If anyone knows of any good lfs's around akron ohio....let me know!

Well, I got lucky when I found my mantis. I hit craigslist, and I was discussing picking up some live rock with a gentleman in Thornton, and Mantis Shrimp just so happened to come up in conversation. As it turns out, he'd picked up 5 on a long road trip in to the mountains. One thing lead to another, and I wound up tradeing him a Pavona frag and a little Acan head. I love my mantis, who is still recovering from what appears to be a rough molt incidentally.

We just got a new 34 Gallon Solana!!!! He seems to be digging the rock set up and we are seeing him a lot more. He is climbing/exploring all the time. He will climb to the top wrap around the top and hang upside down. We got him last July and out of the 3 tanks we have up he is me favorite saltwater animal by far.

Check out the link below and go to the last 2 pages to see the new tank and the Mantis. There are more pics somewhere in the middle of our build thread also.



You got any pics to post?