Wennerae I think. And I'm pretty sure I spelled it wrong.
Silly names.
Full Version: The Mantis Shrimp Guide Thread
Thank! Hope it is, sounds like the will stay small.
QUOTE (mndfreeze @ Jul 8 2011, 01:44 AM) 
Wennerae I think. And I'm pretty sure I spelled it wrong.
Silly names.
Silly names.
QUOTE (mndfreeze @ Jul 8 2011, 04:44 AM)
Wennerae I think. And I'm pretty sure I spelled it wrong.
Silly names.
Silly names.
Nope you spelled it right. That's my guess too.
I've learned all the right spelling for the common species. Seriously getting addicted to these things. Already have 2 species and working on my 3rd species now.
QUOTE (junginit @ Jul 8 2011, 12:11 PM)
Thank! Hope it is, sounds like the will stay small.
Awesome mantis. Glad you are enjoying him or her.
Here's the info on the species if we ID'd it right.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr...name=n_wennerae
If it is a N. Wennerae, it will stay small.
I'd stop feeding guppies, they arent the best meal to be giving to a sw animal. Stick to hard shelled prey like snails and hermit grabs. A guppy or ghost shrimp gut loaded with good nutrient rich food every now and then is fine but dont make it a staple of their diet.
Pick up some market shrimp for the bulk of his diet, my two love it. My Viridis isnt too fond of scallops though but my Chiragra goes nuts over them.
QUOTE (NirvanaandTool @ Jul 8 2011, 10:15 AM)
Nope you spelled it right. That's my guess too.
I've learned all the right spelling for the common species. Seriously getting addicted to these things. Already have 2 species and working on my 3rd species now.
Awesome mantis. Glad you are enjoying him or her.
Here's the info on the species if we ID'd it right.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr...name=n_wennerae
If it is a N. Wennerae, it will stay small.
I'd stop feeding guppies, they arent the best meal to be giving to a sw animal. Stick to hard shelled prey like snails and hermit grabs. A guppy or ghost shrimp gut loaded with good nutrient rich food every now and then is fine but dont make it a staple of their diet.
Pick up some market shrimp for the bulk of his diet, my two love it. My Viridis isnt too fond of scallops though but my Chiragra goes nuts over them.
I've learned all the right spelling for the common species. Seriously getting addicted to these things. Already have 2 species and working on my 3rd species now.
Awesome mantis. Glad you are enjoying him or her.
Here's the info on the species if we ID'd it right.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr...name=n_wennerae
If it is a N. Wennerae, it will stay small.
I'd stop feeding guppies, they arent the best meal to be giving to a sw animal. Stick to hard shelled prey like snails and hermit grabs. A guppy or ghost shrimp gut loaded with good nutrient rich food every now and then is fine but dont make it a staple of their diet.
Pick up some market shrimp for the bulk of his diet, my two love it. My Viridis isnt too fond of scallops though but my Chiragra goes nuts over them.
Thanks for the info. I will get some shrimp this weekend then. And throw in a couple of hermits, maybe it will pay more attention to them.
Probably will if it gets hungry. My viridis would take one or two if it was desperate but would much rather have to work less and just take food off the feeding stick. Lazy little dude lol
I am happy to announce here at NR that I am the proud new father of a 2.5" G. Ternantensis! Woo! Months and months in the waiting and hunting. Now to train him to come out and say hi more often then a tiny antenna poke outside his hole for a squid snatch.
And to finish my 40B build or him!
And to finish my 40B build or him!
Haha finally. You had been hunting for one for a while right? Welcome to the Stomatopod Crew! We need pics 
I'm slowly getting him adjusted to me with skewers and selcon soaked krill in my temp 14G while the 40B is in the works. As soon as I get the damn chance I'll get some pics for you all.
Still waiting
All the videos that you see of the Mantis Shrimp on the internet are them killing (violently) other creatures in a very "closed" environment. I also noticed that many of the pictures in here show empty shells of creatures that died most likely for kiddy entertainment. My personal opinion is that many mantis keepers (evidenced by the poor quality of their tanks) are more into the bloodsport then the true beauty of a reef aquarium.
Of course any idiot can maintain a mantis shrimp. However, a true balanced reef tank is much more of an undertaking. I think the videos help to hurt the mantis as well. All the bloodsport stuff leads people to believe that they are just cold blooded killers; thus, when they are seen in the tank the first reaction is: kill the bastard.
Lastly, I do like how the original author fed the mantis dead shrimp on a stick (although there were empty shells in his pictures too). Ironic how the author talks about the humane treatment of mantis shrimp, but completely neglects the snails and crabs that are ritually sacrificed for amusement.
Of course any idiot can maintain a mantis shrimp. However, a true balanced reef tank is much more of an undertaking. I think the videos help to hurt the mantis as well. All the bloodsport stuff leads people to believe that they are just cold blooded killers; thus, when they are seen in the tank the first reaction is: kill the bastard.
Lastly, I do like how the original author fed the mantis dead shrimp on a stick (although there were empty shells in his pictures too). Ironic how the author talks about the humane treatment of mantis shrimp, but completely neglects the snails and crabs that are ritually sacrificed for amusement.
This has to be one of the most moronic hippy posts I have ever seen.
WOE IS ME WHAT ABOUT THE PODS YOUR CORALS ARE EATING. THEY HAVE FEELINGS TOO! OH GNOES. MY PHYTO IS CRYING AS IT DIES TO FILTER FEEDERS! BLOOODDDSPOOORRTTTTT!
You obviously know nothing about the mantis to make such idiotic comments.
wtf.
WOE IS ME WHAT ABOUT THE PODS YOUR CORALS ARE EATING. THEY HAVE FEELINGS TOO! OH GNOES. MY PHYTO IS CRYING AS IT DIES TO FILTER FEEDERS! BLOOODDDSPOOORRTTTTT!
You obviously know nothing about the mantis to make such idiotic comments.
wtf.
Yeah, what he said^
Let us know how that vegan diet goes for your reef.
I own two pitbulls, and have to deal with enough crap from people who see morons like Michael Vick in the news and assume that everyone with a pitbull is a heartless animal abuser. It's not like just because I own pitbulls that I go to the pound, adopt strays, and feed my dogs puppies and film it to post on youtube. They eat the same mass produced high quality kibble that you feed your rescued greyhounds (but oh no, horses in Mexico and kangaroos in Australia end up in dog food!).
Just so you have an idea of what kind of person owns something like a mantis, I rescued my two pits from a hick town in Georgia- where they almost certainly would have been used for broodstock and fighting until an early and painful death. Now they're so spoiled that they whine unless they get covered by blankets every night.
Don't insult us with your "people who own xxxx are a bunch of cavemen" crap- because people who say that kind of stuff usually have no idea what they're talking about.
Next time you pick up clams on a half shell, frozen krill, mysis or any other meaty food from your LFS, tell the guy at the register how you hate him for supporting the painful death of thousands of animals in his freezers... Right before you hand him the cash.
Let us know how that vegan diet goes for your reef.
I own two pitbulls, and have to deal with enough crap from people who see morons like Michael Vick in the news and assume that everyone with a pitbull is a heartless animal abuser. It's not like just because I own pitbulls that I go to the pound, adopt strays, and feed my dogs puppies and film it to post on youtube. They eat the same mass produced high quality kibble that you feed your rescued greyhounds (but oh no, horses in Mexico and kangaroos in Australia end up in dog food!).
Just so you have an idea of what kind of person owns something like a mantis, I rescued my two pits from a hick town in Georgia- where they almost certainly would have been used for broodstock and fighting until an early and painful death. Now they're so spoiled that they whine unless they get covered by blankets every night.
Don't insult us with your "people who own xxxx are a bunch of cavemen" crap- because people who say that kind of stuff usually have no idea what they're talking about.
Next time you pick up clams on a half shell, frozen krill, mysis or any other meaty food from your LFS, tell the guy at the register how you hate him for supporting the painful death of thousands of animals in his freezers... Right before you hand him the cash.
Shiiiiiet goldy.. I feed puppies to my mantis! BLOOODDSSPOORT#%!# YOUR PITS DONT STAND A CHANCE IN THE RING!#%
Seriously? Why are you crying cause people feed live prey to their mantis shrimp?
People do the same thing to predatory fish - there is no difference. A snail to a mantis shrimp or a ghost shrimp to a lionfish, is there really a difference?
The main reason people give inverts to their mantis shrimp is to work their rapts (if they dont use them they lose them) and to give them a balanced diet. A diet just of frozen krill or shrimp pales in comparison to a diet of actual live prey.
But we are so cruel. Those poor snails. How could I put them in to clean my tank! They could get eaten!
People think mantis shrimp are cold blooded killers because of the stories about them on reefkeeping sites not because of Youtube videos. If you watch Youtube videos, you will see how intellegent they are and how they are efficiently skilled hunters.
Yea we must know nothing about real reef tanks .... Considering most of us manage to keep coral with our mantis shrimp. But make a blanket statement about how mantis shrimp are so easy to keep.
People do the same thing to predatory fish - there is no difference. A snail to a mantis shrimp or a ghost shrimp to a lionfish, is there really a difference?
The main reason people give inverts to their mantis shrimp is to work their rapts (if they dont use them they lose them) and to give them a balanced diet. A diet just of frozen krill or shrimp pales in comparison to a diet of actual live prey.
But we are so cruel. Those poor snails. How could I put them in to clean my tank! They could get eaten!
People think mantis shrimp are cold blooded killers because of the stories about them on reefkeeping sites not because of Youtube videos. If you watch Youtube videos, you will see how intellegent they are and how they are efficiently skilled hunters.
Yea we must know nothing about real reef tanks .... Considering most of us manage to keep coral with our mantis shrimp. But make a blanket statement about how mantis shrimp are so easy to keep.
Its just on the internet you see stuff like:
Mantis vs. branded shrimp
ultimate fight night and video.
you don't see this for other species. I do not feed any "live" animals to my fish. I'm not saying that everyone is making sport of the shrimp feeding; but it does give a negative impression.
Mantis vs. branded shrimp
ultimate fight night and video.
you don't see this for other species. I do not feed any "live" animals to my fish. I'm not saying that everyone is making sport of the shrimp feeding; but it does give a negative impression.
I don't know if this is a backpeddle or you just failed hard at what you were trying to say the first time, but either way...
I feed my mantis fiddler crabs once every 2 weeks or so as a treat. It keeps him healthy. He beats them to death, just like those fight videos.
Mantis shrimp do that in the wild. It's their nature. They do not have science labs to find ways to kill their prey with kindness, or at least painlessly. Nature is nature.
It is not possible for you to have a reef tank, without somehow supporting or directly killing, something to feed something else. Your reef tank is blood sport.
It does not matter what live food someone uses to feed their mantis. If it eats it normally, it will eat it in a tank, and it is natural for it to do so. No one is feeding infant children to their mantis. No one is training a vegetarian mantis to kill another mantis for gambling sport in a ring. It is UNHEALTHY for a mantis to NOT have live prey on a semi regular basis. Anyone NOT doing so is abusing their poor pet.
Those 'fight' video's you see of a mantis kiling some other fish or crustacean is food for the mantis, it's a bonus to owners mantis are fun to watch eat. Next you will ##### about people who hand feed their tame fish. "It's not natural for a human hand to be in the water getting cleaned by that cleaner shrimp!"
Your attempted justification makes you sound like a moron, or 12 years old. Both common on the intarwebnets, and forums in general. Just go away please and ask a copepod for forgiveness, because you are directly killing them right now as I type this in your unnatural glass cage prison, I mean tank.
I feed my mantis fiddler crabs once every 2 weeks or so as a treat. It keeps him healthy. He beats them to death, just like those fight videos.
Mantis shrimp do that in the wild. It's their nature. They do not have science labs to find ways to kill their prey with kindness, or at least painlessly. Nature is nature.
It is not possible for you to have a reef tank, without somehow supporting or directly killing, something to feed something else. Your reef tank is blood sport.
It does not matter what live food someone uses to feed their mantis. If it eats it normally, it will eat it in a tank, and it is natural for it to do so. No one is feeding infant children to their mantis. No one is training a vegetarian mantis to kill another mantis for gambling sport in a ring. It is UNHEALTHY for a mantis to NOT have live prey on a semi regular basis. Anyone NOT doing so is abusing their poor pet.
Those 'fight' video's you see of a mantis kiling some other fish or crustacean is food for the mantis, it's a bonus to owners mantis are fun to watch eat. Next you will ##### about people who hand feed their tame fish. "It's not natural for a human hand to be in the water getting cleaned by that cleaner shrimp!"
Your attempted justification makes you sound like a moron, or 12 years old. Both common on the intarwebnets, and forums in general. Just go away please and ask a copepod for forgiveness, because you are directly killing them right now as I type this in your unnatural glass cage prison, I mean tank.
Yo Mind-
I've been trying to stock my mantis tank with natural prey items... So far I have the typical snail/hermit CUC, plus some "common shore shrimp" from ReefCleaners and some peppermint shrimp. I've been weary to put any crabs in because I don't want them to catch the mantis during a molt or anything... The weineraee (sp?) is smaller than my pinky finger so I worry about him. Haha. Any suggestions on feeding stock?
Think of it like the lion's den at the zoo- I'm trying to stock it with gazelles and zebras... instead of just offering a plate of meat every day.
I've been trying to stock my mantis tank with natural prey items... So far I have the typical snail/hermit CUC, plus some "common shore shrimp" from ReefCleaners and some peppermint shrimp. I've been weary to put any crabs in because I don't want them to catch the mantis during a molt or anything... The weineraee (sp?) is smaller than my pinky finger so I worry about him. Haha. Any suggestions on feeding stock?
Think of it like the lion's den at the zoo- I'm trying to stock it with gazelles and zebras... instead of just offering a plate of meat every day.
So you've never fed live prey to any fish? No live blackworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp or anything else? Maybe you dont but what do you think is fed to your clownfish when they are captive raised by ORA or other breeders. Live food.
Yea those videos are online. It's not bloodsport. It's showing an animal hunt.
Maybe the titles arent the best. When I filmed my G. Viridis killing a ghost shrimp I titled it as G. Viridis HUNTING a ghost shrimp not VS a Ghost Shrimp.
Like everyone else said, mantis shrimp need this hunting. We are going to continue to feed live prey to our stomatopods so get used to it.
Yea those videos are online. It's not bloodsport. It's showing an animal hunt.
Maybe the titles arent the best. When I filmed my G. Viridis killing a ghost shrimp I titled it as G. Viridis HUNTING a ghost shrimp not VS a Ghost Shrimp.
Like everyone else said, mantis shrimp need this hunting. We are going to continue to feed live prey to our stomatopods so get used to it.
kgoldy, if your Wennerae is smaller then your pinky finger I would stick with the small snails and hermits and small shrimps. Vary the types of snails as well. I put as many types as I can get away with for the tank. I.e. I get dwarf ceriths, normal ceriths, astrea, trochus, a turbo or two (because they are too big to get killed! hah) etc, etc.
You might be able to find tiny fiddlers for live food also. My mantis is about 3 inches long maybe and he can EASILY take out a full grown uber fiddler male. So picking a fiddler the same size as your mantis or smaller is fine. He will thwap it to death quickly and if he doesn't kill it within an hour or two you can trap it back out.
You might be able to find tiny fiddlers for live food also. My mantis is about 3 inches long maybe and he can EASILY take out a full grown uber fiddler male. So picking a fiddler the same size as your mantis or smaller is fine. He will thwap it to death quickly and if he doesn't kill it within an hour or two you can trap it back out.
Still cant find fiddlers locally and my local Petsmart and Petco's never have ghost shrimp in.
Maybe you can set up a small cheapy land/water tank to keep fiddlers alive in and order a bunch?
The only fiddlers I have ever seen are cold water ones used for fishing here in NY... And it's been quite a while since I've even seen those. Where can I get tropical fiddlers online?
You can use the cold water ones. They are food not livestock to keep alive. Fiddlers are shore crabs and can tolerate short bursts of temp differences.
Ah, I'll keep them in mind as a treat in the future then. Do you gutload them at all?
Nope, since I can get them at a local LFS I just buy and drop in tank. Crabs are a lot more complex then brine or ghost shrimp and you shouldn't need to gut load them. Of course it won't hurt.
QUOTE (mndfreeze @ Sep 16 2011, 12:49 AM)
Maybe you can set up a small cheapy land/water tank to keep fiddlers alive in and order a bunch?
Not a bad idea.
But can I convince the fiancee to let me set up another tank? lol
Was up in Cape Cod this weekend and totally forgot to check bait shops for fiddlers.
So the manager of the LFS called me yesterday and said that he found a mantis shrimp in the tank with the Live Rock and managed to trap it. he's calling it a Peacock Mantis and sent me a cell phone picture of it, I can't readily identify it from the picture, but he said it's around 5-6" long. He's holding it for me right now in a tank by itself with a DO NOT SELL sticker on the front of it. I've got a spare 15 gallon tank that I could set up for it, depending on which type it is. I was hoping someone here could help me shed some light on identifying it a bit better. if it is a peacock I know i'll need a tank a bit bigger than a 15 gallon eventually. Rock and Sand are no problem, I have at elast 300 lbs of rock and a good deal of sand (80 lbs +/-) as for light I'll just stick a cheapo light on the tank and run a HOB filter for now. thoughts? here he is, front and center for a photo shoot.
Nice mantis! It's hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like a smasher to me... Maybe Gonodactylus smithii or Neogonodactylus bredini? Then again those are smaller than the 5-6" you mention, so maybe it is a peacock (Odontodactylus scyllarus), I just don't see the dot pattern behind the eyes on it's side (though the pic isn't very sharp). Sometimes the eyes can help a lot in identifying a mantis...
Good luck with him I would try to find out a bit more about it before actually purchasing though.
Good luck with him I would try to find out a bit more about it before actually purchasing though.
That is not a peacock. It looks like a Wennerae to me. Google "mantis roys list" for Mantis Roy's list and it will pop up as the top or near top link, with a berkely url.
or..
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr...traca/royslist/
Oh forgot to add, one of the best initial things to look at are the meral spots on its arms. Most mantis have very bright or contrasting colored circles on what would their equivilant of a forearm. Check the pics on that site I linked and look for that
or..
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr...traca/royslist/
Oh forgot to add, one of the best initial things to look at are the meral spots on its arms. Most mantis have very bright or contrasting colored circles on what would their equivilant of a forearm. Check the pics on that site I linked and look for that
I was also thinking N. Wennerae, if only because it's probably the most common in gulf/caribbean rock. The only thing is the 5-6" size of it seems really big...
Also mindfreeze thanks for the link! I was looking for that site, it's really good and the pictures are nice and clear.
Also mindfreeze thanks for the link! I was looking for that site, it's really good and the pictures are nice and clear.
Tonight at 9pm on NatGeo Wild, "Killer Shrimp". All about Mantis.
QUOTE
09:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Go on the trail of a sharpshooting inhabitant of the coral reefs - the record-breaking, thumb-splitting mantis shrimp. At the beautiful coral reefs of Thailand, witness mantis shrimps in the wild. Then at university labs in the USA, learn about their eyesight - the most complicated in the animal kingdom - and their incredible hard-hitting claws. With ninja-like precision, mantis shrimps can strike with the acceleration of a bullet and can crack a crabs shell with a single blow.
Go on the trail of a sharpshooting inhabitant of the coral reefs - the record-breaking, thumb-splitting mantis shrimp. At the beautiful coral reefs of Thailand, witness mantis shrimps in the wild. Then at university labs in the USA, learn about their eyesight - the most complicated in the animal kingdom - and their incredible hard-hitting claws. With ninja-like precision, mantis shrimps can strike with the acceleration of a bullet and can crack a crabs shell with a single blow.
Someone needs to encode and start torrent plzkthxbye.
QUOTE (mndfreeze @ Nov 18 2011, 07:42 AM)
Someone needs to encode and start torrent plzkthxbye.
Ez posted this in his thread, but there was another thing on about Mantis Shrimp. It has been uploaded to YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...p;v=KVy9qSySSK0
Often in the evening or when the lights are out I hear 2 or 3 snaps, just shy of 1 second apart per snap. Could this be a Mantis?
QUOTE (Water_man11 @ Feb 13 2012, 01:44 PM)
Often in the evening or when the lights are out I hear 2 or 3 snaps, just shy of 1 second apart per snap. Could this be a Mantis?
Possibly. What else do you have in your tank?
The usual reef tank suspects. I thank has only been going since the end of December.
The only livestock I have lost was a peppermint shrimp (would make sense if there is a mantis) and a watchman goby, that too since it would have been up in the rocks (though I did have a pH drop when the goby stressed and died)
The only livestock I have lost was a peppermint shrimp (would make sense if there is a mantis) and a watchman goby, that too since it would have been up in the rocks (though I did have a pH drop when the goby stressed and died)
QUOTE (Water_man11 @ Feb 13 2012, 01:57 PM)
The usual reef tank suspects. I thank has only been going since the end of December.
The only livestock I have lost was a peppermint shrimp (would make sense if there is a mantis) and a watchman goby, that too since it would have been up in the rocks (though I did have a pH drop when the goby stressed and died)
The only livestock I have lost was a peppermint shrimp (would make sense if there is a mantis) and a watchman goby, that too since it would have been up in the rocks (though I did have a pH drop when the goby stressed and died)
Do you have a pistol shrimp with you goby ?
no pistol shrimp, or at least I didn't put one in intentionally
feed me seymour i'm starvin
I am doing some experiments with Stomatopods and was wondering what a good specimen be considering...
Size (tank will be no more than 20, probably like 10 gal)
and...
Intelligence (has any species shown more intellect?)
*Tank will have water changes at least twice a week, necessary or not, I'm also looking for a smasher, this would be the only tank inhabitant (including corals and inverts)
When testing is done and ive have submitted my formal report i will definitely send you guys a copy
Size (tank will be no more than 20, probably like 10 gal)
and...
Intelligence (has any species shown more intellect?)
*Tank will have water changes at least twice a week, necessary or not, I'm also looking for a smasher, this would be the only tank inhabitant (including corals and inverts)
When testing is done and ive have submitted my formal report i will definitely send you guys a copy
just signed up, great site. i love mantis shrimp!. had a purple spotted mantis for a couple years until it died :/ by far the best little critter ive ever owned for my tank
Here's a pic of my 20l mantis tank that is currently cycling
I have a G. Ternatensis. He is awesomesauces. Especially since he is high light tolerant so I can keep a mixed reef with him.
Smithii is a highly desired species of mine. One tank though, so one mantis. When this one goes I want to get a peacock just because. Or perhaps I'll set up a second really nice tank at that point.
Smithii is a highly desired species of mine. One tank though, so one mantis. When this one goes I want to get a peacock just because. Or perhaps I'll set up a second really nice tank at that point.
I think my next is a Smithii. I lost my Chiragra back in Jan and replaced him with a Wartskin angler for something different. After having such an awesome smasher, I didnt think another mantis could replace him right away. I'm enjoying the angler and still have my Viridis but I have an empty 10g that's screaming for a Smithii. Soon lol
Now all I need is a mantis and I'm good to go
QUOTE (Apoptosis @ Mar 22 2010, 12:15 AM)
Me three! 
Me four
Love the rock work Airport! If you build the caves right you can usually get your mantis to make his home there. I made 2 rock islands in my new tank, each has holes that are sort of cave'ish and he made one his home, them moved to the bigger one.
QUOTE (mndfreeze @ Apr 12 2012, 04:32 AM)
Love the rock work Airport! If you build the caves right you can usually get your mantis to make his home there. I made 2 rock islands in my new tank, each has holes that are sort of cave'ish and he made one his home, them moved to the bigger one.
Thanks
There's actually a 1 1/2" pvc tunnel under there. It goes from the big rock in the center to the smaller one on the right. To make it appear as natural as possible I chiseled/sanded the back side of the rocks so the pipe would recess into it, hiding the entrance. I also brushed silicone onto the pipe and coated it inside and out with sand.
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