WTB: male peacock mantis shrimp, odontodactylus scyllarus

[Han Solo]

Hi all.

 

I know this might be a longshot but I'm looking for a male only. Tried everywhere online and it seems stock is either out or shops only have females.

 

Hoping someone might be able to help!

 

- Keith

[captainbastard]

LA has one once a month or more. Have you signed up for the notifications

[Han Solo]

https://www.lareefs.net/? It doesn't seem like they have any inverts in stock at all. Don't see how to sign up for notifications either.

[devaji108]

have you tried TBS or KP aquatics? some of the lesser knows gems.

good luck.

 

PS ppl get them in on there LR from TBS I bet you can get on for free. if you ask around..

[12_egg_Omelette]

Yup hit up Tampay Bay saltwater

[nanoreefz]

I think they mean liveaquaria.com they'd have them.

[devaji108]

No I meant Tampa bay saltwater and Kp aquatics....lol

[basser1]

captainbastard, on 05 Jun 2016 - 2:06 PM, said:

LA has one once a month or more. Have you signed up for the notifications

 

 

nanoreefz, on 07 Jul 2016 - 11:47 PM, said:

I think they mean liveaquaria.com they'd have them.

 

 

devaji108, on 08 Jul 2016 - 7:11 PM, said:

No I meant Tampa bay saltwater and Kp aquatics....lol

 

Can't speak for captainbast***, but I think he meant Liveaquaria as well.....

 

BTW, Just checked Reefs2Go and they have one in stock, don't know if it's a male or not, may want to call them.

[spectra]

How can you tell male or female?

[Han Solo]

I'm holding off on buying on for now guys! I have seen one on bluezoo recently though.

 

 

How can you tell male or female?

 

The main way is to look for the male's gonopods:

 

http://www.3reef.com/threads/how-to-tell-if-your-mantis-shrimp-is-male-a-boy.79360/

 

But I read you can also look at their tail like this, and if the base of the tail has that white blotchy part on each side, they are a male.

 

[Han Solo]

Worth buying http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetailcc.asp?did=11&cid=342&pid=24825%%3E??

[Tamberav]

Worth buying http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetailcc.asp?did=11&cid=342&pid=24825%%3E??

 

Looks like a male from the coloring but there is no guarantee from that picture, shell looks beat up, a black spot on the head and possibly the back end? Hard to say in the picture. Hopefully nothing serious like shell rot. Keep in mind the bigger specimens have a lot more difficulty molting.

[Han Solo]

I can't see the white on the base of the tail so It may not be a male, but yeh I'm going to pass since its an adult

[Tamberav]

I can't see the white on the base of the tail so It may not be a male, but yeh I'm going to pass since its an adult

 

The white doesn't matter, my female had that white. Why do you want only a male?

 

 

Here is a female obviously because of the eggs, hehe, you can see some of the white.

 

 

 

This music makes me giggle.

 

 

 

The white or no white just seems to be a color difference among individuals but not related to sex. They even come in red. I would guess (not positive) this has to do with the depth they live at, other species are red in deeper waters but will turn back to green when kept in a lighted reef tank. I am not positive the peacocks color is related to that though, just a guess based on other species.

 

 

[Han Solo]

You're right, how can you tell the one in the pic is a male? Or at least what made u think so

[Tamberav]

You're right, how can you tell the one in the pic is a male? Or at least what made u think so

 

I have never personally seen a bright green female, they have always been olive colored. Sometimes males are both bright green or olive colored. I can't say this 100% fact though, I am just going off personal experiences from LFS, frag swaps, and the other mantis tanks I follow.

 

I figured you wanted the male for a chance at a brighter specimen? Are you trying to breed them? That would be quiet a challenge.

[Six]

I have a few questions on what you've said. This is a really great, conversation, BTW.

 

Do you know if there are scientific articles out about gender differentiation and natural history in this species? I'm a student so maybe I can look into it if y'all don't know.

 

I'm interested because there are animal species where males can/will/always carry the eggs. We know for sure the females do? it seems more likely that color would differentiate the gender of this species. It would be interesting to research since they have such fascinating vision. And white spots would be pretty obvious win that type of vision, right? Why not "use" that to convey a message?

 

Just thinking out loud.

 

And yeah, why a male? That would be awesome to try to breed and raise the babies. We did it with amano shrimp once and damn, it took some doin'.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

The white doesn't matter, my female had that white. Why do you want only a male?

 

 

Here is a female obviously because of the eggs, hehe, you can see some of the white.

 

 

Both male and female have white in this one, the music makes me giggle.

 

 

 

 

The white or no white just seems to be a color difference among individuals but not related to sex. They even come in red. I would guess (not positive) this has to do with the depth they live at, other species are red in deeper waters but will turn back to green when kept in a lighted reef tank. I am not positive the peacocks color is related to that though, just a guess based on other species.

 

 

[Tamberav]

I have a few questions on what you've said. This is a really great, conversation, BTW.

 

Do you know if there are scientific articles out about gender differentiation and natural history in this species? I'm a student so maybe I can look into it if y'all don't know.

 

I'm interested because there are animal species where males can/will/always carry the eggs. We know for sure the females do? it seems more likely that color would differentiate the gender of this species. It would be interesting to research since they have such fascinating vision. And white spots would be pretty obvious win that type of vision, right? Why not "use" that to convey a message?

 

Just thinking out loud.

 

And yeah, why a male? That would be awesome to try to breed and raise the babies. We did it with amano shrimp once and damn, it took some doin'.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My reading and the videos I have seen, the females carry the eggs, I am fairly certain this is a fact. You can 100% tell the sex by seeing the underside of the mantis, however, venders do not post pictures of that, so telling from their picture is somewhat of a guess.

 

Mantis shrimp see much differently than us. Recent research suggests they can't detect subtle color differences like us. However, there is evidence they see UV light, polarized light, ect. I also remember reading about how they have special cuticle tissue that can reflect polarize light, this would mean they could be visibly showing signals to each other we can't see. So there very well could be "color" or signal differences but we can't see it with the naked eye.

 

As far as breeding goes, it is difficult but would be an interesting endeavor, the hardest part is the fry need live food (very tiny live food early on), and are cannibalistic so they will kill each other.

[Han Solo]

I am looking for a male for the green coloration, like you said, and also because I heard they were more personable than the females. Not sure if that is actually true.

 

Six, there is a guy named Dr. Roy that frequents reefcentral that is a Mantis shrimp biologist, I think at Berkley. Here is one of his pages: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/

 

and here he is on reefcentral: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=684195

 

edit: looks like someone else bought the hurt guy on bluezoo

[Tamberav]

I bet the personality is similar. My female was a hoot and loved attention. Tiki's female was quiet the character too and would swim up and sit on his wifes hand. I saw a male at a swap though, and he was very very green.

[StinkyBunny]

I just looked on my price lists and I don't see one listed out of any country that I can get, new lists are posted tonight or tomorrow. I'll look at them and see if they're listed this week. I know I've seen them on one of the lists.