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Bella the Beautiful Killer


Zombo

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Well, I guess I can finally put "Mantis Cult Member" under my avatar -- Bella arrived today from Stomatopod.com, packaged perfectly! She was cranky from her trip from NC, and let me know by thumping the bag while temp acclimating.

30 minutes of drip acclimation, and I turned her loose in her new paradise. I was alarmed at first, as when she hit the rocks, curled in a ball, she just seemed to drift off the back. The second concern was that the "Zombie Crew" (Nassarius snails) arose from their substratum tombs to sniff for the source of death in the water.

I needn't have worried. It was Bella, pounding the bejesus out of a tiny hermit. A minute late, OM NOM NOM! She's made herself quite at home, and I hear frequent "click" "click" from the rocks now -- I think she's redecorating the house :)

Pics soon!

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Soon -- I'm too stupid to figure out how to use the Canon Rebel here at work, I'll bring in my POSPAS (Piece of ######e Point and Shoot) tomorrow. She's peeking out from all over the tank and glaring at me!

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dahliaheartsyou
Soon -- I'm too stupid to figure out how to use the Canon Rebel here at work, I'll bring in my POSPAS (Piece of ######e Point and Shoot) tomorrow. She's peeking out from all over the tank and glaring at me!

 

If you need help, I have a canon rebel :)

and i know how to use it well...

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Well, she's started "nesting", as women are apt to do; periodic clouds of LR debris/dust come flying out of a new cave entrance, enter the water column and the tank looks like demented snow globe -- moments later, she peers out at me, dashes back into the rockwork, and I hear the asyncopated "click click .....click...click..click" of her hammering away at the interior.

Absolutely coolest reef inhabitant I've ever had. :happydance:

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dahliaheartsyou
Well, she's started "nesting", as women are apt to do; periodic clouds of LR debris/dust come flying out of a new cave entrance, enter the water column and the tank looks like demented snow globe -- moments later, she peers out at me, dashes back into the rockwork, and I hear the asyncopated "click click .....click...click..click" of her hammering away at the interior.

Absolutely coolest reef inhabitant I've ever had. :happydance:

 

you really need pics!!!!!

no more TEASING!!!!

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Zombo grabbed the pics of the Canon ... at least, he brought the camera back to my office ... so I assume he got them off.

 

Where are those pics!?

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dahliaheartsyou
Zombo grabbed the pics of the Canon ... at least, he brought the camera back to my office ... so I assume he got them off.

 

Where are those pics!?

 

now we have a witness!

I CAN HAZ PICKSURES NOWZ!

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dahliaheartsyou
Mantis Chow!

 

DON'T YOU GO TALKIN BOUT MANTIS'S ON OTHER THREADS WITHOUT PICS ON THIS ONE!!!!

that's right, you heard me!

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Well, my FAIL with trying to take more resulted in blurry wads of ugliness. I have the pics of her acclimating and in the bag, but really wanted a "en naturale" reef shot :(

I'll post all tomorrow!

Bonsai is a witness to the "clicks" and how cute she is! :)

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Aw, what a cute name. It sounds like she's already doing well in her new home. FWIW, my wennerae Mata Hari exhibited the same balling up behavior when she first landed in the tank.

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what species did you get?

 

Bella is a G. graphurus. I got this note from Billy, who runs the Mantis Forums at stomatopod.com:

She went out nice and healthy today. Be warned that she isn't afraid to use those rapts, hehe. And she is very powerful for her size. She's been with us for over 4 months as we went through the move. She eats well and will do the meral spread like no other :lol:

 

My new bar line: "Hey babe, can I see your meral spread?" LMFAO

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okay, pics from her arrival and acclimation, happy now? ;)

 

In the bag, getting used to the tropical waters of central Michigan -- she was pissed off and kept smacking the hell out of the bag and rocks!

bella_in_bag.jpg

 

Now, in the acclimation "tank" (actually a measuring cup) -- she wouldn't hold still long enough at this point for a decent portrait

bella_acclimating.jpg

 

Bella showing some leg(s) and her brilliant green color

bella_acclimating2.jpg

 

She's still excavating today, and yes, I brought in my camera. She's not made her visible presence known yet, but is inside her palace, doing some remodeling :)

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I guess I'm being paranoid, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of Bella since earlier today (before lunch) -- no more clicking either. Maybe she's finished arranging things in her cave and is chilling out? Getting ready to molt? omgomgomg

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Thank Jeebus! She's fine :P Just before I left, I heard a furious staccato of clicks, saw a cloud of LR debris ejected from a new hole and then Her Royal Badness herself. She posed herself at the front of her palace, looked up at me, then flared her meral spread as if to say, "WTF is your problem, meathead?" then dashed away back into her domain.

Ye gods, what a character she's turning out to be! :happydance:

(sigh of relief)

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Nice name. And I didn't think a mantis shrimp could be cute...hmmm...

 

Aw, come on, isn't this cute?

 

meral_spread.jpg

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It's what drunk ladies in bars do to attract men.

 

Not really. The "meral spread" is a defensive display posture that mantis shrimp do to basically tell others (be it other shrimp, larger tank residents or intrusive meathead humans) "Get the hell back! I can CRUSH you with my raptorial appendages!"

It gets its name from the display of the meral spots, in this case, Bella's lovely orange and white ones.

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BustytheSnowMaam

OK- I think mine is wimpy then, because I've never seen that. He cowers in submissive fear to the flame cardinal.

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BustytheSnowMaam

N. wennerae. I like him because he's fairly mild-mannered- leaves harder-shelled critters alone, so my astreas are safe so far.

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