jojopus Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 that is awesome. that snail is gonna become some ones din din sooner or later ........ Link to comment
Lexus Luthor Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 You're correct. The snail has since passed. It took him several weeks to crack that nut He recently ate a large rock crab (larger than him at least). I've been meaning to get him a hermit to play with. Link to comment
Hwarang Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 *twitch twitch* That's frikken awesome. I'm setting up my 2.5 gallon shoebox tonight. I've been wondering what I could put in it that would be cool. • Does the mantis seem to like it in there? • Did you purchase the mantis or did you acquire it through live rock (was this aquarium planned or did you just need a place for the mantis)? • What kind of water changes and how often do you do? Again, frikken awesome. Link to comment
Lexus Luthor Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 He seems to be happy in that he's acting as they would in the wild. He's made a nice cave for himself by moving sand and chipping away some rock. He'll roam a little throughout the day, watch me work (this is my office tank) and when it's feeding time he swims to the surface to snatch a morsel of krill. I purchased him at my LFS for about $10. He's a Neogonodactylus wennerae (smasher) more than likely from the Carribean. I got him at about 1.5" and he's now approaching his maximum of 3". He's been in the tank for almost a year now I'm told he's probably 3 years old himself. Water changes consist of replacing about one measured cup of water every couple weeks. I throw in some reef complete and carbonate every so often. The pump has a mesh behind it that gets nasty and I clean it about every 3 weeks. Evaporation is the hardest thing about keeping a tank this small with no top. I have to replace the water lost overnight (about 1/2 a cup) and on the weekends (or holidays) since I'm not working, I wrap the top in plastic wrap. Link to comment
Hwarang Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Sweet, thanks for the info man. I think you've inspired my next tank. HF! Link to comment
Lexus Luthor Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 No problem. Mantis make great pets and if you decide to get one you won't be disappointed. He's been non-stop entertainment since I got him. They're very smart, very aggressive and very curious. I recommend this site below to anyone interested in keeping them. It's all you'd ever want to know about Stomatapods: http://blueboard.rimlife.com/mantis/ Link to comment
Hwarang Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I've been reading that site all morning. I think I might actually use my empty 5.5 gallon tank. I have a light ready to roll for it. Link to comment
Korbin Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 WOW! Those are some of the coolest shots I've seen in a long time. You should submit them to that one stomatopod website. Makes me wish I didn't get rid of mine. Link to comment
Lexus Luthor Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 Already there http://blueboard.rimlife.com/mantis/pics/i...ari_hammers.htm Originally posted by Korbin WOW! Those are some of the coolest shots I've seen in a long time. You should submit them to that one stomatopod website. Makes me wish I didn't get rid of mine. Link to comment
Rene Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Beautiful, beautiful pics, and a great tank to boot. Yeah, you sold me. A small colorful mantis is going to be my 3 gallon tank inhabitant. Just need to figure out what to do about a cleanup crew now...and get those snails out since they weren't intended to be feeders. How do you keep the tank algae-free? And did this guy readily take dead foods? I'm not so keen on constantly having to go to the LFS to get grass shrimp for one. Link to comment
Lexus Luthor Posted March 19, 2004 Author Share Posted March 19, 2004 When I get a new snail or hermit, it takes him several weeks to figure out how to kill it, assuming said snail/hermit is large enough. In that time, they do a nice job cleaning up. I had some nasty hair algae that I had to remove by hand. I limit my light and try not to overfeed. Bascially everything you would do to keep it down anyway. Most mantis of my variety readily take dead food. In my case it's vitamin enriched freeze dried krill. He loves it. And snails, hermits, crabs make up an occasional live meal. Glass shrimp wouldn't be sufficient for long term health, but they do make for a fun kill. Of course, you have the option of getting a slasher instead of a smasher mantis. They have knives for raptors and are only suited for killing fish and other unprotected tankmates. They're not adapted to break shells, so a clean-up crew should survive. Link to comment
Lexus Luthor Posted March 19, 2004 Author Share Posted March 19, 2004 Thanks for all the kind words. I'm happy it turned some of you on to this incredible creature. They get a bad rap because they're so good at what they do best...hunt Here's a link to my gallery with a some video of Gatorade eating and smacking the tank glass along with a couple more shots that I didn't post here: http://www.extremefx.com/gallery/gatorade Link to comment
Rene Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 Thanks for being so patient with the questions Now for just one more. I've been thinking of getting one of the Neogonodactylids but most of the ones I've seen are pretty dull in color. Was yours always this bright a green, or did you do something to improve his color over the normal dull olive? Btw, fantastic videos! He really looks comfortable in that tiny tank. The one of him snatching that krill off the surface is great. They're so fast! Link to comment
Lexus Luthor Posted March 20, 2004 Author Share Posted March 20, 2004 I'm more than happy to answer questions. I ask plenty myself. Gatorade was bright green when I got him; I couldn't resist that color. A friend of mine recently got a slasher that was bright banana yellow. There's some beautiful red and oranges and of course, the Peacock mantis is a rainbow of colors. If you're patient, I think you should be able to find one that fits your requirements. Color is relative to the depth of water they live in, and those in shallower water are usually more bright because of the light they are exposed to. Since Gatorade is from Caribbean waters, he was probably at very shallow depths, and this explains his vivid color. I've also read that a darker color mantis will change color to a brighter shade over a couple of molts when exposed to higher intensity light, and vice versa. He's actually began his molt today. I won't see him for about a week until he hardens up. Link to comment
DLeAnnM Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 What do you have for lighting over the tank? Link to comment
Lexus Luthor Posted March 20, 2004 Author Share Posted March 20, 2004 The tank and light are by JBJ. The light is a 13W 50/50. Between it and the pump, the tank maintains a temp between 76-78. These tanks have been discountinued, but there may still be stores that have them in stock. They also come in a rectangular variety as well. Link to comment
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