Dendroguy Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 two mantis shrimp (Neogonodactylus oerstedii) in a 5 gallon lagoon Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Sounds like you may have a male and a female! That's really cool! Does one of them have small black dots on the body? I think if they weren't a pair, they would have gone toe to toe right away. Link to comment
Dendroguy Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 Sounds like you may have a male and a female! That's really cool! Does one of them have small black dots on the body? I think if they weren't a pair, they would have gone toe to toe right away. Yes, the larger one has small black dots on his/her carapace, btw I love you your pest tank Link to comment
TheUnfocusedOne Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Will absolutely fight each other if there is no divider, so I would make sure that you use one. It's possible that you have a male and female, but you'll need to check the gonads on that one. I'll see if I can drum up some pics so you can see the difference between the two. Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 The one with the black spots is the female. And it would make sense that she's bigger. Congratulations, I think you might be the first one on this forum with a mantis pair! That's exciting! Now you're going to have to keep us informed about how they interact and what interesting behaviors you see! Do you have an official thread with this tank build that's getting this pair? I want pictures! I'll be following along for sure. Link to comment
ccapasso Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Very cool. It'd be cool if they were a pair. However everything I read suggests that most that are paired up still end up killing each other. Hopefully this doesn't happen but as TUO said, it likely will. Keep us posted and please do let us know if you have a build thread. If not, start one ! Link to comment
Alexraptor Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Pretty sure they are different genders. Mantis shrimps normally have zero tolerance of intruders getting anywhere close to their burrows. The fact that one can enter the others unchallenged or without challenging says a lot. Link to comment
Dendroguy Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 sorry no build thread, plus its kinda bland atm just a bunch of sand and 3 pieces of large rocks, Im going to add a bunch of macro this week or weekend I will post pics then. So far they have stayed in their separate burrows with only the female coming out to check the tank Link to comment
TheUnfocusedOne Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Smashers do not pair up. At best the will breifly interact to mate, if they are so inclinde. Keeping them unseperated is one of those classic risks in reef keeping. I'd put my money on them eventually fighting and one of them dieing if you keep them together. I'd really like to see a picture of them before we start assuming they are different sex, or even the same species. Size means nothing since we have no idea of the ages. Similar meral spot coloration is a good indication that they are the same species, but pics would be nice. This is a link to a thread showing a close up of the two different gonads you'll see to determine whether they are male or female. Link to comment
Dendroguy Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 well, my cat knocked the mantis tank over, so I trapped my pistol and skunk shrimp, also my anemone crab and transferred the stomatopods to my reef tank, I think Im gonna take the pistol,skunk and crab to the LFS tomorrow for store credit and make my reef a mantis reef, similar to islandoftikis pest tank, but withought the pests Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Oh no! I hope they're ok! What size is your reef tank? Can you sell the cat? Wait, what? No pests? Come on, maybe just a few majanos? The green/red ones are beautiful... and living in and amongst palys and zoas with no issues so far. Ok, so they can take over a tank, but that's what I'm hoping for! That reminds me, I need to feed the majanos and aiptasia tonight. I think a cat is too big to use as mantis food... Link to comment
Dendroguy Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 Oh no! I hope they're ok! What size is your reef tank? Can you sell the cat? Wait, what? No pests? Come on, maybe just a few majanos? The green/red ones are beautiful... and living in and amongst palys and zoas with no issues so far. Ok, so they can take over a tank, but that's what I'm hoping for! That reminds me, I need to feed the majanos and aiptasia tonight. I think a cat is too big to use as mantis food... lolololol ya the cats way to big, the reef is a 7 gallon shallow with both stomatopods under the same rock Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Aside from the obvious excess nutrients in the water, I suspect the cat would displace enough water to overflow the tank. It would probably also be an eyesore in the tank for at least a year. Link to comment
Dendroguy Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 Aside from the obvious excess nutrients in the water, I suspect the cat would displace enough water to overflow the tank. It would probably also be an eyesore in the tank for at least a year. I meant the cat is too big to be mantis food unless I chopped it up and froze it both stomatopods seem to be doing well no missing CUC members as I can tell. Link to comment
ccapasso Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I'm pretty sure cat hair may cause a problem with your filter (if you run one). Btw...added this thread to the Official Mantis Shrimp Owners Thread Link to comment
Dendroguy Posted May 3, 2012 Author Share Posted May 3, 2012 omygodomygodomygod IM FAMOUS just kidding, both mantis seem to be doing well and loving their new reef tank, ccapasso, what would you recommend for small mantis, ghost shrimp or emerald crabs Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 omygodomygodomygod IM FAMOUS just kidding, both mantis seem to be doing well and loving their new reef tank, ccapasso, what would you recommend for small mantis, ghost shrimp or emerald crabs I feed mine frozen scalops, clams or shrimp from the grocery store. Cut them up into tiny bits and target feed them. Or if you really want to make sure they're getting a good nutrition, pick up some enriched mysis shrimp from the LFS. They love that. Mix and match foods for a more balanced diet. Also, if you have a source for dwarf cerith snails, those make great snacks. I keep my tank stocked with those and dwarf blue leg hermits just in case he gets hungry. Plus, that gives them the occasional live prey option to keep their lives as close to natural as you can get. FWIW, when I ordered my CUC from ReefCleaners, they sent me about a million dwarf cerith snails for free, so if you haven't ordered your CUC yet, get it from them and ask them to be generous on the dwarf ceriths. Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 You know, this thread needs some pictures. Let's see these little beauties! WE WANT PICTURES! Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I came for pictures and I leave disappointed. Internetz, u has fayuld meh! Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I came for pictures and I leave disappointed. Check my thread later tonight. I'm doing a time-lapse mantis video right now. I hope he's not being boring... He's probably being boring. Edit: 45 minutes of time-lapse and he was boring. I'll try again tomorrow. Link to comment
Dendroguy Posted May 3, 2012 Author Share Posted May 3, 2012 ok guys and gals sorry I don't have pics I will take some tomorrow, ATM they are a little shy, obviously the male is Clyde and the female is Bonnie, they roam the tank terrifying snails and hermits with their twin hammers of DOOM dun dun duuuuuuun as of now they have a nass a cerith and 4 hermits to snack on, as always no aggression they just kinda ignore each other I'll keep you guys and gals updated forgot to mention that once I get a USB cord for Nikon D-3100 yall will be getting some mighty fine pichers Link to comment
castiel Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Might be worth seeing if you can contact this guy, he has a breeding pair of mantis as described in this thread: http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph...95&t=237641 Link to comment
ccapasso Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 As far as feed, I'd stay away from emerald crabs for now. Ghost shrimp would be fine for live food. However, as IslandofTiki posted - Scallops, frozen shrimp, etc are all good to use. When you need a CUC, order from reefcleaners.org and make sure you get dwarf ceriths. They are the perfect size for smaller mantis to eat. Link to comment
Dendroguy Posted May 3, 2012 Author Share Posted May 3, 2012 I had a hunch emeralds would be to tough, my anemone crab has already lost a claw from Bonnie, as far as live food goes I am going to set up my 2.5 gallon as a ghost shrimp breeding habitat. Now for the moment you've all been waiting for.....PICS Moon through my telescope She was checkin me out Tending to her xenia garden Only have pics of Bonnie ATM but once Clyde decides to get out more often I'll post some Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.