FlowerMama Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 She is so entertaining to watch. You spoil us with videos and we thank you. 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Some new things today. I picked up a used SL1 module for my reefkeeper for super cheap from a local guy who was upgrading to a reef angel. Actually, I got a couple of PC4's and the controller, too. Those will go on the 25 gallon tank. The pH probe was real old and out of calibration, so I got a new pH probe and calibrated it. Also, the stock Nuvo 30 pump was too rattly for my liking, so it got swapped out for a Sicce Syncra Silent 1.5. It is silent, or at least quieter than the skimmer, so mission accomplished. Other than that, the tank is doing amazing. Betty and Barney look happy and super healthy. The corals have tons of new growth. And by tons, I mean more than average. Also, my cali tort has better polyp extension than it ever has. One rhodactis mushrooms and one small colony of zoas seem to have been pissed off by the magnesium spiking to kill off the bryposis. Anyhow, the bryposis long gone and I suspect they will recover. Betty looks stunning as always: 3 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I love those black leopard spots she has on her neck. 2 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I've obviously missed it but I thought you couldn't have a light in a tank with this species as it causes shell rot? Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Mantis shrimp are just so darned adorable! 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 I've obviously missed it but I thought you couldn't have a light in a tank with this species as it causes shell rot? It has more or less boiled down to this in the mantis community: Nobody knows what causes shell rot. Even the most advanced researchers have no idea what causes it. Among the top researchers (Caldwell, Patek, et al.), the general consensus is that light has some aspect in it, but what kind of light or how it has anything to do with it is not understood in any way. So, the initial reaction was to say that no light is better than some light or lots of light. Now, water quality is recognized as a major contributing factor in shell rot. More and more, we're finding that people are successfully keeping shell rot prone mantis species in brightly lit SPS tanks with no problems. So, the current zeitgeist is that water quality is more important than lighting in terms of shell rot. My own personal thinking is that it's probably akin to fish diseases like ick. It's always there and present, but it doesn't present itself as a disease until the individual is compromised through poor diet, stress or overall health issues. So, my opinion after a lot of research is that if you can keep your water quality high enough that SPS corals will be happy and healthy, and you feed your mantis with a high quality diet that includes vitamin supplements, and additionally provide them with a proper burrow that is suitable so they can feel comfortable and safe, then you'll ultimately have a healthy mantis with no shell rot issues and a tank with lighting and corals. I would say that a lighted mantis tank for mantis species that are known to have shell rot issues should only be for advanced level reefers who are willing to take the extra time and effort to provide the best level of care possible. As we learned recently on the Reef Central mantis forum, a peacock mantis shrimp kept in poor water conditions with no light will still develop shell rot and eventually die. Sadly, the young kid that killed his first mantis is going to try again with an equally enthusiastic level of failure and poor understanding of proper saltwater husbandry practices, but I digress. 4 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I see. Thanks for explaining it to me. 1 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 It has more or less boiled down to this in the mantis community: Nobody knows what causes shell rot. Even the most advanced researchers have no idea what causes it. Among the top researchers (Caldwell, Patek, et al.), the general consensus is that light has some aspect in it, but what kind of light or how it has anything to do with it is not understood in any way. So, the initial reaction was to say that no light is better than some light or lots of light. Now, water quality is recognized as a major contributing factor in shell rot. More and more, we're finding that people are successfully keeping shell rot prone mantis species in brightly lit SPS tanks with no problems. So, the current zeitgeist is that water quality is more important than lighting in terms of shell rot. My own personal thinking is that it's probably akin to fish diseases like ick. It's always there and present, but it doesn't present itself as a disease until the individual is compromised through poor diet, stress or overall health issues. So, my opinion after a lot of research is that if you can keep your water quality high enough that SPS corals will be happy and healthy, and you feed your mantis with a high quality diet that includes vitamin supplements, and additionally provide them with a proper burrow that is suitable so they can feel comfortable and safe, then you'll ultimately have a healthy mantis with no shell rot issues and a tank with lighting and corals. I would say that a lighted mantis tank for mantis species that are known to have shell rot issues should only be for advanced level reefers who are willing to take the extra time and effort to provide the best level of care possible. As we learned recently on the Reef Central mantis forum, a peacock mantis shrimp kept in poor water conditions with no light will still develop shell rot and eventually die. Sadly, the young kid that killed his first mantis is going to try again with an equally enthusiastic level of failure and poor understanding of proper saltwater husbandry practices, but I digress. And I believe that older ones that molt less frequently as they approach their maximum size, are more prone to it than younger ones that mold frequently and may get rid of the shell rot when they molt, that is if the disease has not progressed too far. But correct me if I am wrong ... Two pics of O. scyllarus (male) © Toonid , identified as male by Islandoftiki 4 Quote Link to comment
Giga Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Since I'm at my tanky wife tolerance lvl , i've been trying to figure a way to have a mantis shrimp-I miss having one! 3 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted December 22, 2013 Author Share Posted December 22, 2013 And I believe that older ones that molt less frequently as they approach their maximum size, are more prone to it than younger ones that mold frequently and may get rid of the shell rot when they molt, that is if the disease has not progressed too far. But correct me if I am wrong ... You are correct. It is more of a problem with older ones that molt more infrequently. If you should find yourself in posession of a mantis that does have some shell rot, the recommendation is to feed more often with vitamin enriched foods to help promote an early molt. You can often force a series of early molts to help a mantis with shell rot to heal. More food = more frequent molts. Also, a mantis with shell rot may benefit from UV sterilization of the water. Shell rot is something that occurs in the wild as well as our tanks, so even under real live ocean conditions, they still get shell rot, so it may be a little bit out of our control ultimately. However, water quality is one thing that we can easily control. 2 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 Happy Holidays! 5 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Happy Holidays! Love the pic .... and all the same to you Quote Link to comment
Lamilvelo Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Happy Holidays! Always enjoy your pics and videos of your Mantis Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 Betty knows how to spread joy. You just show a video of her and we're set. 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Here's a little New Years mantis fun for everyone! 4 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Here's a little New Years mantis fun for everyone! Very cute ... Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Looks like she recognizes the pellets, she looked excited to see it more-so than the other objects. I mix my food up in a shot glass so whenever the shot glass comes out Ivy get all excited. 2 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I vary it up how I give food, sometimes the tweezers, sometimes let it just fall in, I love it when they come and get it though, w/ such a greed. It's hilarious. It's MINE! ALL MINE!!! 2 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 Looks like she recognizes the pellets, she looked excited to see it more-so than the other objects. I mix my food up in a shot glass so whenever the shot glass comes out Ivy get all excited. I just realized that while that's not the food I feed to Barney, all of the fish food jars have blue lids. So, she probably made the general assumption that cylindrical container with a blue lid is food. She was also very interested in my blue coffee mug this morning. Maybe she just likes blue, or maybe she associates blue with food. I'll have to try to figure that out. 2 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 For those of you who are interested in how some of the mantis mugs come to life, here's the first step in the process... 5 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Sneak peek! 5 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 The camera shutter really didn't like the LED's... Had a hard time getting a full shot of the tank under our, relatively speaking, dim living room lights. Being 7:15 at night the lights have already started their ramp-down and aren't at full brightness, so I'll have to get a better full tank shot tomorrow when they're at 100% mid-day. I'm also going to have to re-adjust the white balance on the camera. 3 Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 100% midday right off the bat will probably kill what's in there from light shock. 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 100% midday right off the bat will probably kill what's in there from light shock. Yeah, they're going to have to endure it for half a day until I can figure out how to program it to 85% (recommended by Masxpect) when I get home. Remember, this tank was rockin' 96 watts of ATI HO bulbs prior to this, it's not going to be that much of a shock. 1 Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 You'd be very surprised by that, I would start it around 45% and work your way up from there. Quote Link to comment
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