Gertie- my girl is gone.

[1.0reef]

Whats going on in here?! :blink:

I'm hijacking everything LOL!

[FlowerMama]

Gertie just gave me the privilege of watching her beat up the back side of a rock in her home. I couldn't get a pic, tried, too small & blurry. I'd see little pieces fly off. She was on the back highside of the rock, so she was on the edge in back right before you come up to the top part of the rock. She was on an angle w/ the top half out further. I could see her arch her body and then pound and then many times have to catch herself quickly before she'd fall. I couldn't tell if she was using both wrecking balls or not but I was very pleased she let me watch. It was really cool. She's from what I can see alot more active than Geneva. At this point I think they may be the same size.

[Tamberav]

It sounds cute how she would have to catch herself from such a strong punch!

[FlowerMama]

It sounds cute how she would have to catch herself from such a strong punch!

 

Yeah, she was on an angle so once she wound up and let go she had to quickly sturdy and right herself. It's funny to think the power pushes her back, like a gun. It was fascinating. I guess it's a good thing she let me watch. I'm curious just how "forgiving" they can be by our presence if you had them since they were so little. Anybody know? Will she let me watch again?

[llama roadkill]

My name is Amber (or Tana, ya I have 2 names) .

 

Oh, so TAmberav?

[Tamberav]

Oh, so TAmberav?

 

Damn you are a smart one! But ya... Tana Amber Raveness (old screen from a million years ago) or... TAmbeRav

[llama roadkill]

Damn you are a smart one! But ya... Tana Amber Raveness (old screen from a million years ago) or... TAmbeRav

 

Cool! Mine is a stupid name I just thought of!

[FlowerMama]

I'm cleaning the mantis tanks a little. Also giving some caulerpa to a friend at work. I took all the caulerpa and grape out of Gertie's tank and put it in Geneva's, then cleaned the walls of Gertie's, then put some macro back. I still haven't done Geneva's tank yet so Gertie's looks spacious while Geneva's looks cramped. Fed them both w/ the long tweezers. Gertie seems by far much more active than Geneva. I always here Gertie pounding away at the rock.

 

 

Not much to see here, cuz you can't see.

 

[Tamberav]

That stuff grows so fast. I have to pull it out of my 29g often.

[FlowerMama]

I still have to put some back into Gertie's but it grew so fast and it was hard to take pics. I'm impressed with Gertie because she was the smaller one but she's caught up to Geneva in size. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if they were in the same tank because there were 3 on the same rock I pulled out of the box when when my KPA order came, they were like sitting right on top basically. I was so worried when I didn't see her after that first 8 days for her to make an appearance again.

[FlowerMama]

Viewing of Gertie- left tank. She's gotten heftier, healthier.

 

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http://s1278.photobucket.com/user/1stimereefer/media/034_zps5da165eb.jpg.html'>

[Tamberav]

[dixie reefer]

Love, love, love this tank! Following along!

[FlowerMama]

Hey, finally saw Geneva today. She's looking thinner than Gertie but only like a mm longer.

 

 

She blends in so well.

 

 

And enlarged! I imagine one day when I won't have to do this.

 

 

[FlowerMama]

 

Love, love, love this tank! Following along!

 

Thanks. What's great is I do have sand to put in the fuge I'll be completing this week so I'll have sand and course shells for covering tubes. Did you use epoxy or slather on silicone before you rolled it in sand?

 

Also for anybody who's watching, how small should I break up the rock? Should I leave it to 1 and 2" cubes?

 

This is what I have- Islandoftiki and dixie reefer, I like what you've done.

 

1) the sand & crushed shells

2) shells the size of dimes- mostly nickels for more building/stacking/throwing around

 

 

3) much LARGER SHELLS probably for hiding some of the tubes

 

 

 

It'd be cool to silicone the 2 halves of a large shell on the end big enough for it to go into and it could be a funky lookout, a feedings station, or the fish might decide to hide in it, or....it'll be a detritus collector but it wouldn't be anything to suction it out.

 

Is there a problem with using too many shells in their environment? or would the calcium help their shells?

 

4) 3 sets of these- 1 1/4", used for bathroom plumbing. They don't fit together too many ways. I don't even know if I bought the right thing but I'll just make it work. I can always saw something down.

 

 

I'm open to suggestions, I lost the receipt for the pipes here so that I'll have to use.

[Islandoftiki]

Did you use epoxy or slather on silicone before you rolled it in sand?

 

I used epoxy, but I don't see why silicone wouldn't work. Silicone is handy where you need to fill in some space, like for attaching shells or rock. Maybe do a trial with a small bit of pipe and some silicone and roll it in sand to how well it covers.

 

Is there a problem with using too many shells in their environment? or would the calcium help their shells?

 

The calcium would be beneficial in a freshwater aquarium, but not so much for saltwater. The only concern I would have would be the shape of the shells could possibly trap detritus. I have a ton of odd random shells that we collected in Hawaii in the G. Ternatensis tank, but most of them are not the type of shells you have in the picture.

[FlowerMama]

I also asked the source directly and showed pics of my girls for some identification to Kara and Philipp from Seallife Inc (KP Aquatics)

 

Annette,
Really cool tank setup and mantis shrimp! I really cannot tell without seeing the mural spot on the mantis. If it is purple it most likely an Oerstedii, and if it is white it is a wennerae. The pictures are really great, I just need to see the lower portion of their bodies to be sure. The tiny one is really hard to ID at that size as they are so small. Maybe as it grows It will be easier to identify. The often will change colors once they are in a tank rather than in the ocean since their color is often based on the intensity of lighting. Sometimes when we are collecting in deeper water we find them red or orange, but after a few molts, they generally turn green again (with the more intense light).
Kara

 

And...

"When we collect them on our nursery, they tend to either be Oerstedii's or Curacaoensis. They are definitely not Curacaoensis so I think a safe bet for them would be Oerstedii. Sexing them is tough too, since they are so wiggly".

 

So I guessed right after checking their website- they're Oerstedii. I didn't know this before I put the caulerpa in there but it says "We find them in shallow grass flats and shallow rubble area". Ha. They should both be very happy then in their homes.

 

And after reading some info on the Calling all Reefers thread, I can definitely use shells to cover somewhat the openings of the tubes.

[Islandoftiki]

If you want help with identification, you should post up on the Reef Central mantis forum. You'll probably get a handful of guesses, but watch for replies from 'Gonodactylus', that's Dr. Roy Caldwell. He's almost always correct.

[FlowerMama]

I used epoxy, but I don't see why silicone wouldn't work. Silicone is handy where you need to fill in some space, like for attaching shells or rock. Maybe do a trial with a small bit of pipe and some silicone and roll it in sand to how well it covers.

 

 

The calcium would be beneficial in a freshwater aquarium, but not so much for saltwater. The only concern I would have would be the shape of the shells could possibly trap detritus. I have a ton of odd random shells that we collected in Hawaii in the G. Ternatensis tank, but most of them are not the type of shells you have in the picture.

 

Yeah, I basically have 90% of a silicone tube left. And more rubble and such will be covering it still so I'm thinking in the end it'll work.

[Islandoftiki]

Yeah, I basically have 90% of a silicone tube left. And more rubble and such will be covering it still so I'm thinking in the end it'll work.

 

I think it would. I use silicone on a fairly regular basis in my job and can attest to the fact that it's really sticky an will adhere to pretty much anything.

[dixie reefer]

I used silicone and it worked perfectly!

[gena]

I sure do love that green coloring. Will it change as they grow? Or always stay that pretty shade of green?

 

I like your plan with that tubing. It's gonna look great .

[FlowerMama]

If I kept the tank darker, they could return back to a darker color. Don't know if you saw up there what Kara and Phillip have seen while diving. Poor guys, their first day of diving yesterday and both of them came back from vacation with horrible colds.

 

I only have the stock light on anyway for 7 hrs, enough to please the caulerpa & the girls like most mantis, hide. I absolutely love the green, it reminds me of the green of this awesome caterpillar out here which turns into the most beautiful moth but looks like a butterfly.

[gena]

If I kept the tank darker, they could return back to a darker color. Don't know if you saw up there what Kara and Phillip have seen while diving. Poor guys, their first day of diving yesterday and both of them came back from vacation with horrible colds.

 

I only have the stock light on anyway for 7 hrs, enough to please the caulerpa & the girls like most mantis, hide. I absolutely love the green, it reminds me of the green of this awesome caterpillar out here which turns into the most beautiful moth but looks like a butterfly.

I see that now about the color. I like the green color a lot.

 

Kara and Phillip have horrible colds? I wonder if they'll be shipping tomorrow.

[Tamberav]

If I kept the tank darker, they could return back to a darker color. Don't know if you saw up there what Kara and Phillip have seen while diving. Poor guys, their first day of diving yesterday and both of them came back from vacation with horrible colds.

 

I only have the stock light on anyway for 7 hrs, enough to please the caulerpa & the girls like most mantis, hide. I absolutely love the green, it reminds me of the green of this awesome caterpillar out here which turns into the most beautiful moth but looks like a butterfly.

 

Lots of green caterpillars out there. Are you talking about the luna moth or maybe the cecropia? I have seen both of those very rarely, maybe twice in my life and they were soooo pretty!