Mantis Murder Manor

[Ratvan]

Well someone definitely had a busy night last night, once lights are on i will take some photos to show the multiple lairs that have appeared over the past few days. Essentially it has made some new/larger cavities in the second large rock as well as excavated tunnels under some of the smaller pieces. Annoying as this rock was being cycled for my potential entry into the 2022 Nano Contest so IF i decide to join (depends on whether i can find a container that i would like) 

[Ratvan]

@Snow_Phoenix here is my current shopping list for the tank

been reading through @StinkyBunny leather n lace thread and love the looks of it 

[Snow_Phoenix]

53 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

@Snow_Phoenix here is my current shopping list for the tank

been reading through @StinkyBunny leather n lace thread and love the looks of it 

I'm so jealous! Wish I could collect as many leathers as you. 

You'll love the weeping willow - the polyps are very long and it 'sways' in the flow. The neon green will be beautiful as it grows out too! I've seen the super large ones here at my store, but it's very expensive. The coloration is quite remarkable, though! 

[Ratvan]

3 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I'm so jealous! Wish I could collect as many leathers as you. 

You'll love the weeping willow - the polyps are very long and it 'sways' in the flow. The neon green will be beautiful as it grows out too! I've seen the super large ones here at my store, but it's very expensive. The coloration is quite remarkable, though! 

I knew people would pick up on those two 😂. My favourite is actually the fuzzy green finger. Just cant seem to find many other colours which i guess i a good thing under the stock fluval lighting but its been a long time dream to have a Figi Yellow 😍.

 

Anyways onto my little engineer. Its been a busy (and for me sleepless night as i heard the pops and cracks most the night up until about 3am)

 

The main rock at the centre has extensive tunnels and cavities now. I have seen her head pop out of these circles places on a couple of occassions as well as seeing the mantis push out a load of rubble from time to time, the most interesting part is its also made a tunnel under the rock itself and is busy barricading the largest entrance

The large oval at the base is where a lot of the rubble, shells and coral skeletons have gone lately, seeing the little mantis dragging and smashing up coral sections and shells has been highly entertaining.

 

This one above seems to be the larder, i have given the mantis two feeder shrimps so far and both have been dragged into this little tunnel and not the main rocks. Which i thought was interesting.

 

This is the latest project (and you can just spot an eye in the bottom cavity poking out) again a lot of noise from this rock and the bottom cavity has definately increased in size in the past few days. There is also a large entrance in the back of this rock (can just see it from a top down point of view), again the mantis seems busy trying to barricade this section. I think it is making the lairs more defensible as it has hung out the holes a few times and postured at me or the phone when it got too close to the glass.

[Ratvan]

Terrible photograph but a bit of posturing for the morning 

[Ratvan]

Feeder shrimp 1 mantis 0

 

[M. Tournesol]

saltwater feeder shrimp or fresh water feeder shrimp?

[Ratvan]

4 minutes ago, M. Tournesol said:

saltwater feeder shrimp or fresh water feeder shrimp?

Saltwater, added bonus of a small Clean up Crew member if the Mantis misses (and if it survives the night)

[M. Tournesol]

how much does it cost you?

[Ratvan]

2 minutes ago, M. Tournesol said:

how much does it cost you?

LFS sells 100ml (between 7-10 on average) for £1.20. I plan on feeding one every three or 4 days so one bag should last about 3-4 weeks 

[Ratvan]

Managed to find these tonight,  hopefully can get some better photos soon

Did not know i would own a mantis shrimp when i purchased these for the old school pico reef challenge 

 

[Ratvan]

So looks like we have shut up shop, not seen her do thid with such precision before so am guessing its time for the first moult.

 

This one im sure is pleased about it though

[Ratvan]

So might not be too far off of getting first corals for this tank, will try and keep it limited to Frags from Fellow UK Reefers. I've mentioned in a few threads about the rising costs within the Hobby lately.

 

Its a Frag off of the Mother Colony to the left of the Highlighted Reverse Superman Monti (which OMG i would love) 

[The Rainy Day Aquarium]

Mantis shrimp always gave me the creeps for some reason, idk maybe it's they're buggy eyes 😳 haha. But it's fun to see OTHER people keep them, especially being as dedicated as yourself in providing for it and documenting this tank. Very fun to see! 

[Ratvan]

On 9/23/2021 at 12:45 AM, Chowder's Reef said:

Mantis shrimp always gave me the creeps for some reason, idk maybe it's they're buggy eyes 😳 haha. But it's fun to see OTHER people keep them, especially being as dedicated as yourself in providing for it and documenting this tank. Very fun to see! 

Thank you, one of the reason that i love the site so much is the unusual (by online forum and social media standards) transparency and honesty in peoples journals, i also really enjoy documenting the different things that i notice within my tanks, as i'm sure many of us do spend hours on end just staring into the tank and seeing the variety of life from the smallest to largest occupant, even those coming in as hitch hikers. I am still currently looking to add more biodiversity to the tank.

 

Additionally i had expected to lose a snail or two by this point as i have noticed a severe reduction in algae and a huge increase in snail poop

 

So I'll grab a photo once the lights come on, but i notice that my mantis seems to use snail poop as part of its building materials while building the barricades 

[Ratvan]

Snail poop and sand are the building materials of choice

[debbeach13]

I like this shrimp. He is doing the best he can with what he has to work with. Who knew snail poop is kind of like cement.

[Ratvan]

12 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I like this shrimp. He is doing the best he can with what he has to work with. Who knew snail poop is kind of like cement.

Upon closer inspection, also has small bits of shrimp carapace mixed in too, also witnessed a stomatella snail breaking free from the barricade . Must be a fan of the movie 300

[Ratvan]

So its been exactly a week and i saw the little one skittishly exploring the tank again this morning before i left for the office. definitely looks larger. The feeder shrimp is also doing well having grazed on a lot of the algae on the rocks as well as a carnivore pellet every day or so.

 

Mantis appears slightly larger, and looks for want of a better word a bit squishier  

[Ratvan]

So Mantis doesnt appear to like the phone when it has just finished moulting, also last night had some fire works going off. Of course the Mantis thought this was a challenge so had a war of clicks until the fireworks stopped. 

 

Also a leak to my 9to5 contest tank in the FTS shots

[stevie1493]

Love this build. I have always considered a mantis species tank. Will be following! Looking forward to seeing corals. Your coral list is close to mine. Good luck! 👍

[Ratvan]

42 minutes ago, stevie1493 said:

Love this build. I have always considered a mantis species tank. Will be following! Looking forward to seeing corals. Your coral list is close to mine. Good luck! 👍

Thanks, its super simple and on a strict budget which at the moment is relying on local reefers generosity. Hoping to have some corals in soon 🤞

[Ratvan]

@Snow_Phoenix, fairly certain that this is a female (99% certain) G. Viridis (as i wanted) going by the Meral Spot that I can see below

Can just about make out the red fleck and red line around the meral spot on the arm to the left of the photo 

 

[banasophia]

Sometimes it’s so difficult to spot Meryl

[Ratvan]

6 minutes ago, banasophia said:

Sometimes it’s so difficult to spot Meryl

I've actually just found the card and the Nori and stickers that you sent me a while back while cleaning out my desk, just debating on where Hank looks best