I've got a mantis.. Beware!

[Silverfish]

Sweet, guess I'd better be checkin' mine pretty close as well!

[Silverfish]

Whose the rookie with the new computer? images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif
That would be me...

[ 21 October 2001: Message edited by: Silverfish ]

[One_Divided]

lol nice one bruce =) You can delete them I think.. just go to edit post..

[reefburnaby]

Hello,

Actually, Mantis Shrimps are fairly common among live rock. In some ocasions, corals have them too.

Regardless of where you get your live rock, inspect them for bristleworms, mantis shrimps and other undesirables.

How do you remove them....uh...that's another story for another time.

- Victor.

[agilecrux]

Im glad to see someone that will not kill a mantis out right.

should put up a pic of the guy. i most likely can ID it for you.

if you need any help on caring for the guy let me know. i can help. if i dont know the answer i can refer you to a place that you can get the answer.

i personallly have 2 mantis's 4" peacock which i hand feed ( go ahead call me crazy im used to it.) and a 2" O. mutatus.

im hooked for life on mantis's

[reefburnaby]

Hello,

Opps...didn't read that part that you wanted to keep them. Just a little paranoid with Mantis Shrimps...had 20ish Mantis Shrimps in my reef and they did some major damage to my livestock.

- Victor.

[Reefmaster]

i've also got a mantis that has been with us for at least a year. he's pretty cool to watch. as for bristeworms, is nobody else accepting them in the maintank? they might cause a little trouble here and there, but i don't mind em.

[Silverfish]

I like my bristleworms (except for the little fiberglass-like slivers I get from rooting around in the dsb :mad images/smiles/icon_smile.gif They are kinda cool looking I think, and if a fish or anything else dies, it is gone super fast. They stir up the sand pretty good too. Ask Darren about his "worm farm" he had in Vic when he took down one of his tanks! images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[One_Divided]

thanks agile.. I will probably need some advice in the coming weeks.. I'm doing my best to get a pick.. I haven't seen the guy move out of the hole he's in yet, so I think it's safe to say that that's his home rock.. Got any pics of your mantis tank?

I have tons of bristle worms and they are great.. always eating detrus..

[One_Divided]

What the heck! I just went to check on him and the hole he was in (about 1 cm across) is now completely sealed up.. what's goin on?

[ 21 October 2001: Message edited by: One_Divided ]

[Aquattro]

Adam, it will cover in the hole with bits of rock and sand. Mine doesn't like his front door open. He drilled right thru the rock and made a back door and comes and goes from there. If I turn the rock around, he fills in the backdoor and uses the old front door again! Tou'll probably find that he opens it in the morning again. Give him a bit of prawn or something with some tweezers. He'll love ya for it!
It is most likely a Gonodactylus species.
Go here for more info.. http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/

[One_Divided]

I recently purchased about 10 pounds of Bali live rock from Big Al's (I guess it's in Coquitlam?).. Very very nice rock! Well today I was peeking in my curing tank with my flashlight and noticed two little eyes poking out of a hole in the live rock.. Upon further inspection I could see all the typical features of a mantis shrimp.. So anyway, I just wanted to warn anyone who has or is planning on buying this rock.. Check it very carefully before adding it to an established system.. I'm sure glad I decided to set up this curing tank.. Now it's gonna be my mantis tank! I'm trying to get a good pic.

[agilecrux]

Reef_Raf is right. the smaller mantis's any ways. i find that my 4" O. scyllarus doesnt do this though. she (the mantis) will keep the den openings open. every time i walk past the tank shes in she will poke her head out of the opening and check to see if im going to feed her.

i also notice that larger specimens no longer burrow into live rock. they will find some crevice in between live rocks and use shells Etc. to construct a den out of.

reefburnaby is right they can do A LOT of damage to a reef tank. if you plan on keeping one for long term you should put the mantis in its own tank. most ppl here in the states use a elipse 6 or a ten gallon. my larger mantis is in a 10g tank, which i plan on upgrading to a 30g tank.

ahhhh what fun it is keeping a Mantis

[ 22 October 2001: Message edited by: agilecrux ]

[One_Divided]

Brad you are right.. He opened up the hole again today.. I was planning on getting an eclipse tank for him.. probably just a 6 gallon.. I have a little peice of crap lee's skimmer he can have too.. Maybe I'll add a 28w pc and some shrooms or something..

[One_Divided]

I managed to get a couple pics of him now.. Pretty sad in these low light conditions though.. He's smaller then I thought.. only about 3/4 of an inch.. You can see some definate stomadipod traits anwyay..

http://livevictoria.com/limestone/reef/mantis02.jpg

http://livevictoria.com/limestone/reef/mantis01.jpg