Anyone interested in a 12" Mantis Shrimp?
- Thread starter Troutman
- Start date
DreamScape
New member
wow. thats too bad... any clue why they died?
i found some similar ones in a shop once... about 12-15cm long, but with blue ridges along its back and grey-white speckled eyes.
oh. and they were frozen (it was a seafood market
)
that one in your photo is real pretty.
wouldn't have minded a couple.
i found some similar ones in a shop once... about 12-15cm long, but with blue ridges along its back and grey-white speckled eyes.
oh. and they were frozen (it was a seafood market
)that one in your photo is real pretty.
wouldn't have minded a couple.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
As I suspected, they are Harpiosquilla, some of the largest of all the spearers and the largest members of the squilloid super family. Your supplier was correct, they do get up to a foot long and they do have green on them. However, the cream colored body is typical of the species. Only the denticles, spines, and meral spots are dark green. The characteristic that defines the genus are the erect spines on the inside of the propodus (second segment from the end) of the raptorial appendage.
In most other species of spearer, these spines fold down. When a fish or shrimp is speared by the barbed dactyl, it folds shut pinning the prey between the dactyl barbs and propodal spines.
I worked on these animals in the Gulf of Siam years ago. There they are frequently caught with shrimp and the reproductive females with well developed ovaries bring a fair price. The locals roast them on a stick causing the females fry in the fat from the ovaries.
They are not particularly hardy, but if you can get them through the shipping process, they should live for at least a year or so in an aquarium. They will need a dark burrow and not much coral or rock. Don't expect to see too much of them, however, because they are nocturnal. They can catch a lot of small feeder fish!
Roy
In most other species of spearer, these spines fold down. When a fish or shrimp is speared by the barbed dactyl, it folds shut pinning the prey between the dactyl barbs and propodal spines.
I worked on these animals in the Gulf of Siam years ago. There they are frequently caught with shrimp and the reproductive females with well developed ovaries bring a fair price. The locals roast them on a stick causing the females fry in the fat from the ovaries.
They are not particularly hardy, but if you can get them through the shipping process, they should live for at least a year or so in an aquarium. They will need a dark burrow and not much coral or rock. Don't expect to see too much of them, however, because they are nocturnal. They can catch a lot of small feeder fish!
Roy
