Black Sand, Yellow P.cilliata

[Thurge]

I just set up a 10 gallon tank for a 2" P.cilliata I have on hold (I have larger tanks for it as it grows, this just gets it in the door past the girlfriend). I set the tank up with clean black calcite sand, some of the extra LR from the sump of my reef tank and a single NO florescent light, so it should be ready to go, but I will be testing before introduction.
My question is will the black sand and relatively dim lighting cause the mantis to change from its georgous gold to some other coloration?

Thanks

 

[G.SMITHII]

it could indeed.

paging Dr, Roy!

i think its lighting and the colors that are present in their enviroment that can spur a color change.

 

[justinl]

P ciliata are the least likely to change colour but i believe i read that the likeliness of colour change also depends on how much hiding spots are available. more hide aways it has, the more likely it is to stay gold. less hide aways means its in the open more and must camouflage better. i think. dont quote me on that.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Actually, P. ciliata is probably the species most likely to change color to match background. I currently have several black P. ciliata on black sand. That said, the yellow morph seems fairly resistant to color change and will probably remain yellow for some time.

Roy

 

[Thurge]

Thank you. That is what I thought, but I wanted to check before adding it to the tank. Though a black morph would be cool too.