Calling Dr. Roy, Spearer questions

[zero_one]

See on going posts here, I'm discovered how incredibly cool this guy is (Pesudosquilla Cilita sp?), and that he does not like the heads of the fish. I'm guessing this is due to the large amount of bone that makes up the skull. My question is how do spearers deal with the bones they ingest from fish? Do their bodies break it down? is it excreted somehow? or do they throw the bones back up? The larger he gets the bigger fish he can tackel, and more bones to deal with too.

What is truly the best sorce of food for him, there is no way I'm going to feed him one blue damsel or chromid or etc... saltwater fish per day, I know he will gladly eat freshwater fish (goldfish guppies etc) that are very cheep to buy. I can buy 20 guppies for $1.00 and 9 goldfish for the same at a LSF that pretty close to me, i know he will eat it but is this a good source of food for him as far as chemistry and health goes? What alternitives should i concider? He seems to dislike frozen cubes of all kinds. I have not tries silversides yet.

 

[zero_one]

I've also not been able to find any info on how large this species gets, mines about 4 inches or so, at the rate this guy eats I can't see how he could stay this size for long.

 

[Jacob D]

marc daniels (RC member) has the same mantis, he may also offer some info if you ask him.

 

[biomekanic]

They eat soft bodied animals like fish, squids, and shrimp. Try krill on a stick. C&S has squid from AquaYums in stock and at a sale price.

FYI, Octopets.com sells SW acclimated guppies as octopus food.

If you don't mind me asking, where'd you get Uncle Rico?

 

[zero_one]

Uncle Rico was kinda a fluke...

I had ordered a Peacock from Aqua Serene, Paul calls me wed. last week and sais hes found a bright yellow mantis, about 4 inches long. I said initally, I don't want it becuase I want a peacock (not bright yellow), but then told him to get it anyway. Paul told me that if I don't like it he wil gladly keep it (I think he wants a mantis of his own ), so it was next day aired to him and I was pretty astounded when I saw it. So I gladly payed $40.00 for it, and I was on my way. It was a accedent really, from what I've learned this is not a easy species to get normally.

 

[Marc Daniels]

I've had my Pesudosquilla Cilita about 2 years or so. It's approx. 4" long, and is housed in a 30g tall (you can see some pics in my gallery). The only other things in the tank are some snails/hermits, a 2" Neon Damsel, and a 1" Yellow Clown Gobie. Every now and then the Mantis will stalk the clown goby, but he has never actually caught it. I wouldn't advise feeding freshwater fish, they are not a healthy diet long term. I feed mine thawed table shrimp, about a 1/3"x 1/3" piece every 2-3 days. I also mix in squid, fish, scallops, etc. The easiests way to feed is just buy stuff from the seafood counter...you would be amazed how far a 1/4lb of shrimp will go. I do feed mine live prey a few times each month, usually a peppermint or camel shrimp, sometimes ghost fish that I have gut loaded with a marine animal such as shrimp, etc.

For lighting I'm just using two 55w power compacts, one 10k and an actinic. Mine has always been the bright yellow, but I have seen a bright red (that I now wish I had purchased). I'm setting the tank up primarily for the mantis, and am stocking it with shrooms/ricordias. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Marc

 

[zero_one]

So I assume he really enjoys the shrimp (live that is), I can get ghost shrimp for like 0.30 each! Pepermints are like $9.00 so that will not be happening, and large shrimp (cleaner, coral banded) like like $25.00 around here. He seems to like the goldfish quite a bit, hes eaten 4 in the past 2 days no problem (except the heads). I'm going to get some squid I think along with shrimp (dead that is) for him to eat tomarow. I was also thinking about trying some of the saltwater guppies from octopets to see how that goes over. I'm really enjoying this guy, thinking about giving up the reef tank all thoghter and just buying a large acrylic tank and spliting it to house Unlce rico and a Peacock!

 

[Marc Daniels]

I can get camel shrimp for $3-4 here in Sacramento. I usually feed live food such as camel shrimps once a month or so. I can also get those small scooter blennies for $2-3 bucks. Mine won't go after a fish larger than an inch or so...but man what it will do to a camel shrimp. Are you sure that it is eating the fish? Sometimes they will kill due to their territory being invaded. Mine would kill as many camel or peppermint shrimps as I could literally put in. I wouldn't feed it as often as it will take food, but rather every 2-3 days.

It's very cool to watch it take live prey, but after 2 years the novelty has worn off, and it's easier to feed frozen marine fare from the seafood counter. From what I understand, they are prone to poisoning from household chemicals. I run 2 ounces of carbon in my tank and change it every 2 weeks.

Marc