Check out my new mantis: Lysiosquillina glabriuscula

D

Dave Legacy

New member
Meet our 4" Lysiosquillina glabriuscula (female?) who we've been calling, "Captain Hook".

The_Captain.jpg


A few months ago I was at a LFS and I saw a fairly large mantis shrimp in a small critter carrier that was submerged in a frag tank. I happened to be back at this LFS over the weekend and noticed that the same mantis was still in the same spot. My wife and I talked it over and decided to go buy it the next day so it could have a good home. She's managed to puncture the bag once before we left the store, and then the second bag 20minutes into our drive home, good thing it was double bagged!

Mugshot_Hook.jpg


She's spent at least the last 3 months with absolutely no substrate and just a small piece of live rock. Because of the impulsive purchase she's currently in a 20G Tall with only 1" of sand and 1 piece of lace rock that she burrowed under. It's not an appropriate setup by any means but it's much better than the 4"x6" prison she'd been living in.

Krill_Killer.jpg


We decided that she'd be a nice addition to our new red mangrove nursery tank that I'm setting up. It's a 55G Acrylic that will feature at least a 6" Deep Sand Bed and 20 red mangrove saplings. Her presence should help provide my mangrove saplings with an increased level of nutrients and also give me a mild increase in entertainment considering that I'm literally watching the trees grow (I tend to them twice a day)! I say mild because all she does it poke her head out of the burrow all day long. Not very entertaining but beautiful none the less.

I don't know how long term I'll be keeping her. The tank is really only to be used to grow out my mangroves so they'll look better in my 200G Archer Paludarium. She may end up for grabs sometime within the next year or so.

Enjoy!
Dave Legacy
 
L. maculata do not grow that quickly once they reach adult size and if you put them on tight rations they will not grow at all even though they will molt every three months or so. I've had one in the lab for 5 years and she is only about 5 cm longer than when we got her.

Roy
 
Dr Roy,
I may be inheriting another 55 gallon set up!... If so, I have been looking for another mantis, and have found a maculata for sale that is around 6"... If it is true that there growth is stunted somewhat, would this be a fine tank (I also have a 26 gallon empty, but i think it would be too small...) How much sand would I need (im guessing 6-8" deep), and can these guys cohabitat with others? Obviously, the clown fish that my peacock lives with would prob be out of the question... but what about large hemits, brittles, tube anemones, corals, etc?? Do they mind bright lighting?
 
What you want is a tall tank that allows a deep sand bed. For a 6 inch L.m I would like at least 10 inches of sand - more if possible. A 55 gal. will work for an animal this size. If you don't want to fill the entire tank with sand, do what I do and put in place a partition. I use pvc or glass cut to the inside length of the tank and that will come to near the waterline. You can keep it in place by bracing the bottom with spacers and the top with two or three crossbars with notches cut out for the panel. To keep sand from pouring through the cracks, you can either seal it in place with silicone or use light, thin foam weather stripping. Place the panel 5 inches or so from the side of the aquarium and fill it with sand that comes about 6 inches from the top of the panel. Once the animal starts digging, you can gradually add more sand allowing it too build a deeper burrow Once they have dug, I've never had an animal come out, so you can place lots of inverts, corals, clams, etc. in the larger shallow compartment. L. m can handle bright light, although if you go witht he split design, I would place the lamps over the deeper compartment.

Roy
 
THANKS!! But I am having a little problem conceptualizing exactly how this partition fits in there, do you have any pics or diagrams of the setup??
 
I thought I had posted some, but I can't find them.

You are simply dividing the tank lengthwise into to compartments, one about 5 inches wide and the second 15 inches wide (assuming a 20 inch wide tank. The partition comes only near the water line (or higher with lots of holes drilled in the top couple of inches). In the narrow compartment you are putting 10 inches of sand; in the wide compartment 1 or 2.

Roy
 
Roy, What if you did it the other way, and made the 10" sandbed about 5-10" on one end, say the left side, and instead of holes, you just had it open to the other section allowing the mantis room to raom, if it wants to, and then having a wall of rock going up where the partition is? Just a thought about asthetics
 
The reason I divide the tank lengthwise is because the animals like to dig u-shaped burrows with at least several body lengths between the two openings. They are typically not happy with the entrances only a few inches apart and keep digging and shifting sand.

Once dug in, the animal will not roam and you don't want it to. Until the burrow is established, they will move a lot of sand, coral, etc. Once dug in, if you have the divider a couple of inches below the surface, you can fill the compartment to the brime with sand although as part of normal burrow maintenance and closing, sand will spill from the entrance into the larger compartment.

Roy
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7856702#post7856702 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gonodactylus
To my eye it looks like a Lysiosquillina maculata.

Roy
Click to expand...

OMG Roy, you're right! I guess I blew right past the L. maculata profile. My wife just informed me that it was listed as a "zebra mantis" at the LFS... no wonder it was there for so long!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7858393#post7858393 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dave Legacy
OMG Roy, you're right! I guess I blew right past the L. maculata profile. My wife just informed me that it was listed as a "zebra mantis" at the LFS... no wonder it was there for so long!
Click to expand...

Is that the one that 6th Ave had here in SF? If so, she really likes domino damsel for lunch. At least they weren't feeding her goldfish, as I implored them to cease.


-Ron
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7859477#post7859477 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Uriel
Is that the one that 6th Ave had here in SF? If so, she really likes domino damsel for lunch. At least they weren't feeding her goldfish, as I implored them to cease.


-Ron
Click to expand...

Actually this one came from Strictly Fish in Lakewood, CA. I'm totally not into feeding live foods, but I have been considering adding a small school of silversides or something so that something can stimulate my A.D.D.

Damsels might be neat... I'd love to have a fish but I don't know what wouldn't get killed. Maybe something equal size, or not.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7864441#post7864441 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MAGI521
what kind of flow and filtering do you have on a tank with 10 or more inches of sand in it?
Click to expand...

I'm going to use a Marineland Magnum 350 Canister Filter. Reason is I have one laying around and I might as well get some use out of it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868567#post7868567 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dave Legacy
I forgot to ask if what I paid was a decent deal or not? I paid $23, how'd I do?
Click to expand...

23 was a steal...
 
$23 is a great deal! I have a 7 incher that is just amazing, kinda like having a snake though, the only time you see it do anything is when its hungry lol
 
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