First pic of my new mantis

[opihi]

Hi All,
I just received my mantis last week for a local reefer here in Vegas. it came from a shipment of TBS LR so it's probably a N. wennerae. it's got a reddish body with purple clubs.

he's less than 2" right now, so i've got him in a 3 gallon tank with a few small pieces of live rock, LR rubble and chaetomorpha. he's seemed to take up residence in one of the LR pieces. i'm using a NO fluorescent fixture and an old mini penguin for circulation.


it's still in it's shy stage, but i managed to snap a pic of it over the weekend. it's a little blurry, because i didn't have a tripod, and i'm trying to take a pic through a cheap curved acrylic surface.

is there a way to determine the sex of a mantis?

thanks,
jeff

 

[thesus13]

Nice pic!

Isn't N. Wennerae Green?

 

[ReneX]

Not necessarily The one I got from rags appears to be N. Wennerae and it's a dusky purple/pink color; those from shallower water tend to be bright neon green.

She's lovely, btw. Look just like mine!

 

[opihi]

thanks for the compliments folks. hopefully he/she'll get more comfortable soon so i can take a full body pic.

either of you know how to determine the sex of a mantis?

thesus13: read this post. it's pretty interesting.

 

[majestic sea life]

its a N.wenn when he gets older he may turn green or red i have one the tank is fine for now ttyl

 

[ReneX]

Mantis shrimp sexing isn't too bad. On the inside of the last pair of walking legs, males will have a penis hanging down from the base of each leg. Since it's about half as long as the leg they're hard to miss...look at the other legs for comparison. The legs closest to the tail will be the ones with the penises, if the mantis has them.

 

[thesus13]

Thanks for the link Ophihi, definitely interesting stuff.