First time buying LR and got a Mantis!

heuerfan

heuerfan

Active member
Hello everyone, i just started an 7 gallon minibow and purchased 9 lbs. of cured Fiji lr. I placed them all on a tray for examining and to my surprise out came a mantis. I've read about them on this board and heard the pos/neg about this guys. I must say, he/she is pretty nice and cool looking. Also seems pretty tough! I placed a chopstick in front of his smashers and WHACK!!

My problem is this, i want to keep him, but unfortunately my wife has grown found of some of the hermit crabs that came along with the lr. Maybe i'll sell him or set up a small tank for it.

Here are some pictures of the mantis, if anyone can help me id it that would be great.

mantisonlr.jpg


mantis2.jpg


mantis.jpg
 
Just shot two 35 second videos of the Mantis!

Just shot two 35 second videos of the Mantis!

Just took two 35 second .avi files of the Mantis striking at a pair of chopsticks. You can tell how hard he hits by the sound of the strike, AWESOME:D

Can anyone host an .avi file? Or if you want to see it, shoot me an email and i will send to you!
 
if you keep him fed, the hermit population will stay a little higher,...
you just might have to get a little betta tank for your wifes hermits :smurf:
then she could bring them to work, or whatever... just feed them fish flakes or shrimp, or whatever....
they'll be happy as can be!!!

PS... he looks just like mine, except mines from florida!!!
(the blue smashers and all)
 
Looks quite a bit like mine too with the green coloration at the bottom of each scale and on the telson. Looks like he's got the blue 'clubs' too.

You can pick up a 2.5 gallon mini-bow at pretty much any pet store. They run about $30.00. It comes with a filter and incandescent light. You can switch out the incan tube light for a florescent they have a home depot that offers more wattage output. They make a great home for a mantis! (a small mantis or until it grows bigger!)

A few pieces of live rock and some sand.. and you have a perfect mantis or hermit crab home.. :)
 
Maybe I'm just picky but...a 2.5 gallon is ridiculously small for a mantis. Unless this guy has a super camera, this mantis is of decent size. Water quality is not an issue, I realize, but just because you can keep a mantis alive in a 2.5 doesn't mean that it's healthy.
 
No problem, i'll resend it!

No problem, i'll resend it!

Conky- I understand what you are saying, this is why i've decided to give it away. Anyone want a Mantis in NY?
 
Conky

I kind of resent your blanket statement 'but just because you can keep a mantis alive in a 2.5 doesn't mean that it's healthy' I think that depends on the size of the mantis and just how responsible the mantis owner is. My mantis is active, intelligent and gorgeous. I think that a larger tank would offer him more roaming room, but he's quite happy and HEALTHY in his 2.5 gallon. When he gets a little bigger, he will get a bigger tank.

For a mantis that is small, it's a good amount of room. If you aren't lazy about it and take out uneaten food and do waterchanges, it should be more than sufficient to keep a small mantis healthy, happy and busy.
 
FWiW, I saw a 6500K mogul socket PC for sale at one of the LFS's. I'm going to back and see if I can't track down the brand, but you wouldn't need to replace the light to do a shallow water mantis tank.
 
damn heuer, I would take that manits off your hands but I'm up in toronto... are you in the city? or what part of NY?

P.S. I still didn't get your file... did you send it?
 
biomekanic.. you're right! I just hate that yellowish tint incandescents have. I found a coralife PC that is a 50/50 (10,000k/atinic) to fit the same socket. I bought it today at a LFS. It was $12.99

wow! You should see how much better the coraline algae and macro looks ;)
 
wow! You should see how much better the coraline algae and macro looks biomekanic.. you're right! I just hate that yellowish tint incandescents have. I found a coralife PC that is a 50/50 (10,000k/atinic) to fit the same socket. I bought it today at a LFS. It was $12.99
Click to expand...

I can't help but say Argh! I had the idea a few years back and couldn't find anyone to work on it. well, at least it's out there.
could you tell me who makes them? I can get a dual incandescent hood cheap, and that would be great for a 10g nano. they wouldn't make actinics would they?
 
I've got the package right here.. it says:

Product Name: Coralife Mini Compact Fluorescent 50/50
Item #: 54110
SKU: 96316 54110
Retail Price: $12.99

Product Info:
50% Actinic 03 Blue & 50% 10,000K Daylight
10 Watt self-ballasted Compact Fluorescent

Company Info:
Energy Savers Unlimited, Inc.
Carson, California 90746
www.esuweb.com

HomeDepot has 40 & 60 Watt output fluorescent bulbs that are compatable with the 'tube' style incan bulbs if you want higher wattage. They run from $5.99 - $12.00 I think.

EDIT: oh.. not sure about the actinics. The pet shop where I bought it at (Pet World in Davie, Florida) said they had just gotten these bulbs in the day before and that they were new. They couldn't tell me any more than that..
 
This is one of the few examples of a Neogonodactylus curacaoensis that I have seen recently coming from Caribbean live rock. The way to distinguish it is the four sharp teeth on the back of the telson. The yellow orange color around the eyes is also typical. Maximum size for this species is around 2.5 inches.

As for the size of aquarium suitable for this animal, water quality is far mor important than size. I have about 30, 2 gal tanks set up and most have contained similar sized gonodactylids for one to two years. In fact, we keep many of our animals in a liter of water or less changing the containers ever couple of days. The psychology of these animals is pretty straightforward. A nice cavity, lots of food, good water, and an occasional mate and these guys seem pretty "content".

One factor to consider, however, is illumination. THis species is common from 10 to 30 m where light intensities are not that great - and the light that is present is mostly blue. I keep my N. c. in ordinary fluorescent room lighting and they do very well. They are not particularly comfortable in bright illumination, although as long as the animal has a dark cavity, it should be O.K. Bright broad spectrum light will probably cause it to change color over time and also shift the filters in its eyes. This is natural and occurs in the field.

Roy
 
Thanks for the id Gonodactylus. Max size is 2.5 inches, he is about 2 inches now. Wondering if i should keep him? He really is a beautiful looking creature.

Would anyone know how much waste a small mantis produces? I only have a small 7 gallon and plan on keeping maybe 2 smal fish and some corals.

Thanks,
Steven
 
I'm not sure about the waste output, but I'm curious about that as well.

If you plan on keeping fish with the mantis, I'd say don't get attached to the fish. From reading stuff on the net and on this forum, I'd say with smashers, it's a 50% chance that he will kill and eat your fish, even if the mantis is well fed.

I had a small 4 line damsel in the tank with my Mantis. I was told the Mantis may or may not eat it. I feed my mantis tiger prawn or scallop every other day, so he's well fed. Yesterday morning, I saw that he had grabbed a midnight-snack and had 1/2 eaten and was still eating the damsel.

Apparently, my mantis is just a PIG when it comes to food! :rolleyes:

EDIT: Dr. Roy, GREAT information on the lighting. Is there any literature (books, magazine articles..etc.) on Mantis Shrimp? I've dug around on the internet and read everything I could find on the species. I really want to learn more about these facinating creatures.

Thank you for the housing info!;)
 
Last edited:
Okay thanks Kara, sorry to hear about your damsel. I guess i really have to get another tank for the mantis or give it away.

btw- I'm glad you like my tank, i can't wait to see it with corals too!
 
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