Free Mantis Shrimp

[cat23]

Oh Judo,

I thought for sure he'd be to you this week! Sorry! Having a little trouble on this end!

The trap came today and is now set. He's in a tank with only him and his rock now. (and the trap) He just won't come out! There's no sand in the tank at all. I'm sure he doesn't like that!

Just be patient because he hasn't eaten for awhile and he sure is peeking out of his hole an awful lot. I kinda feel sorry for the poor little guy. He must be pretty scared. Hopefully, he'll come out and go in the trap at night.

I was so excited when I got the rock out. I was sure I had him and would be sending him off then.

Hope I can get him this weekend!

 

[cat23]

Judo1,

Check out the thread I started in the General Reef Discussion area!!!

SHIPPING MONDAY!!!

Didn't really need this afterall...but...

LOL LOL LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[judo1]

Cat,

HI!!! You got him?!? :bigeyes:


Sorry, I've been away most of the weekend (Judo tournament Saturday, and a horse show Sunday), and didn't see your post until now. :hmm5:

Anyway, let me know what's going on. You said shipping Monday, but that's today, and I hadn't responded. So, what's up?
I can't wait to get him!
:bounce1:

I just did another water change on his tank, where he has a damnsel keeping his house warm.

Gotta get to work and then go teach a judo class, but will be back tonight! Keep me posted!
:fun1:

 

[cat23]

Hi Judo1,

Well, he's off...Took a plane ride this morning. When asked what the contents were, I said aquarium parts! LOL

He should get to you by 10:00AM tomorrow! Hope you're there!

Post a pic when he gets settled in. I'd like to see him in his new home.

He loves squid...get some!

P.S.
Don't forget to send my shipping costs! UPS next day is outrageous!!!

 

[cat23]

Hello..............

 

[cat23]

Hi,

I tracked the package. Tracking # is J093 300 849 8

UPS dropped it off at the address you gave me this morning. At the garage (?)

Let me know how he likes his new home. I'm sure he'll be spoiled rotten!!!

 

[judo1]

Hooray!!!!

He's here, he's home, he's happy!!!
I was here when the UPS dropped him off, but they never knock or ring...
Anyway, I heard the truck pull off, opened the door and found him on my hood!!! (ummm... of my vehicle, not my tank )
He got plenty of time to acclimate, as I was trying to finish setting up a syphon system between my two side-by-side dedicated tanks (the other has a GBS) to allow having a heater in only one of the tanks (not the one with the mantis), with the added bonus of effectively doubling the water volume (instead of two separate tank volumes)!
Anyway, by the time I got him all set up (I was not going to let him free in the tank until I was out of it!), I had to hurry off to work, so couldn't post.
I keep going in the kitchen to look at him since I got home. He's great! A bit tamer than I expected, though. Maybe he's one of the "nice Mantis shrimp". He has not attacked anything... the container he was in (or my finger on the outside of it), a little stick, the aquarium itself, or the damnsel that is still swimming around wondering what to make of 'this green thing' in his tank. Folks, we have ourselves a domesticated Mantis!
Don't worry... he will be spoiled. A few in-laws are wanting to come over and see what all the fuss is about... oh, and I will send your shipping costs promptly.

oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy
:bounce5: :bounce5: :bounce5: :bounce5: :bounce5: :bounce5:

 

[cat23]

Judo1,

:wave: Hope you don't get judo practiced on you when you clean his tank! I'm glad you got him safely.

Is there a rock in the tank? He'll hide in it all the time if there is. Then if you put a stick in there, he'll sneak out and hammer it! I can't believe he didn't attack a stick! He always does! He will.

Give him some time to settle in...Probably has "jet-lag"

 

[cat23]

... oh, and I will send your shipping costs promptly.


Judo, I didn't get the shipping costs. Did you send it yet? Kinda short on $$$ right now!

How is he doing anyhow?

 

[judo1]

cat,

hey there! he's doing great! I think he finally ate the damnsel in the tank, to my wife's dismay (and the damsel's too, I'm sure :lol: )

sorry, I've been away from rc for a couple of weeks... have you gotten the check yet? It hasn't cleared, so I assume not. I'll send another one this week if you haven't. Just tear one of them up if you get both. Oh, and I wouldn't open it if it has been redirected and has a weird powdery substance on it... it might not be Lime!

Anyway, I'm back on rc.
:bounce3:

 

[judo1]

btw, cat... did it look to you like his claws were missing?

I think they are gone, but are growing back; they are kinda pink and blunt (and small) where there should be a 'claw'

doesn't matter... just wondering what you thought

 

[cat23]

Hi,

I wondered what happeded to you!.. No check. I'll e-mail the correct address.

I didn't think his claws were missing. Stick your finger in there and move it back and forth over his den and you'll find his claws! hehe!

Would be nice if you could post some pics...

Better leave fish out of there or he'll surely murder the next one!

 

[judo1]

He's got something that he strikes with... like I said, it loks like claws are growing back or something. They are pinkish on the end right now. Does anyone know about this, or have pictures of a Mantis's "claws"?

I have borrowed a digital camera, but it's not that great (and the little guy is not too cooperative... I guess he likes all the caves in the tank).

 

[cat23]

Judo1,

Apparently they molt like cleaner shrimps do. Not supposed to be the ideal time to ship when this is going on! Sounds like the little rascal is doing ok though. Starting to get back to his old tricks.

Mr Mantis got your damsel did he? My damsel has been living with him for about 6 months and they even had their burrows real close. Guess yours wasn't quite ready for his new tankmate.
If you get the chance to borrow your friends camera, be sure to post it here on Reef Central. Lots of people here would love to see him I'm sure.

Glad you're having fun with him!

 

[Isis]

Judo1
I am bashibas girlfriend and Thanks for the funny reply back on page one:clown:
Just so you know, the manits shrimp(Ugly that's his name!) is doing very well and is now living with 2 blue damsels.
I have millions of questions about them so i will be checking out all the info...
How long have you been keeping them?
Like I said, I have millions of questions to ask and lots of things to learn about them.

 

[judo1]

Isis,

I have been keeping Mantis shrimp for a quite fulfilling... umm, how long has it been now, cat? Hmm... almost a month now!

The damsel, my wife's little guy, loved to explore the tank. He had been placed in the mantis's tank before its new inhabitant, mainly because I didn't want him eating up the detritivore kits I was adding. He would come out and say "hi", and was very curious about his new roommate. The mantis actually seemed afraid of him for a while; maybe he was molting and knew he was delicate. I guess, though, he got too curious, and became lunch!

My mantis is funny. Just tonight I was trying to feed him, and he took the little piece of shrimp off of the feeder prong (a recent, probably wise, investment), and then threw it away (the shrimp). When I put the piece of shrimp into his cavern (well, the one he was in at the moment... he has dug about four in the sand under the rocks), he grabbed it, climbed out, threw the shrimp morsel away from his hole, and then turned around and went back in. After I did it again, he threw the morsel out and then smacked the prong before going in... I guess he showed me! I guess he's not hungry (I feed him well), and doesn't want food rotting in his living room.

Lots o' fun! I just got a new hood finished for his tank, with actinics only... looks wierd, I may add a 20,000k at least part of the time. Anyway, I can't wait to get a good picture and post it, and am happy to trade trade secrets with everyone, though I have little to offer in return.

Keep Posting!

-JoN

:bounce2:

 

[judo1]

Isis,

BTW, a certain individual on the board by the name of gonodactylus knows gads about these creatures. (What's a gad?)

-JoN

 

[cat23]

LOL!

Try some squid, he loves it! Unless you want to get some snails, he loves them and will have a hay day with them too. And black spiney urchins! He ate about 20 of them. Spines all over the place!
He is moody sometimes. He likes his privacy and doesn't like when the stick goes by his living room door. It's fun to see how he comes running out just a little to see what's going on outside his den. Nosy little rascal!

 

[Isis]

That is funny! My mantis does the same thing. Bashiba says i feed him to much and that he only would feed him once every couple of days. I can't do that. I like to see my animals well fed and happy. We just went down and bought him some snails today and he is happily snapping away at one of them.:bum:
He hasn't even touched the damsels which is interesting.
I've tried to feed him krill but he doesn't like that. He also doesn't like Silversides. He is really wierd. I even tried to put live fish in with him but he didn't even bother with them.
I am wondering something too, what is a gad???
I also have little to offer in the manits shrimp field. I know some about freshwater fish, but that is about my fortae...(did i spell that right?LOL!)
Just like you, I've had my mantis for as long as this post has been on here and that is all.
BTW,(tossing something at him again!) DUCK! This time I'm not gonna miss! LOL!

 

[ISFRAEL]

hey isis and welcome to mantis land! youll love it!

your mantis might not hate all those foods it just might be molting!
ive found that my mantis is very non-fussy about what he eats. anything is edible.

some mantis will bury un-eaten food which can be a problem that causes high nitrate levels. i wait around to see if he really has taken the food as i found that they sometimes take the food but throw it out a few minutes later. if so remove it before it causes any problem.

gonodactylus is actually dr. roy caldwell, a proffesor from burkley university who has been studing stomatopods for a long time (30 year or so). he knows alot about the species name etc.