FS: Mantis Shrimp

[sytanek]

Well the problem is there is no store anymore. BEcause of the hurricanes he had to close it. You can still get local pickup, you just have to get in contact with richard. If you ask richard for some specific shaped pieces, hes pretty good about getting you what you ask for. You can't really go and pick out your pieces tho, you meet richard outside of his old store(which he no longer owns the building), I'm very happy with the rock he picked out for me, even for base rock he sent me a couple of smaller base rock pieces to place in front of my overflow.

 

[cschweitzer]

Are you serious? I thought that was one of the coolest things about TBS and us living so close...They had thousands of pounds that you could go search through to find the exact ones you wanted. Hurricanes have to ruin everything good.

 

[sytanek]

YEah, though I can not complain about the rock I have gotten, I think its awesome.

 

[taketz]

Well there goes that, definately a bummer. I enjoyed the old store, if for nothing else the more natural feel of it. Something about the fact that they had gotten all of the livestock from the ocean nearby was really cool...

 

[sytanek]

yeah i know, I'm hopefully getting my 2nd part this weekend and can not wait to see what i get.

Richard is very well known for throwing in lots of nice extras when you buy the package.

 

[sytanek]

Well it appears theres another mantis still to be found. The current count is at 4 and is rising.

 

[cowboyswife]

Mantis #5 has been found! He will be removed tonight. Its a bright green one like the first one we got out. I cant believe there were 5 mantis shrimp in these rocks! 3 of them were in the same one!!

 

[taketz]

Hell, if I were you two, I'd take this as a sign and set up a lil 5 gallon for one of the buggers...

 

[sytanek]

lol, actually I have a 20 gallon that is empty at the moment, It's just a matter of convincing the wife we should set it up as one I need to find out if they would survive under PC lights, with a biowheel filter.

 

[taketz]

The lights aren't an issue, and I would imagine that filtration requirements aren't very rigorous either.

 

[sytanek]

It could eventually serve as a mantis/frag tank!! What an awesome idea...lol

 

[CMcNeil]

hey sytanek....how are you catching these mantis?i have a few in my tank but have never seen them.i know they are mantis cause of the multiple snaps i hear.i have NEVER seen the shrimp in my tank but have heard him for months and find dead hermits and hermits with holes in there shells.i mam getting one of the ones you found,SO HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOU CATCHING THEM lol.like i said i havent even seen mine.

 

[sytanek]

PM SENT

 

[cschweitzer]

A mantis will do absolutely perfect under normal output lighting. They have no photosynthetic proerties or symbionts, so no need to worry about lighting for them. I kept mine in a 2.5G and he did great...I moved him to a 6G with PC's so I could keep corals with him. I even keep snails and hermits of all sizes (N. obsoleta for the most part) with him and with regular feedings he has been very good about not picking on them. Don't see him as much as I used to in the 2.5G, but he still comes out and is always curious about the surroundings.

 

[sytanek]

Awesome! I was thinking the same thing using the tank as an extra place for corals. Yeah the snails I will put in there will definately be n. obsoleta, cant beat free. I think I may keep the one I get out tonight.

Does anyone know if you can keep multiples together? I'm going with most likely if you have enough hiding spots, since the one rock I have has had 3 of them in there already.

 

[cschweitzer]

Yes, you can, but they can battle, especially in confined areas. The best bet(and I have no clue as to how to go about "sexing" them) would be to keep a male and female of the same species only if you want to keep multiples.

 

[sytanek]

Yeah I have no clue about sexing them, and they arent that big which would make it even harder. Im hoping in a 20, there may be enough space they'll manage.

 

[cschweitzer]

Possible, but I wouldn't go so far as probable. I think the reason they all got along in that rock to this point is because of the outside influences(safety in the ocean, don't move out of their home when in transport and sketchy about being placed in this evironment). I think once they get settled and a little more bold they might have some serious conflicts. Then again, nothing is impossible...

 

[sytanek]

Well, at the moment I only have one extra one anyways, as the others are all spoken for.