G. Smithii Lifespan & symbiosis?

[sunce_22]

I have two G. Smithii females, one which is probably 3 inches long and the diameter of a quater and another which is 2.5 inches long and nearly the exact same size as a bic lighter.

I was wondering what the lifespan on them might be?

I also have a 3 inch (a little larger than a BIC lighter) G. Chiagra and I wanted to know how long I can expect out of her.

I read on here that the Chiragra's are very aggressive and pack the same punch as a peacock. I was wondering if this is fact or simply an expression.

My smaller purple spot (Hemi) is very "friendly" she does not hide from me or "flare" at me any more, wont strike any feeding sticks and she hunts alot too!. I have even fed her by hand once!

Dr. Roy I would really like to hear from you!

P.S. Is it healthy if my shrimp is starting to eat flake food? Hemi and a Damsel in my tank seem to have a symbiotic relationship happening. I have seen them share a snail that hemi attacked and killed then pushed towards the fish half way through her meal! It was like she was saying "try a bite!"
Dr. Roy is this normal? They have a weird relationship. The damsel "guards" her burrow entrance.

 

[Wildinside]

haha thats awesome that they have a symbiotic relationship. As for the Chiragra hitting hard the answer is yes they do. Check out the link
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=5WWvulAC_zU

 

[Gonodactylus]

We don't have good field data on the life expectancy of most stomatopods. Most of what we know comes from fisheries data on commercial taken species and my extensive field collection of Neogonodactylus species that allow us to get good demographics along with molt frequency and growth per molt. To get those data we collected literally 10's of thousands of stomatopods. We also have some information on longevity in the aquarium. That said, it is my impression that G. smithii grow more quickly than G. chragra. The longest I have kept a G. smithii was 4 years and I collected it when it was about 5 cm. I have had less luck keeping G. chiragra for long perions (I thin 3 years is the longest I can remember), but my guess in the field would be 6-8 years. Interestingly, even though they get much larger, O. scyllarus probably do not live as long.

Gram for gram, G. chiragra are as powerful, if not more so than O. scyllarus.

Don't read too much into the interaction between the G. smithii and the damsel. Damsels often hang around where they can pick up the scraps. I suspect the stomatopod could care less.

Roy