dragonforce
New member
I just picked one up from a LFS today. I am pretty sure its a male. Anyone have any comments on these guys?
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6564345#post6564345 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Uriel
I have a G. platysoma.
This is in regards to my platy, Glaurung, and others will surely have different experiences.
Mine is about 3", has gone through several color morphs, some drastic, and is rather inquisitive.
The species has been noted as being a bit hermit-like, but mine is pretty outgoing and curious, other than when in his long molts (2 weeks or so on average).
Original color was similar to yours...green/cream, then molted to green/cream/pink, then to pink/cream/purple/green, then to purple/pink/cream/black and now he is green/black/purplish/cream.
His color has changed based on the proliferation of caulerpa, coraline, even the presence of a purple anemone. Maybe this is speculation, but each molt matches his ebvirons to an extreme degree.
Sounds odd, but I find the G. platysoma to be the most elegant of mantis shrimp that I have seen (Or had, 7 different species).
He is very unaggresive towards the feeding stick (ublike my G. ternatensis, who attacks whatever enters her tank).
Preferred food is hermits above all others, then ghost shrimp,with thawed shrimp, then scallop, then live snails then fiddler crabs in preference.
Lived harmoniously with a big pink/purple bubbletip anemone, as well as currently living with a purple serpent star. He actually carries his leftovers to where the star lives, like it is his garbage disposal.
Swims around a lot, and when (recently0 I had his little 6 gallon overrun with grape caulerpa, he actually climbed through it, looking like Tarzan swinging through jungle trees.
A great Mantis.
Hope that some of this helped.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=120283&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500
-Ron