Got our part 1 of the package yesterday

[bfuqua]

Part 1 of our 'package' was delivered to Houston on Thursday by Southwest Airlines. There was a bit of leakage from one of the 6 boxes and the guys at the freight depot were pretty worried. They called me twice and when I arrived they all gathered around to see if it was alright. I figured if other live rock shipped dry then we were still in pretty good shape. In fact, I was in Tampa on business when the rock arived in Houston and they called me for the first time. I was just getting ready to board the plane myself (too bad I couldn't put the rock in my suitcase).

My wife met me at the airport and we loaded the rock and took it to it's new home. Within a couple hours we had the sand and the rock (and the bacteria) in the aquarium and were ready for some action.

We found a couple sea cucumbers, several snails and yes a mantis shrimp (didn't find him until the Friday morning). The rock looks great and is very interestesting even this early in the game.

The rock has been in the tank about 24 hours and the ammonia is just now getting to 0.5. In fact the sniff test didn't indicate we lost much on the flight from Florida.

Richard called this morning to see how it was going and I missed the call. That is really good service! So if you read this Richard things are looking good. We have a 100 gallons of saltwater ready to go!

Bill

 

[bfuqua]

Mantis Hotel

Mantis Hotel

Found the directions and created a Mantis trap last night. No luck so far but we are not in a hurry. He is rather interesting to watch when he gets the nerve and ventures from his hole.


Guest
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/149649IMG_1858_RC.JPG
Mantis Hotel
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/149649IMG_1859_RC.JPG

 

[liverock]

Re: Got our part 1 of the package yesterday

I don't think that big rock would have fit in your suitcase!

I had to use a big box to get it into.....but was such a cool rock, notice the coral on it?

Thanks for the good words!
Richard TBS

Bill [/B][/QUOTE]

 

[sytanek]

lo....If you can come up with a mantis shrimp trap that can lure mantis shrimp that never come out.....If not I guess he'll have to stay forever.

 

[bfuqua]

Well, we have done two water changes and it has been 3 days since the last change (the rock have been in the water 6 days) and the ammonia is around .5. It was around .75 yesterday so I guess we are rounding up on the curing process.

So far we have caught 1 manis schrimp and 4 very small gorilla crabs. We have lots more of those little guys.

Richard gave us one very large rock with a bit of everything on it. It is looking very good but almost every hole in the rock has a crab.

We also have a clicking noise after the lights go out that seems to last most of the night. I don't know if we have another manis or if we have a pistol shrimp. Are some manis shrimp bashful? The one we caught had no problem gettting out and showing itself.

I am trying to get my photos small enough to post but am having problems. I will concentrate on it later.

 

[Untamed12]

Sometimes mantis can be extremely bashful. In my previous tank, I had one for nearly 6 months before I ever saw it...and that was a 30 gallon hex tank with only 4 rocks in it.

 

[sytanek]

dang! lol I have one I kept, put him in a 20 gallon with some rock and I never see him come out. I know where he hides, so I can check on him once and a while, but other than that he stays hidden.

 

[bfuqua]

Thats bad news guys although I guess he can't cause as much trouble if he stays in a rock!

 

[bfuqua]

Finally found the snapping source... another mantis, a very bashful mantis. We still have traps everywhere but this guy isn't coming out.

 

[Untamed12]

Feeding them from from a stick makes them a lot less shy...

 

[schmuttis]

We found the best way to get a really evasive on out of the rock was to remove the rock from the tank and put it in a tub. We then squirted water in the hole with a turkey baster and he came right out. We put the rock back in then found we have another one. Now we are up to 4 and counting and we haven't received our second shipment of rock yet. I'm happy I finally found someone that wants these critters.

 

[HowardW]

<<< We found the best way to get a really evasive on out of the rock was to remove the rock from the tank and put it in a tub. We then squirted water in the hole with a turkey baster and he came right out. >>>



Yes, it's been my experience that this is the best way to remove mantis shrimps as traps very seldomly work on those guys. Generally a quick shot of cold seltzer water with a large syringe or turkey baster and they come flying out of their hole, although some are more persistent then others.