Haptosquilla fights

[Gonodactylus]

I just returned from a trip to North Queensland where I was looking at eviction strategies in Haptosquilla. They were abundant this year and we collected several hundred to use in various experiments and observations. I haven't had a chance to download most of the photos, but this is a typical start to a fight. The intruding female picks up the scent and locates the resident's cavity, approaches, and will eventually lunge at the entrance.

Roy

 

[Recty]

Neat.

Who typically wins these fights? Is there such a thing as a defenders advantage as a mantis or does being stuck in a little burrow become a hinderance?

Does size affect the outcome very much?

Is this always female vs female or you see it male/male and male/female?

 

[The Mike]

Very interesting!

What is the actual purpose of the fight? is it for the right to the borrow or to claim the superior female mantis or just for the pure hunt and the fight?

 

[Kharn]

Very interesting!

What is the actual purpose of the fight? is it for the right to the borrow or to claim the superior female mantis or just for the pure hunt and the fight?

Likely burrow related

 

[TundraGuy]

Hey Kharn did you read that "They were abundant this year and we collected several hundred" I think the Docs got you beat. Now you know what your next mantis needs to be. Lol

 

[Kharn]

I don't know why.....

But when I first saw this thread my heart jumped a million miles because my mind read 2 things whilst my eyes stayed asleep....

I read the title as....

"Hemisquilla fight" - Whilst in North Queensland......When my mind interpreted that instead of what was really written, I thought at long last I had footage of a H.australiensis that I could forward to my collectors.

='[

None the less its an intriguing sight, something I am (rite now) unwilling to test with my stomatopods.

 

[Gonodactylus]

In gonodactylids, cavity occupation generally provides a positional advantage - depending on the fit. N. bredini in its preferred cavity configuration and size wins 80% of its fights against same sized intruders.

Roy

 

[TundraGuy]

What collecting methods did you use to catch some many in such a short time frame? It seems like yesterday you were headed out that way.

 

[Gonodactylus]

I snorkel over beds of coral and coralline algae rubble and collect pieces that have typical stomatopod cavities (perfectly round entrance 7-10 mm diameter) and break them open on the beach. One rock about the size of a loaf of bread had 14 stomatopods in it including H. trispinosa, H. glyptocercus, C. tweediei, G. smithii and G. falcatus.

Roy

 

[TundraGuy]

:eek1: 14!

Ok real talk Doc how big a system would I need to house something of this nature? Would a small pound in the size of about 500 gallons work? I can simulate tides, currents, storms anything what would I need to have something like this going on?

 

[TundraGuy]

I was under the impression that mantis kept a distance from one another. But if I could pull off a few in the same tank OMG. I am just nutty enough to try.

 

[Gonodactylus]

We often find multiple stomatopods in pieces of rubble in the field. That doesn't mean that it will work in the aquarium. The big difference is that on the reef if an animal starts to lose an interaction, it can flee. The other animal won't pursue it that far. In the aquarium,if an animal starts to flee, it can't get away from the other animal which will become increasingly aggressive.

Roy

 

[Recty]

Tundraguy, maybe you should do a custom tank, something like 12' long, 18" tall and 4' front to back. Wouldnt be a ton of gallons, but would give you tons of open "floor" space to put down lots of rubble and rock and be able to have your mantis paradise.

 

[Kharn]

Tundraguy, maybe you should do a custom tank, something like 12' long, 18" tall and 4' front to back. Wouldnt be a ton of gallons, but would give you tons of open "floor" space to put down lots of rubble and rock and be able to have your mantis paradise.

I remember reading somewhere about how Dr.Caldwell tried something similar by keeping 2 small species in a very large 72inch tank and even then they would fight...

Every time I look into my tanks I check out Maximus & Minnie closely too look for damage on either of them because the only possible cause would be from one another...still haven't seen any yet...It'll be a sad day when I have to separate them ='[ that is if Minnie doesn't get any bigger (which she will) in that case the double layered egg crate will do its job keeping them apart.

 

[TundraGuy]

Recty don't threaten me with a good time. The problem I face when doing a large tank is that I move a lot. But a pound is not hard to break down and move. Some cinderblocks around the base of a pond then rap with faux rock. Build a reverse sump above two sides of the pound mount skimmer, and build a surge return in both the two above tanks like this http://angel-strike.com/aquarium/DoubleSurgeDevice.gif . Then rap that with faux and balm you got a salt water pound spending less money than most people do to build a simple reef. Yes you have a top down view but a prism some pvc and some lenses and now you got a cheap periscope to look down into the pound. Two dart pumps will run the water movement needs. The nature of the surge devices keeps the flow random. You can direct the flow however you’d like or even create a very real wave. Too much to draw out for you, without me finding I have to build it after drawing it up. The faux I would do in a combination of black (volcanic) and jungle turf to make a Hawaii beach seen. O god I need to shut off this computer before I start doing something crazy.