I have a 10 inch spearer which prefers tunnel living.Presently housed in a 10 gallon with a 5 inch sand bed hooked into my 125g reef.I was thinking about switching to a custom acrylic tank and using 10 to 12 inches of substrate to let it dig a more natural home.After anaerobic activity begins in the dsb if the mantis decided to add a new tunnel or even dig a new one and disturbed things would the gasses etc. emitted 1. kill the shrimp and 2 damage my reef(mostly LPS and SPS,a few softies).All in all I have about 220 gallons of water in the system,this includes the other tanks,sump and refugium.
How deep is too deep
- Thread starter racer340
- Start date
Death Shrimp99
Member
welcome to reef central! Nice spearer! I dont know what species that is but it was nice colors and is big. I wish i had one of those, Did you get that from the place you told me about? Your fine with glass because only smashers can break glass. But concidering the size of your mantis it might be a good idea to get a bigger tank. 10-12 inches is fine, I have a smasher and about 7 inches deep of crushed coral but you should stick with 10-12 inches because your spearer is bigger and they like sand.
Yes,same place.Never saw a spearer for sale before and had to bring it home.This thing seems to secrete some type of glue that holds the sand together in clumps.I use home depot play sand,and if you wash it till all the silt is gone(about 100 rinses)no cloudy water from digging.Too bad he made his burrow behind a rock in the back of the tank,takes a little effort to watch it.Thinking about adding 2 more 10g to my system and picking up 2 more from that place in Woodbridge.I have 5 shrimp now,whats 2 more,a couple of extra minutes a day feeding and a few more gallons at waterchange time.If you can get to sandy hook,I go on the bay side and get hermits,shrimp and mud snails for my bashers.Been over a year with 3 on this diet and the color change from when I got them is pretty dramatic,from ruddy brown to a deep green,bright orange antennae,and aqua/purple smashers.
Death Shrimp99
Member
You have 5 mantis shrimp? wow. Can you post some pictures? What species do you have? Have you ever fed a smasher a fish or just hard bodied prey?
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
The animal in question is a male Lysiosquillina maculata from the Indo-Pacific. They are found from Hawaii and French Polynesia to Africa and are one of the largest of all stomatopods reaching 40 cm in lenght and living 20 years or more. This species is monogamous, so it is too bad the male doesn't have a mate. Their burrows are quite large. An animal this side would have a burrow about 11 cm in diameter extending down about 40 cm and then running parallel to the surface for about 5 m or so before extending back up. They do indeed use mucus to cement sand to stabilize the burrow and to form a sand-mucus cap on the burrow through which they hunt.
There is no danger to the stomatopod having a special deeper tank. I used to keep one in a 1 x 1 x .2 m tank coupled to a 100gal system. These are incredibly hardy animals and can go with very little oxygen for long periods. In fact, in the field, when they molt, they seal the burrow on both ends for up to two weeks.
Ro
There is no danger to the stomatopod having a special deeper tank. I used to keep one in a 1 x 1 x .2 m tank coupled to a 100gal system. These are incredibly hardy animals and can go with very little oxygen for long periods. In fact, in the field, when they molt, they seal the burrow on both ends for up to two weeks.
Ro
Thanks for the ID and all the info.It will definitely be moving to a much larger home in the near future.Im finding it difficult to feed however.I have tried with limited success enriched krill,cubes of small shrimp,and even put in 4 damsels which so far are untouched.They swim right into its face and he just nicely pushes them away.Any ideas on what else to feed it and actually have it eat rather than sample and reject?My next try is live grass shrimp,we will see how that goes.
I have noticed that aside from building its burrow it isnt too concerned about much else.It has closed up the entrance so much I doubt the back half would even fit out of it.Could it possibly be getting ready to molt?
As a side note my water parameters are 78-80 degrees,31ppt salinity,0 ammonia,0 nitrite,.2 nitrate,8.3 ph.
Thanks again
I have noticed that aside from building its burrow it isnt too concerned about much else.It has closed up the entrance so much I doubt the back half would even fit out of it.Could it possibly be getting ready to molt?
As a side note my water parameters are 78-80 degrees,31ppt salinity,0 ammonia,0 nitrite,.2 nitrate,8.3 ph.
Thanks again
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Death:
Heres another one of them.Have another of same sp. living with it,and yet another same sp. in a different tank due to being bullied(much smaller than the other 2).I get them from That Fish Place in Pa,customers bring them in and on my trips there Ill bring them home rather than let them live in a 4 by 4 cubeAlso have a very shy scyllarus which i will try to get a pic of.
Heres another one of them.Have another of same sp. living with it,and yet another same sp. in a different tank due to being bullied(much smaller than the other 2).I get them from That Fish Place in Pa,customers bring them in and on my trips there Ill bring them home rather than let them live in a 4 by 4 cubeAlso have a very shy scyllarus which i will try to get a pic of.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Racer340,
Your water parameters seem fine. Lysiosquillina are quite tolerant of salinity and can handle anything from 28 to 38 with no problem as long as the shift isn't rapid. The lack of interest in food and digging strongly suggest that a molt is coming. These animals molt about three or four times a year regardless of how much food they are receiving. In the field, we have even recorded males shrinking during times of low fish availability. Normally, they eat very well in captivity, so I would back off on trying to fed it and offer food every three or four days. When they molt, they cease feeding for several days and even if they are not getting ready to molt, they can go for weeks without a meal.
L. maculata is not the most exciting animal to keep. More than once I've had one motionless on its back in its burrow for hours. When I decided that it was dead and tried to remove it, it suddenly perked u and started moving. They can exhibit an extremely low basal metabolism, some thing common of sit and wait predators.
Lysiosqullina do have one problem in captivity. Sometimes the last segment of the raptorial claw (dactyl) will deform when it molts. If the situation becomes severe, they will eventually lose the appendage during a molt. Don't disappear. Increase feeding it food it can handle and in three or four molts, the raptorial appendage will grow back.
Roy
Your water parameters seem fine. Lysiosquillina are quite tolerant of salinity and can handle anything from 28 to 38 with no problem as long as the shift isn't rapid. The lack of interest in food and digging strongly suggest that a molt is coming. These animals molt about three or four times a year regardless of how much food they are receiving. In the field, we have even recorded males shrinking during times of low fish availability. Normally, they eat very well in captivity, so I would back off on trying to fed it and offer food every three or four days. When they molt, they cease feeding for several days and even if they are not getting ready to molt, they can go for weeks without a meal.
L. maculata is not the most exciting animal to keep. More than once I've had one motionless on its back in its burrow for hours. When I decided that it was dead and tried to remove it, it suddenly perked u and started moving. They can exhibit an extremely low basal metabolism, some thing common of sit and wait predators.
Lysiosqullina do have one problem in captivity. Sometimes the last segment of the raptorial claw (dactyl) will deform when it molts. If the situation becomes severe, they will eventually lose the appendage during a molt. Don't disappear. Increase feeding it food it can handle and in three or four molts, the raptorial appendage will grow back.
Roy
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Gonodactylus
I guess it was just a case of the animal being somewhat stressed.I came home from work and only 1 damsel remained of the four.Ive been watching the last one closely and witnessed a missed strike.The movie of the spearer on the NOVA site was interesting,but seeing it up close is incredible.Well,now that I know it is feeding Ill try to change its diet to something a little less expensive,and maybe somewhat healthier.Thanks again for the info.
I guess it was just a case of the animal being somewhat stressed.I came home from work and only 1 damsel remained of the four.Ive been watching the last one closely and witnessed a missed strike.The movie of the spearer on the NOVA site was interesting,but seeing it up close is incredible.Well,now that I know it is feeding Ill try to change its diet to something a little less expensive,and maybe somewhat healthier.Thanks again for the info.
