A stomatopod is not just a stomatopod
A stomatopod is not just a stomatopod
If you are considering keeping a stomatopod, you should pay attention to what species you have and what are their special requirements. I don't want to preach, but conditions that one species will tolerate nicely can kill an individual of another species in minutes. While most stomatopods are very sensitive to pollutants such as organic solvents, they very widely in their ability to tolerate tempertures extremes, salinity change, ammonia, and oxygen titers.
Let me give you a couple of examples. Neogonodactylus wennerae is a Caribbean species found from Bermuda to Panama. It occurs from the intertidal to 30 m +, often in coastal waters living in coral rubble. It is particularly common in some areas in rubble in sea grass beds. It can tolerate temperatures from 20 to 35 C, can take salinities from 25-40, and can tolerate heavily silted water and very low oxygen titers. As long as the gills are damp, individuals can live for hours or even days out of the water. I have actually seen animals crawl out of rubble that was setting high and dry on a lab bench after two days. This is exactly what you would expect of an animal that lives in a habitat where it is frequently exposed at low tide, experiences wide temperature extremes due to seanosnal influences as well as solar heating, and that can temporarily experience hyposaline conditions due to heavy rains. I have taken animals alive out of tide pools that were at 39 C and 50% seawater (low tide, squall followed by bright sun).
On the other hand, Odontodactylus havanensis which also occurs in the Caribbean including Florida dies if you look at it cross-eyed. This is a species that lives generally below 10 m, requires clean, very well oxygenated water with considerable flow, and is intolerant of salinity or temperature change. They ofent die in the lab if we simply stir up the sediment in the bottom of the tank. They are extremely sensitive to ammonia and other pollutants.
In the lab we keep large numbers of N. wennerae in one liter ice cream containers. The water is changed twice a week after feeding. There is no circulation, no filteration. The animals live for years in these conditions. O. havanensis are housed in large aquaria with the best water quality we can provide. We still have trouble keeping them more than a few months and any glitch in the system is often fatal.
When chosing a stomatopod, do a bit of research on the species and what conditions it experiences in its natural habitat. It will save you from over designing a system for a very tolerant intertidal species such as N. wennerae, N. oerstedii, Gonodactylus chiragra or Pseudosquilla ciliata and may prevent unnecessary losses of sensitive species such as O. havanensis, O. brevirostris, O. latitrostris or Echinosquilla guerinii.
Roy