Mantis ID

[bunglehaze]

Hi all, I think I have a scyllarus but need confirmation form you folks in the know.

This is my first mantis, called harvey - around 2" long at present and still settling into my tank 12hrs so far.

here he is

all help and advice regarding his general care is welcomed - he is in his own little 8 gal nano with 4kg's liverock for filtration.

cheers

leigh

 

[bunglehaze]

I have been told that the tail end can help with an id also so here goes

cheers

leigh:strooper:

 

[RogueCorps]

Hey Leigh,

I can't give you a positive ID, but I'm sure it's not an O. Scyllarus. Peacocks that I've seen, even when small, have full coloration.

Do know the origin of it? Did you buy it locally or is it a live rock hitchhiker? Another view that is helpful is a head-on shot showing the meral spots on the smashers.

Great looking though.

-Rogue

 

[bunglehaze]

cheers rogue, I dont think he is a peacock now - more likely I think a Neogonodactylus wennerae.

I picked him up from a fellow reefer over here in the UK, he was a liverock 'pest' it seems everyone over here turns out to be a brown one so I snapped him up. Not sure really what type or area rock he came from either.

Unfortunately I have not managed to get a good front on shot to see the meral spots - in fact I dont even know where he is hiding out or even if he has eaten the lancefish I left for him or the bristleworms.

Any good advice on keeping him happy would be great - also any idea's on what I would be able to safely keep with him?

cheers

leigh:smokin:

 

[njmar1]

Hey all,

Looks like a Neogonodactylus wennerae to me, much like the 3.5" in my 20 gallon. Haven't seen her for a few days, hope the molt went well....

 

[RogueCorps]

Hey Leigh,

I was thinking N. Wennerae also. I think they're supposed to have dark meral spots with white circles around. That's a nice looking little guy/girl...?

So... according to Dr. Roy the big hitters are O. S., G. Chiragra, and N. Californiensis. The majority of others you don't have to worry too much about tanks being cracked. I'd think a N. Wennerae would be fine in a 5 gallon or so, but I wouldn't trust any fish with it unless maybe in a larger tank with lots of hiding spaces. Maybe a damsel or two could cohabitate.

Other than that use a titanium heater or cover your glass heater with PVC or plastic tubing. Also tape over the heater lamp to discourage strikes. I think a variety of food is good for them so I feed ours as much variation of prawns, squid, clams, crayfish, fish, etc. as possible. Dr. Roy also mentioned feeding dried krill with a few drops of vitamin solution like sel or zoe.

hth!

-Rogue

 

[bunglehaze]

excellent - thanks!

I think his meral spots are a turquoise colour rather than dark and he has definate black spots too - does this help?? Im sorry I dont have a decent pic from the front on, typically I sent my camera away to be replaced yesterday and he has been showing off at the front glass earlier.

Oh well it should only be a couple of days before the new camera arrives.

cheers

leigh

 

[RogueCorps]

I think I could call the more common ones, but I don't think I'm much more help with IDing. It would be a little time consuming, but you could go back through old ID posts and try to compare with those threads. Or maybe find a post by "Gonodactylus" (Dr. Caldwell) and search his old threads. Looks like Njmar may have the ID for ya... Or others may chime in.



-Rogue