Ms. Peacock

Calappidae said:
What exact camera model is that? I think I need an upgrade after seeing yours :lol2:
Click to expand...

It's just a cheapo Kodak PlaySport Zx5. Nothing special. Hence why I'm not too afraid to let Betty go after it. I honestly don't recommend it. I bought it for snorkeling in Hawaii, and it did okay for that, but it lacks features and really leaves a lot to be desired. For the price, it's not horrible. I think you can pick them up for under $60 bucks now.
 
First coat of paint on the stand is drying.

CFC75BCF-orig_zps43bf1dc1.jpg
 
Phase 2...

Attaching small bits of live rock with aquarium safe silicone, building up the area around the entrances with irregular blobs of water weld epoxy impregnated with more aragonite sand.

BCA833CA-orig_zps3c6d7f60.jpg


Not done yet. More to come.
 
Islandoftiki said:
Phase 2...

Attaching small bits of live rock with aquarium safe silicone, building up the area around the entrances with irregular blobs of water weld epoxy impregnated with more aragonite sand.

BCA833CA-orig_zps3c6d7f60.jpg


Not done yet. More to come.
Click to expand...

Very nice and creative :) I'm going to alter all of mine into fake rear walls to get back some of the wasted space.
 
Islandoftiki said:
I've got a little more work to do to make it look a little more organic, but it's coming out pretty good so far.
Click to expand...

Are you having 'coral' in the tank too ? If not I know exactly what I'd do as a finishing touch....wrap macro algae all around it :).
 
I've decide that I'm going to light this tank and do something similar to my G. Ternatensis tank, only I'm going to keep some easier species of SPS corals from my 10 gallon tank in there as well. As well as they grow in the 10 gallon, I can only imagine how much better they'll do in triple the water volume and added stability. I'm stealing most of the gear from that tank, including the ATO, the MP10, the refugium light and the Reefkeeper controller.

I'm looking at the Maxspect Razr Nano LED light which should be a pretty sweet setup.
 
Ok, so here's Ms. Silly Pants making sure she collects every last tidbit of fish food...



For those of you with some extended mantis experience, look at the middle of her abdominal segments. There are some light colored marks that I believe are from rubbing against the top surface of her den. Probably as she's entering and exiting the den. She's had these marks ever since I've had her for the past year or so. It's certainly not shell rot. It looks like chalky rub marks. I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done about it or if it's even a problem. It appears that if you were to reach in there, you could wipe it off with your finger... Of course, I'm not going to try that.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?
 
Islandoftiki said:
For those of you with some extended mantis experience, look at the middle of her abdominal segments. There are some light colored marks that I believe are from rubbing against the top surface of her den. Probably as she's entering and exiting the den. She's had these marks ever since I've had her for the past year or so. It's certainly not shell rot. It looks like chalky rub marks. I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done about it or if it's even a problem. It appears that if you were to reach in there, you could wipe it off with your finger... Of course, I'm not going to try that.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?
Click to expand...

Mine had the same thing, I always figured it's just a spot they can't reach to clean.
 
Fartin'Gary said:
It's just gravel/sand from her digging. Nothing to worry about. Just take your hand and wipe it off.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's why I figured. Now the trick is training her to let me pet her. Maybe if she loses her other raptorial appendage I'll give it a go. Maybe she'd let me brush her off with a small long handled paint brush. Lol, yeah right. I think we'd find out how high she can jump if I tried to touch her back.

I'm getting really excited to get this new tank going... Almost there.

I just pulled the trigger on a Maxspect Razr Nano LED light for the tank. That means that when I do the transfer from her current tank, I'll also be moving over all of the rock and corals from my 10 gallon tank. That actually works out really well in terms of simplicity and will make it easier for me to break down my 10 gallon that that I've been in the process of doing. I have some much nicer looking rocks in that tank.

I suspect I'm going to have to rehome my hitchhiker tuxedo urchin, or maybe it can go into Chuck's tank since he doesn't kill anything.
 
Islandoftiki said:
Yeah, that's why I figured. Now the trick is training her to let me pet her. Maybe if she loses her other raptorial appendage I'll give it a go. Maybe she'd let me brush her off with a small long handled paint brush. Lol, yeah right. I think we'd find out how high she can jump if I tried to touch her back.
Click to expand...

Mine let me pet him a few times.. acked like he didn't notice. One time he even turned around begging for a belly rub (NEVER HAPPENING!) the last time which was a couple months ago, he backed up and got real defensive which is when I stopped.
 
I was able to touch mine while it was greedily holding onto some scallop that I had pushed far on a skewer. She wouldn't let go of the food and was completely focused on pulling it off rather than me touching her backside. That's how I know it's just dust on her back because I brushed some off. They do have a slime coat so I never did it again in fear of causing problems with it.
 
Betty was exceedingly curious during the water change tonight. She was all over the siphon hose checking it out. Not the slightest sign of aggression. She kept sticking her antennules into the siphon tube as it was sucking water out. It was kinda funny. I was able to stick the siphon hose right in front of her and she would inspect it with her maxillipeds.

While the tank was partially drained, I attempted to touch her, but she was pretty shy about being touched as I expected. She is really non-aggressive though. Probably with a little careful non-threatening interaction, she would allow some physical interaction. Of course there's always the chance for personal injury to me, but I think there's the right time and place for interaction and they have to be in the right frame of mind to accept it.

On a side note, I got four 5 gallon buckets of RO/DI water made up this evening. Then I discovered that two of my four powerheads for mixing saltwater seized up and need to be soaked in vinegar, so I can't start mixing all of my salt water yet.
 
I drained the tank and brought it upstairs this evening...

C51D4320-orig_zps205cce99.jpg


And the stand is done. Another day or so and it will be ready for the tank...

014B3CD5-orig_zpscec5d384.jpg


I never expected it to come out this nicely. I have to give a big thanks to my friend Bill for helping me with the finish cabinetry work. The trim on the tank matches the architectural style of the house. Simple and elegant. I'm really happy with the choice of satin black for the finish. You could literally support a car on this thing. It's hell-bent for stout.
 
Woohoo!

The stand is in place and leveled!

C8E4B954-orig_zps2537a3b7.jpg



I'm putting 1/4" foam core board under the tank because, I love overkill.

023BF3BE-orig_zpsa483efa4.jpg



And it's ready to go wet!

5c1f7d00-d44a-4a6d-a5ab-ca557c8d292e_zpsc71625db.jpg
 
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