My Ultimate Multi Mantis System(s)

[Maconbits]

Kharn,
Man this set up is amazing. I absolutely love mantis shrimps. I had one awhile back when I first started reef keeping and plan to get a peacock in the near future. I'm pretty new to this site but have been around marsh and hfb for awhile and never seen anything like this.

 

[Kharn]

I have seen a handful of this sorts of setups before and with others that have designs/builds underway

However....

I fail to find films dedicated to stomatopods like mine, there MUST be some out there (I have seen 1 other by a member on here a while back which kind of promted me to do the same). I don't understand completely why those that do keep multiples of these animals don't just upload loads of pics/vids like I do...at first it was difficult (difficult being LONG) because of the amount of time it took into making a video but, as time went on I got better and better at it =) (albeit I do not like the video prior to this one and may delete it for something far more to the point, or may leave it up as the comparison to my next one).

The WHOLE idea of my videos is to not only make stomatopods more well known and whilst most of the videos do show 'action' I am not trying to promote that alone...I just know what people want to see 'action' and supply it in the hopes that they to 'catch the mantis bug'.

Again the WHOLE idea of this (and it's something I reallllly hope to happen) is for Hollywood/Movie Production companies to take notice I want them to see this animal, recognize it as an untouched 'creature feature' and then work with it from there, basically I want to see a High Def 1hr30min movie based on stomatopods, rite now....I just assume hollywood doesn't know of the creature cause if they did....well I think JAWS would be mud in the water, it's so believable yet the only thing that they would have to do to make it more terrifying/world ending is to make the stomatopods larger (human - bus sized) they already have EVERYTHING else in nature today to make them completely horrifying at those gigantic sizes.

There one of the very rare creatures that has been untouched/tarnished by hollywood...is it a good thing :S ?

I mean once the 'world' watches a movie in cinemas like they would Batman but based on stomatopods...I forsee a global epidemic of them being acquired for pets.

Just my opinion but in my views there is not much else on earth that if ONLY given epic size would make it more fearsome then a stomatopod, we have had HUGE, ants, spiders, centipedes, sharks, octopus, crocodiles, snakes you name it, all would fall before a stomatopod of equal size, it just SCREAMS hollywood to me lol.

 

[Steve C]

Really do like the production in your videos

 

[Kharn]

Here is my hopefully soon to be latest crew member =) I almost missed this little guy/gal as he/she was purchased off a site that I had a coral order in with would of been a knee slapper if I had of seen it after the coral arrived....I would of likely still bought it but well double freight charges are never good...I'm not sure what species it is but it's certainly going to stand out amongst my current lot, I'd say it has the most detailed skin coloration of any stomatopod I have rite now (minus the 2 O.scyllarus but that's typical for Peacocks =)...).

The pink highlighting is really nice =D.



It's got a lot of kick in it apparently...currently it's being held in a different tank of it's own, because it smashed out of the plastic container that is in the photo. All I hope is that it is not a species I currently have and that it is interactive =P other then that this little thing looks really cool.

In order to make room for this new inhabitant I am moving Shockwave, since he is notoriously shy (G.falcatus) I have placed him in the bottom tank, where he can hide even more as I tend to use that compartment for very tiny 10mm species that I cannot even I.D. but I am sure Shockwave is going to change all that...should they cross him.

Beyond that the new stomatopod + coral should arrive mon-wed next week :lol2:

 

[Kharn]

Well here is my latest creation in the line of movies that I have been making this one is similar to a previous one but more to the point and more 'story' telling rather then the earth itself just destroying everything...

There is stomatopod content (photos) which I have melded into other pics the theme for the trailer is from one of the trailers to 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' I highly recommend watching that trailer before my recreation using stomatopods.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o-syO1KdlPA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

In my recreation of the film, Cesar the ape is replaced and played by Maximus (the G.graphurus, Rocky does make some cameos in scenes designed for Maximus mostly because I didn't have footage of Maximus to suit that picture).

please select 1080p HD
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B1uJcdvN1as" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hope you enjoy

 

[lionbacker54]

very good, kharn! i especially liked the scene where rocky hands the old man a fork, and the scene where the agent looks around and sees the whole room full of stomatopods.

 

[Kharn]

very good, kharn! i especially liked the scene where rocky hands the old man a fork, and the scene where the agent looks around and sees the whole room full of stomatopods.

Well your the first to comment so I am happy you liked it =) there is LOADS of room for improvement, I want to cut the stomatopods out better (leave less of there background).

I want to adjust the stomatopods images to better suit the lighting for the scene tha the picture is in, I want the stomatopods to look like there actually a part of the image there in, I am learning =).

 

[Kharn]

So today my little newest member arrived alive, I was relieved to get it and soon to get it into it's compartment for permanent residency, I took some other pics today to sort of fill in a void with my lack of pics lately...been wrapped up in learning new PC software in order to provide better entertaining movies etc. which was one of the primary goals to the entire design of my system(s) so whilst each of them might be a so called 'pet' there also very much, actors

Anyway here are some pics from today!

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Rockys Rics =) they certainly seem to enjoy hanging out on the top plateaus but soon they will have to be moved for the primary, ultra grade awesome quality Ric's =D



The Juggernaut has returned and survived his second molt under my care, he seems to be loosing the greenish abdomen color and starting to take on a similar color to that of The Kraken (More Reds & light/Dark Brown).


Finally the dynamic duo of spearers, Morgoth & The Leviathan both now 2-3weeks past there previous molts and back in action at there best.



Stay tuned for more! =D

 

[Kharn]

More pictures from tonight most involve feedings, not everyone is included but there is a good few pics.

Nicole (Female - G.Ternatensis) She is far more interactive then the male Tintin...


New Mantis (??? - G.chiragra) So far this new inhabitant has proven to be very interactive at the same level as my G.graphurus, a great addition!



Rocky (Male - G.graphurus) He got an additional treat today which he has been investigating all day, along with the new mantis arriving so did the piece of live rock littered with 'Superman Rhodactis' mushrooms which went into his compartment.




Minnie (Female - G.graphurus) She is still cuddling her eggs and sometimes refuses food, tonight was one of those nights


Maximus (Male - G.graphurus) Very aggressive this evening, rather then his slower sluggish self he was very energetic.


The Kraken (Male - O.scyllarus) Again even this guy was abnormally aggressive perhaps there is something in the water, perhaps it's Minnie giving off some sort of female pregnancy pheromone.


Well that's it for now stay tuned for more as I still need to feed the spearers =).

 

[Kharn]

G'day all

Finally after many hours of editing and cutting I made a revised and more detailed version of my 3rd trailer to 'Rise of the Planet of the Stomatopods' this trailer is essentially the same as the last but with twice the amount of pics but in the same time frame to make it hopefully feel more like a movie or at least a swift slide video I took my time with each stomatopod editing them and attempting to cut things out as best I could, the most difficult areas were the Antenna...very hard to get them alone without background too =[ nonetheless I hope you enjoy this (likely final installment) to....

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE STOMATOPODS! 1080p HD capability
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DA5cLsRgF8U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My next likely movie trailer will be themed around the movie AVP (alien vs predator) I just need to decide who is who, either way, whoever wins...we lose =D.

Stay tuned for more!

 

[TundraGuy]

OMG I leave for a couple weeks to go have a kid and this is what I come back to!?! The most amazing movie trailer ever!

So yes the wife popped, we have a healthy Boy. So the world now has one more mantis freak in the training.

Your skills are growing Kharn. Can’t wait to see some mantis swinging around light sabers instead of clubs and spears. How is the plumbing live rock thing looking? Any FTS?

 

[Kharn]

OMG I leave for a couple weeks to go have a kid and this is what I come back to!?! The most amazing movie trailer ever!

So yes the wife popped, we have a healthy Boy. So the world now has one more mantis freak in the training.

Your skills are growing Kharn. Can’t wait to see some mantis swinging around light sabers instead of clubs and spears. How is the plumbing live rock thing looking? Any FTS?

I have decided to call my newest stomatopod whom is a male G.chiragra....

MEGATRON

There are a few reasons for this, firstly Megatron (original) has 2 primary colors being greys/blacks and pink/purple, much like this G.chiragra. Also Megatron in transformers is leader of the decepticons whilst Shockwave is a lieutenant so when I moved Shockwave down a tank to make room for Megatron it's very similar to the balance of ranks in the transformer decepticon world. Finally G.chiragra are known to quite possibly be the hardest hitters (weight for weight) and well if your on the evil side in the transformer world and your the hardest hitter...your there leader and so Megatron the Mantis was born!

In direct relation to your question TundraGuy, the reason I haven't added Megatron the new mantis to my list is because I usually wait a few days incase something goes wrong and it dies, don't seem to have to worry with this guy =) so he will go up momentarily =)

More to come!

 

[united417]

OMG I leave for a couple weeks to go have a kid and this is what I come back to!?! The most amazing movie trailer ever!

So yes the wife popped, we have a healthy Boy. So the world now has one more mantis freak in the training. QUOTE]

CONGRATS TUNDRA!:celeb1::beer: great to hear.

and Kharn the Chiragra looks great!very jealous..it's coloring looks more like a female if im not mistaken, males are generally pretty dark IIRC
regardless, the thread is coming along incredibly!i think i have shown segments of it to every friend i have...:wavehand:

 

[Kharn]

OMG I leave for a couple weeks to go have a kid

How is the plumbing live rock thing looking? Any FTS?

I feel bad for not saying....

CONGRATULATIONS on the baby =) I'm sure the bundle of joy will keep you on your toes and busy to bad we can't name our kids after our pets xD I think the name 'Morgoth/Leviathan' at roll call would make for an interesting reaction...either way =) CONGRATULATIONS!!! :lol2:

As far as the plumbing of the rock goes, things have gone well BUT I will have to redo the one I gave Rocky, it's too small/tight I made it out of only 25mm PVC (I thought it was 32mm) and when he gets to full size things will get difficult... also I made the front most exits to far forward, he has some difficulty getting in and out but has learned to turn around, go down to the bottom inside the tunnel and exit out the base, still I don't like it and because I forsee it being to tight in the future anyway....it's got to come out.

Some good news is that my rock of Supermaniacus Rhodactis mushies came and there really nice, I want to start to learn how to take good quality pics without the flash on and with only blue lights on, I dunno if you personally have tried it (or know how to do it properly) but too me it seems they ALWAYS come out smudgy as if the camera was bumped, I dunno, more reading will solve it =) I ain't a photo whizz xD

 

[Kharn]

Hmm regrettably my lack of 'PC Knowledge' sets me back a bit when making movies etc. for reasons I can't explain because of what I just mentioned, whenever I download a trailer then import it into my video editor (Avid Studio) I sometimes get this effect where the video & audio are not in sync, by this I basically mean a door will close but the sound of the door closing is 3-4secs after the door closes, again my lack of PC knowledge is what is letting me down here....it's confusing because what seems like for the first 20seconds-30seconds the movie runs fine / in sync but then at a point things go weird only for them to return to normal with about 20seconds - 30seconds left of the video.

Has any ever encountered this or know what I am talking about ? I am hoping it's just a simple 'noob' quick fix....but it's setting me back and frustrating me!

cheers

 

[Kharn]

Here is my latest film (not AvP but an extension of my 'Rise of the Planet of the Stomatopods' trailer). Obviously by now people should be understanding what I am trying to achieve so if there is any PC graphics guy out there that is watching/reading these and has any idea at how I can better myself PLEASE tell me or teach me =D I want to do better things and rite now the only thing I can forsee me being able to do to make things crisper is just take more pics basically what I mean is where I use 1 pic now (which might take up 1-2secs) use 5-10 but all just SLIGHTLY different like in flip book cartoons, I dunno any ideas are appreciated!

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WARNING PLEASE READ BEFORE WATCHING!

So my latest installment needs some explanation as I said above it's an addition to my already public trailer to 'Rise of the Planet of the Stomatopods' but this particular clip is a little bit more focused on the lead star of the film Maximus (Cesar in the real film) if you haven't seen the film yet then this may not make sense to you but I will try to explain it anyway...

Essentially whats happening is that Maximus (Cesar) has refused to go back into his cage after 'playtime' in the open area, with all the other stomatopods (apes) going back to there cages but him, standing defiant in the middle of the open area. After being told repeatedly to go back to his cage the handler decide he must get physical, during the altercation other stomatopods (apes) begin to take notice and get fired up at the injustice of there fellow comrade.

After enough beatings the handler takes one last swipe and Maximus (Cesar) catches the hand, the hand holding the beating stick/electric rod. As the handler says the classic quote "Take your stinking paw off me you damn dirty ape!" Maximus (Cesar) slowly rises and yells out in a distinctly audible english, NO!

This stuns not only the handler that was beating him but also the handler about to shoot him with a dart gun, along with all the stomatopods (apes) watching, using this moment of frozen fear, Maximus (Cesar) knocks the handler unconscious, picks up the electric rod and begins to chant NO! NO! NO! whilst firing up the other stomatopods (apes) in there cage.

In the film after this point Cesar releases the other apes and they begin there rampage.

Now the film

Rise of the Planet of the Stomatopods - Maximus Rises
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kePKnNeDo1Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I hope you enjoy it.

 

[TundraGuy]

!?!
NO
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NO
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NO
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NO
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NO

Kharn brother much love to your work, but I think you need to get of the house more. lol

 

[Kharn]

!?!
NO
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NO
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NO
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NO
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NO

Kharn brother much love to your work, but I think you need to get of the house more. lol

Oh I certainly get out of the house yesterday me and my brother in law spent 6hrs catching shrimp, fish & crabs for my live food tank we went all over brissy I'll post a pic of the live food tank tonight, its really choc full all I think is that ,y stomatopods see the tank and there eyes just gape =D (along with there jaws )

 

[TundraGuy]

Hey Kharn how much "food" do you go through in a week? Being as close to the water as you are helps but it still takes time to collect and what not. I am just wondering if you’re keeping a log of what and how much “food/pray” go through your systems. This will be helpful to others thinking about following in your footsteps.

 

[TundraGuy]

dang not like me to double post sorry.