My Ultimate Multi Mantis System(s)

[Kharn]

With my latest camera came a few new additions to my stands in the way of coral & macro algae, firstly the macro algae. STAND A was the only stand that did not benefit from a Macro Algae having none within it previously however today I went out and purchased 2x375ml cup fulls of macro algae (it's a mixture of algae). All of it went into the last compartment of STAND A which also hosts all of the Live Rock from compartments that now have PVC DIY burrows in them (not wanting to loose the benefit of Live Rock filtration so I just moved it to another compartment, this one), so I started to look at this last compartment as a bit of a major biological filter for the stand currently, essentially turning it into a refugium of sorts with so much Live Rock & Macro Algae within it, this compartment also now houses Megatron (G.chiragra) since I 'freed' Tintin (tiny male G.ternatensis) into his old compartment out of the heavy duty species container, Shockwave (G.falcatus) who use to reside in the bottom compartment of STAND A where all the Live Rock and now Macro Algae, now lives inside the heavy duty storage compartment being the least interactive, he also seems to like it as he hasn't struck or tested it yet.

Here is the bottom compartment of STAND A now along with it's new inhabitant Megatron(G.chiragra).



More to come as I purchased coral today like I mentioned above.

 

[Kharn]

Ok so here are some of the corals detailed with 2 pics each, the first trying to get the whole coral piece in the shot and the second being the closest closeup shot I could get, still no sign on the Leather Toadstools Tiny Poly Extensions...

________________________________________________________________________________

Bright Orange Common 'Morphs' (x4)



Maroon & Aqua Fluffy Morph (x1)




Brown & Gold Elephant Ear Morph (x1)




Bright Green & Pale Green Elephant Ear Morphs (x4)



to be continued...

 

[Kharn]

continued...
________________________________________________________________________________

Catalaphyllia (x1)




Hammer (x1)




FCS (Full Compartment Shot) (Light)




FCS (Full Compartment Shot) (Dark)



________________________________________________________________________________

So as you can clearly see, this little G.smithii (Eve) just got a major forest to roam around in, she is still a bit 'paranoid' of all this change of scenery but she has been out and crawling around the corals, I tried to get a shot earlier of her poking her head out from in between the Bright & Lime Green Elephant Ears but she swiftly retreated back to the PVC, she darted in through the base then reappeared at the top most entry/exit all angry and 'flipping me the bird' in a threatening manner.

I may end up also removing the Mushies on the 'Ric Bench' and placing them along the substrate, the Funky Mushies beside the Large Greyish/Blue Ric & the superman Rhodactis, just so I can put more Ric's up there, I plan to go to another LFS tomorrow that I know gets good stuff but no discounts .

 

[Kharn]

Managed to capture Tintin in a clearer view then I have previously...being such a small stomatopod at only 30mm long makes it difficult to catch him he isn't as aggressive/threatening as his female counterpart Nicole but she is also slightly larger then him being between 40-50mm long now.

TINTIN MALE G.TERNATENSIS


NICOLE FEMALE G.TERNATENSIS


I like them a lot and would love it if they could live peacefully together but I am too afraid one will kill the other (which is the most likely thing to happen) so I keep them apart for their safety and my stress relief bad enough worrying about Minnie & Maximus with her always horny and wanting some of him...

As for the corals the best part is that there are another 9 compartments/tanks to fill with corals ...Eves compartment is the smallest in size 30cmLx30cmWx30cmH there is another 5 more of these compartments to fill and that is only STAND A...In STAND B there is 1 tank with a divider (the top tank) and each compartment is 45cmLx30cmWx35cmH so these 2 compartments are larger then each single one of STAND A, the other 2 tanks in STAND B have no dividers and are 90cmLx30cmWx35cmH, it's these 2 tanks in STAND B that will house the 'most impressive' corals having the most room within them.

Should be very colorful essentially a wall (ground to ceiling) of coral 1.4meters wide & 2.1meters tall , more to come as I make my trip to my next store tomorrow

 

[lljdma06]

I'm glad you're enjoying the camera. The corals look good.

I have my mantis in a macro environment with LR. Spec 2 lighting is very poor for all but the hardiest corals. On the other hand, the lighting is a little dimmer for the mantis, so I'm getting some nice activity from my curacaoensis. He's more active than he used to be.

L

 

[Kharn]

I'm glad you're enjoying the camera. The corals look good.

I have my mantis in a macro environment with LR. Spec 2 lighting is very poor for all but the hardiest corals. On the other hand, the lighting is a little dimmer for the mantis, so I'm getting some nice activity from my curacaoensis. He's more active than he used to be.

L

Ah you have the Neogonodactylus curacaoensis to knowledge no Neogonodactylus are found within Australia, coupled with the fact that it is illegal for us to Import/Export Live Inverts, I don't ever foresee myself obtaining one as much as I would love to!

I would say that lighting for N. curacaoensis wouldn't be that important, looks to be a fairly shallow water dwelling individual (3m-50m) which would mean it gets bright light often. However Dr. Caldwell does state that they are somewhat difficult to maintain and require very good stable water parameters so the macro algae setup should really help that side of things.

As far as my own usage of Macro Algae I started to think a few things over...and it's all assumption based.

Within STAND B resides my 2x O.scyllarus, 1 in the bottom tank, 1 in the middle tank, the Top Tank of STAND B is divided into halves with a fixed/permanent divider, on the Right is my L.colemani and on the left are my G.graphurus pair (the G.graphurus pairs compartment is again divided in half but with 2 eggcrate sheets).

The Top Tank of STAND B is the only light that remains on in the stand however the half that my L.colemani resides in is kept dark via black sheeting above his half, blocking out the light, so only the G.graphurus pair get light because the Live Rock they each live within, is covered in Macro Algae and has been for sometime now, (can't even see her Rock anymore it's that well coated).

I wonder if the mixture of a mostly light free system & the macro algae which has been in there since the starting of that stand, have combined to help keep the peacocks healthy because as far as mechanical filtration goes....I am REALLY lacking (just a large canister filter) I say it mostly because when I got my largest O.scyllarus he had fairly advanced shell rot on his telson and since being in his new home for 7months now, all shell rot has gone, his telson looks so shiny it almost looks fake xD (plastic).

That is why I put Macro Algae into STAND A I assumed the stuff in STAND B although only in 1/6th of the entire stand was doing much more then I thought it was doing as far as filtration goes...I have also 'sown' some of it into the sand with STAND C where my large spearers live in the hopes it grips to the sand and spreads all over the sand beds.

However both Macro Algae uses rite now are very temporary, with the incoming major upgrade in filtration and all the refugiums hosting Macro Algae behind the Displays they are connected to...there will be no need for the macro algae in the displays, coupled with the fact that every display will have PVC DIY burrows, all the Live Rock & Macro Algae currently in the displays will be moved to the refugiums behind, only live rock with coral attached will remain in the display, I have noticed that even with the addition of all this extra Rock in Eves compartment she still prefers the PVC burrow having been in it for some time now, this is exactly what I hoped .

Surprising to find how little most LFS don't really know much about macro algae yet they all use it...my mate didn't know why I kept saying 'sexual' "what is sexual, what does it mean?"...........

 

[Kharn]

Bit of a large update here picture loaded :lol2:...

Yesterday I went and purchased more coral from a different LFS I purchased more at this place as I thought they had more on offer, this is the list that I ended up walking out with :lol2:...

1x Zoanthid colony, Fire & Ice, 24+ polyps.
1x Blasto colony, Light Brown & Aqua, 6 heads.
1x Helio Fungia, Green Stem & White Tip, 50mm base.
1x Leather Tree, White Stem & Light Brown Tip, 50mm tall.
1x Duncan Tree, Pink Tips, 5 heads.
1x Frogspawn, Pink Tips & Green Stems, 4inx2in footprint.
1x Frogspawn, Electric Green Tips & Dark Purple Stems, 4inx2in footprint.

As you can see there are a few more in this lot and I must say since having them for only a short time...I am really in love with the Frogspawns they opened up first and rather quickly and their soft jelly spongy look along with bright colors really intrigue me, I feel the same about my new hammer and am starting to consider making 1 compartment a 'Jelly' compartment filled with Frogspawn, Torch & Hammer/Anchor LPS Corals make for an interesting sight to see a random stomatopod dart about it all xD not to mention the color mixed with the simple fact that these LPS seem to really like the stand, for instance the Helio Fungia hasn't totally opened yet...

Either way, I got some pics, inc

Oh...and I also found something else...a hitchhiker on the Fire & Ice Zoa rock ...a stomatopod!!! Couldn't believe it when I saw it in the bag staring back at me!!! It's really bright green and even though it's small (40mm) it is VERY aggressive, swimming around the bag and kept striking my fingers where I was holding the bag, it is also VERY bold, when acclimatizing it in the container it was very easy to capture up close it did flee from the camera lens nor when I had to wipe the container rite beside it for a better shot, just sat there, bright color, very aggressive, very fearless, looks like a good candidate for a display compartment when it grows up more.

I know 1 thing, it isn't a G.smithii, the meral spot I.D. on the G.smithii (for me personally) is virtually impossible to miss, specifically when the rest of the animal is so brightly colored, it threatened me a few times but it was so quick that I couldn't see the meral spot, so I thought the spot has to be either White or Yellow or maybe even Green any other color on such a brightly colored species would of stood out instantly as it opened its appendages to threaten me, either way time will tell.

Pics inc.

 

[Kharn]

Ok I'll start off with the new stomatopod inhabitant since this is a stomatopod forum

I'm going to take a swing in the dark and say...G.glabrous.



Temporary Living Quarters.



As I said this was a little mantis full of personality from the get go! So hopefully in time it will become a good display species and that I can get a true I.D. on the bugger .

More to come

 

[Kharn]

Here are the corals purchased, some of them ended up in Eve's compartment whilst the others they replaced were moved to other compartments within the stand, majority in Nicoles (G.ternatensis) compartment and a little in Tintins (G.ternatensis) compartment as well.

1x Zoanthid colony, Fire & Ice, 24+ polyps.


1x Blasto colony, Light Brown & Aqua, 6 heads.


1x Helio Fungia, Green Stem & White Tip, 50mm base.


1x Leather Tree, White Stem & Light Brown Tip, 50mm tall.


1x Duncan Tree, Pink Tips, 5 heads.


1x Frogspawn, Pink Tips & Green Stems, 4inx2in footprint.


1x Frogspawn, Electric Green Tips & Dark Purple Stems, 4inx2in footprint.


FCS - Full Compartment Shot with changes in place.


Curious Eve (G.smithii) pokes out the base to see what all the rumbling is about, I have never been struck by her with my hand in the tank.


More to come as it happens, unfortunately I am internet capped rite now so this inhibits my ability to upload vids however I did get a good clip last night of the Juggernaut taking on another large crab and again demonstrating the sheer accuracy & power of his hits.

 

[Kharn]

Went back to the LFS today and picked up a bunch of 'Cheap' Ric's none 'ultra grade' either way Eve's Ric bench now hosts Ric's only and about 17-18 of them I wish they were orange, yellow, pink etc...10 of the cheap grey/dull color Ric's = 1 Ultra Grade Ric in costs (downunder) and it's hard to find the 'Ultra Grade' stuff.


Also picked up a Torch (LPS) today now making it 4 look a like LPS, 1xHammer, 1xTorch & 2xFrogspawn , for now the Torch is residing in Nicoles compartment and instantly she took a liking to it and started to dig under it and make a home, you can see her in the pic.


More to come as I plan on getting a lot of the DIY PVC burrows completed for STAND A tomorrow, the PVC DIY burrow Rocky is getting is going to be more elaborate then the others in the stand (which are all the same), mostly because Rocky is in the bottom tank and the bottom tank for the stand is 100mm taller, so I essentially added a second plateau arm for Ric's etc.

 

[Kharn]

Tomorrow I plan on knuckling down and getting a lot of the PVC DIY Burrows for STAND A complete. With the very first one I made going to Rocky and being a bit of a failure...I had a second go with a different glue and a slightly finer substrate, this has turned out to be magnificent for any stomatopod that prefers PVC I see these frames as being utter heaven and with the G.smithii inhabiting my second creation I am more then confident in their designs and effectiveness.

I know I showed some pics of the designs in the past prior to inputting my current active one into it's final resting place but, to refresh people that may be curious I took a few more pics this evening showing the 2 designs within STAND A, the Top & Middle Tanks of STAND A and their 2 compartments each (so 4 compartments all up) each have the same designed DIY PVC burrow, as I said in the last post Rocky resides in the Bottom Tank of STAND A and this tank is 100mm taller then the rest in the stand, so this gave more room for extras on the DIY PVC Burrow.

Here is the second DIY PVC burrow almost completed all I need to do is add 1 final coat of substrate & glue then it's good to cook in the sun for a while, then placed into the Live Food tank for a few days then finally placed into it's final resting place within STAND A.


Identical design as above just reversed and with no substrate & glue attached yet.


Here is Rockys soon to be new mansion...quite elaborate even for PVC burrows...it certainly opens up large opportunities for various corals, I should mention that NO horizontal extending arm out from the 'trunk' of the DIY PVC burrow 'covers' a potential coral plateau (light can get to every egg crate plateau).


Here are all the PVC DIY burrows for STAND A awaiting to be finished hopefully I can get a lot done tomorrow , there is a lot of coats that go on them to hide gaps etc (5-6) and when there is only 1-2 coats left to go, I usually seal all the joints together (as I glue them individually with substrate) except for 1 at the base easy to cover with substrate & easy to remove/put in place if the burrow needed removing etc.


More to come

 

[lljdma06]

Ah you have the Neogonodactylus curacaoensis to knowledge no Neogonodactylus are found within Australia, coupled with the fact that it is illegal for us to Import/Export Live Inverts, I don't ever foresee myself obtaining one as much as I would love to!

I would say that lighting for N. curacaoensis wouldn't be that important, looks to be a fairly shallow water dwelling individual (3m-50m) which would mean it gets bright light often. However Dr. Caldwell does state that they are somewhat difficult to maintain and require very good stable water parameters so the macro algae setup should really help that side of things.

I'm very curious as to how Dr. Caldwell kept his curacaoensis. Mine is doing well so far and has proven to be quite extroverted. It takes pellets, frozen offerings, and for now, has left the small hermit crabs alone. I think it'd be a mantis that you'd like. Very pretty species.

As far as my own usage of Macro Algae I started to think a few things over...and it's all assumption based.

Within STAND B resides my 2x O.scyllarus, 1 in the bottom tank, 1 in the middle tank, the Top Tank of STAND B is divided into halves with a fixed/permanent divider, on the Right is my L.colemani and on the left are my G.graphurus pair (the G.graphurus pairs compartment is again divided in half but with 2 eggcrate sheets).

The Top Tank of STAND B is the only light that remains on in the stand however the half that my L.colemani resides in is kept dark via black sheeting above his half, blocking out the light, so only the G.graphurus pair get light because the Live Rock they each live within, is covered in Macro Algae and has been for sometime now, (can't even see her Rock anymore it's that well coated).

I wonder if the mixture of a mostly light free system & the macro algae which has been in there since the starting of that stand, have combined to help keep the peacocks healthy because as far as mechanical filtration goes....I am REALLY lacking (just a large canister filter) I say it mostly because when I got my largest O.scyllarus he had fairly advanced shell rot on his telson and since being in his new home for 7months now, all shell rot has gone, his telson looks so shiny it almost looks fake xD (plastic).

That is why I put Macro Algae into STAND A I assumed the stuff in STAND B although only in 1/6th of the entire stand was doing much more then I thought it was doing as far as filtration goes...I have also 'sown' some of it into the sand with STAND C where my large spearers live in the hopes it grips to the sand and spreads all over the sand beds.

However both Macro Algae uses rite now are very temporary, with the incoming major upgrade in filtration and all the refugiums hosting Macro Algae behind the Displays they are connected to...there will be no need for the macro algae in the displays, coupled with the fact that every display will have PVC DIY burrows, all the Live Rock & Macro Algae currently in the displays will be moved to the refugiums behind, only live rock with coral attached will remain in the display, I have noticed that even with the addition of all this extra Rock in Eves compartment she still prefers the PVC burrow having been in it for some time now, this is exactly what I hoped .

Surprising to find how little most LFS don't really know much about macro algae yet they all use it...my mate didn't know why I kept saying 'sexual' "what is sexual, what does it mean?"...........

I find that the use of macros helps with the waste build up, not that such a small mantis like the curacaoensis really contributes much to waste, but it still helps. He's grown quite a bit since I first got him. If the macro is pruned regularly, it doesn't go "sexual". I never remember if I'm supposed to say "go sexual" or "go asexual".

L

 

[Kharn]

I'm very curious as to how Dr. Caldwell kept his curacaoensis. Mine is doing well so far and has proven to be quite extroverted. It takes pellets, frozen offerings, and for now, has left the small hermit crabs alone. I think it'd be a mantis that you'd like. Very pretty species.



I find that the use of macros helps with the waste build up, not that such a small mantis like the curacaoensis really contributes much to waste, but it still helps. He's grown quite a bit since I first got him. If the macro is pruned regularly, it doesn't go "sexual". I never remember if I'm supposed to say "go sexual" or "go asexual".

L

If I got one I would treat it like my 'special' G.smithii, Zuzu the unique, I would place it into a tank much larger then its recommendations just to get that insurance of stable water, even though Zuzu is a 'G.smithii' and will likely stay around the G.smithii size...he resides in a 100L sump filled with Live Rock & Macro Algae.

 

[lljdma06]

If I got one I would treat it like my 'special' G.smithii, Zuzu the unique, I would place it into a tank much larger then its recommendations just to get that insurance of stable water, even though Zuzu is a 'G.smithii' and will likely stay around the G.smithii size...he resides in a 100L sump filled with Live Rock & Macro Algae.

Zuzu the unique? Ok, I'm new to mantis keeping, who's Zuzu?

For now, the water seems stable. I have some experience keeping nps corals in pico systems, which require nutrient rich, yet clean water with stable parameters. I changed it 2x a week, which is how I treat my coral pico. Down the road, as he grows, he'll be upgraded. He's rather small now, and I wanted him in a tank where he could be very easily monitored.

L

 

[TundraGuy]

You need to do one in red cover it with mushrooms and add a big Mario jumping from one of the openings.

I like the pipes but i wonder if your adding a few to many exits. Or are the mantis just closing them off?

 

[hossa81]

Could you do a video of the whole setup? Having a hard time seeing what the setup looks like through your drawings.

 

[Kharn]

Zuzu the unique? Ok, I'm new to mantis keeping, who's Zuzu?

For now, the water seems stable. I have some experience keeping nps corals in pico systems, which require nutrient rich, yet clean water with stable parameters. I changed it 2x a week, which is how I treat my coral pico. Down the road, as he grows, he'll be upgraded. He's rather small now, and I wanted him in a tank where he could be very easily monitored.

L

Zuzu the Unique is my very rare, recently found (2010 if I recall) species which I got off someone a while back online whom didn't care for stomatopods much and had caught it as a hitchhiker in his tank.

Since he is so rare their is no real information on how to keep one as the only other person I know to have one is Dr.Caldwell and he has told me that he himself has only seen them less then a dozen times.

I'm more then confident in the system he is now in being such a large tank (300L total) and with nothing to harm him, he resides in the sump with Live Rock & Macro Algae and even though I barely ever see him now, his well being is instantly recognized by tapping/smashing .

Zuzu the Unique (to my knowledge) still has no rely scientific name (unless it's recently been named) and the only thing that can be I.D.'d about it is the meral spot, matching a G.smithii (black dot with white rim) however coloration wise, it is more on the O.scyllarus side of things, bright vibrant coloration & patterns with fluro white almost glow in the dark antennas.

Unfortunately as I said he didn't "inherit" the personality of a 'typical' G.smithii (interactive) he is extremely shy and now being in a much larger system I nigh on never see him...but it's better to know he is thriving rather then in my old Nano which was just a nuke box in the end...(tore it down xD).

You need to do one in red cover it with mushrooms and add a big Mario jumping from one of the openings.

So many ideas lol I have had and written down so many ideas that I can no longer remember half of them xD....

I like the pipes but i wonder if your adding a few to many exits. Or are the mantis just closing them off?

I don't see your point really...what is the problem with having so many entry exits ? It certainly doesn't bother them and the stomatopods do as you said well at least Eve has (Rocky leaves all his entrances open likely cause their way to tight anyway hence his upgrade), Eve however has blocked all but 1 entrance and she often switches, from the top most entry/exit being opened and the rest blocked with rubble or the bottom Right entry/exit being opened and the rest blocked with rubble.

Could you do a video of the whole setup? Having a hard time seeing what the setup looks like through your drawings.

Beyond what I have rite now I don't plan on doing another Full System Video / Shot soon...I want to have these PVC Burrows done and other things in place to show the significant difference from my last shots which are in this thread deeper back .

 

[Kharn]

@lljdma06

Zuzu the Unique is named after a character from Futurama Dr.Farnsworths pet mature Gargoyle...which intern is actually called 'Pazuzu' (Pa is usually silent) and is the name of the 'first winged demon' or something like that.

NOTHING to do with stomatopods....LOL, still I like Futurama

 

[Kharn]

DIY PVC Burrows!

I love how they have turned out which is just like the 1 in Eves compartment, I ensured that each entry/exit has substantial glue and substrate to hide the PVC even an inch or 2 into the PVC itself.

May look simple but to ensure no PVC is showing and essentially enhance their individual effect It took over an hour and half, each piece was glued individually for 3 coats of glue and substrate then I assembled the bottom half together and covered the seals with glue and substrate effectively making it 1 fixed piece for the bottom and did the same for the vertical 'trunk' and its 'branches', in the end it's a 2 piece unit which thanks to the bottom entrances pointing up, can be buried deep enough to cover the joint connecting the Top half to the Bottom half then in time Algae does the rest and like a great heirloom...the longer these sit in their place, the more and more natural they will become .

Already had 1 viewer walk past STAND A after browsing it then walk back, look into Eves compartment again and asked, "That rocks not real, is it ?"....mission accomplished!

The only places I 'skimped' on were places I knew were not going to be visible, even though most of the lower half isn't visible anyway...places like under it completely and behind it all are done but only with a single coat or 2.





Take special note of the rear 2 in the second picture (birds eye view), the rear left one is currently position how Eves is with the large raised platform on the Right whilst the Rear Right burrow has its platform positioned on the left.

This is how each tank will look, mirroring one another basically, I accounted for plenty of Power Head room as well behind the Ric plateaus, only difference between Eves frame and these 3 are the simple vertical portions on the Ric plateau itself, making it look like a 'couch' this is to help prevent to much flow in that area.

Now for Rocky

 

[lljdma06]

@lljdma06

Zuzu the Unique is named after a character from Futurama Dr.Farnsworths pet mature Gargoyle...which intern is actually called 'Pazuzu' (Pa is usually silent) and is the name of the 'first winged demon' or something like that.

NOTHING to do with stomatopods....LOL, still I like Futurama

I know that, but what's special about the smithii named Zuzu the unique.

L