My Ultimate Multi Mantis System(s)

TundraGuy said:
hey bro been a while for me to post. Glad to see you still at it. I found this and thought of your builds and thought I would post it up for you to check out. You may use this around the pipes to add in the live rock look. http://www.smooth-on.com/gallery.php?galleryid=495
Click to expand...

Glad to see your back and posting :D being one of my more public commenter, as for the link to the live rock it's a great idea :D but unfortunately I am sort of sticking with my current idea....mostly because of the simple fact that with patience I can essentially coat the entire exterior of the structure with the same large dead coral chunks on the substrate making for a great match up overall.
 
Ok, don't take this the wrong way, but you're insane. In a good way. :-) Your burrows are awesome! Can't wait to see how the new layout comes out!
 
I cant wait either xD this is really exciting because it's all big stuff :D all the compartments in STAND A is 'nano' material lol, so nothing big and flashy can really go in them + all the inhabitants are small so you got to walk up to get a good look, these 4x larger O.scyllarus tanks are gonna hold the "Trophy Stuff".
 
A few picture updates :) most are corals but there is 1 of a stomatopod at least :)

All taken on Nikon 1 V2








Minos the L.colemani


More to come :D
 
A few more pics from this evening this time mostly Stomatopods with a few corals :).

THE JUGGERNAUT (O.SCYLLARUS)


THE KRAKEN (O.SCYLLARUS)



ROCKY (G.GRAPHURUS)


MAXIMUS (G.GRAPHURUS)


The LEVIATHAN (L.MACULATA)


ROCKYS RICS



ELEPHANT EAR MORPH


Hope you like!
 
Minos has begun to do that which every spearer owner hopes for =) he has begun a new burrow but at the front of the tank in the right hand corner, although he has yet to ever complete a true burrow... I reallllly hope he completes this one...




Minos being an L.colemani is a strange spearer, found in some depth of water (this one caught at 65fathoms...) not much is known about them and even less is known about them in the aquarium world, it's a rare inhabitant to STAND B and in there because he will not grow to the sizes of the much larger foot plus species inhabiting STAND C.

He is my greatest concern on the simple fact that there is no information to fall back on other then reports from the wild captures of them. For the most part it would seem that their requirements are much similar to that of other 'zebras' however the 65fathom depth would mean at the very least, less light and lower temperatures...the former being provided and the latter being managed as best possible (lowering the overall room temp).

Whilst Minos has shown very clear and distinct signs of recovery since coming aboard the crew he has been leaving me very unsettled...this is one VERY skiddish stomatopod, swift movements near him will send him into a crazy and swift swimming around the tank, striking everything he comes into contact with, only to finally 'calm down' and sink to the bottom of the tank (upright, no 'keeling over' action yet), he has yet to of taken any live food nor taken in any decent amount of food (only nibbles the smallest bites before throwing it away).

I know he is getting nutrients from what he takes off what is offered because I have had him since October 17th 2012, he will not take to any PVC pipes offered all various sizes nor inhabit any buried and 'prepared' he will dig but only a little bit enough to stick his telson in.

I'm concern that he has lost his ability to create a burrow in the substrate (bind sand) I am assuming his dramatic 'spasms' and timidness extends from this lack of burrow...without him wanting to take to a burrow that I have prepared or offered (PVC) this is a bit of a stalemate...

Time will tell but it has been a few months now.
 
Looking good as always, Kharn! Impressive upgrades you've got planned as well... And the pictures? Wow. They only get better as time goes on. Perhaps they will one day be featured in a documentary with such stature as the Planet Earth series I saw here in the USA.

Always lurking here... Keep up the good work!
 
Fartin'Gary said:
Have you thought maybe about a separate tank for the deep water mantis? Possibly a chiller?
Click to expand...

I have but as of rite now am reluctant to provide it...I may end up setting a 'decked out' nano with a mix of 50/50 mud n sand just for this spearer, like Zuzu but provide a chiller with it.

Unfortunately this species resides between the barriers of true cold dweller and tropical dwellers, from knowledge 14-16degrees celcius is good for it, whilst true cold dwellers (Bathysquilla) needs 3-5degrees (STAND D in the works).

STAND D will also officially be inside the same room as the other STANDS it will sit where the Live Food storage tank sits now, the Live Food storage will move to beside the PC and the large wardrobe is being removed :D making room for another 2 STANDS at least the same length of STAND C & D (4foot).

Rite now I only have 4 dedicated compartments in 2 tanks for spearers...so am thinking about the extra space for the 2 more STANDS as spearer ones, I have essentially 10-14 smasher compartments already, hopefully I can also have 12 large spearer compartments too :D.

The future STANDS are all going to be built with the upgrades these current ones are getting except they will have corner box overflows rather then HOBs etc. everything will be plumbed more neatly!
 
Eel Freak said:
Looking good as always, Kharn! Impressive upgrades you've got planned as well... And the pictures? Wow. They only get better as time goes on. Perhaps they will one day be featured in a documentary with such stature as the Planet Earth series I saw here in the USA.

Always lurking here... Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

I want to do my own series on YouTube based around 'Stomatopods in the Aquarium' :D with photos, videos and commentary (me) in each episode based on 1 species with my experiences to date.

Soo many things planned xD lol...
 
This evening I gave my largest stomatopod 'Leviathan' a large fish which he swiftly captured and dragged back into his burrow...oddly enough and for the 2nd time now, the fish was "released" but only after a lengthy time of around 1hr at first I was confused at seeing it thinking that the spearer had just killed it on impulse/reaction then tossed it away not hungry however....upon closer inspection it would seem that the stomatopod did indeed feed on the fish a bit before 'releasing' it....I was surprised simply because the fish was still alive even though its tail had been completely consumed by the spearer....

Here is the fish after it was released from the burrow by the spearer. Note the completely almost clean cut missing tail, hard to believe it was 'chewed' off...it looks like it was cut by a knife.


Minos the L.colemani comes up to the front of his compartment to have a stare down with the camera a brief chance at some good closeups :)



Since the Leviathan refused the live fish after it released it and ate its tail...I thought about who to offer this still live fish too since it was now in the final stages of succumbing...Initially I thought Minos but it is rather large for the smaller spearer...I then opted to give the fish to my largest smasher (the first time he tasted live fish), was quite a funny thing to watch as the fish was still mobile and the stomatopod so goofy in its pursuit, nonetheless he finally caught the fish and after a few well placed punches, ended its misery.

Here are some pics I also filmed the Leviathan taking down the fish initially along with the Juggernaut chasing it around and finally catching it =) (vids to come).




Vids to come :)
 
Videos in order (since the same prey appears in both videos).

First up is The Leviathan, snagging the live fish as it dared to swim by...oddly enough after an unknown time period the spearer must of released the fish and perhaps even removed it from the burrow....is this simply because when I walked past the tank about an hour later, I saw the fish on the substrate leaning against the divider and panting rapidly with its tail completely removed o_O, its tail be removed is what startled me in a manner of 'no tail o_O...how did it get OUT of the burrow...).

HD - 1080p capabilities

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3CQOfZ78350" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

So after realizing that either Leviathan was just after a snack before releasing the fish still alive I thought who else could take the still live large fish...Morgoth was a consideration as was Minos but the former I had plans for already (going for HS) while the latter I thought would just get spooked out by the large fish...so...Enter the Juggernaut :D, this is the first time he has taken a live fish before and unfortunately the 1st half of the film was set to a REALLY high white balance so was unwatchable however I did manage to get the ending where he finally grabs a hold of the fish, sealing its fate....

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IOYFIXso0TI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

More to come as I tempt Morgoth into a High Speed recording :)
 
Wow. Have you ever kept live fish with Juggernaut? I would imagine he took the fish because it was basically a free meal. Most smashers won't expend the energy needed to catch a fish. Obviously this wasn't much effort for a meal.

Great videos and info. Thanks for sharing!
 
Islandoftiki said:
Wow. Have you ever kept live fish with Juggernaut? I would imagine he took the fish because it was basically a free meal. Most smashers won't expend the energy needed to catch a fish. Obviously this wasn't much effort for a meal.

Great videos and info. Thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...

I have tried to keep fish with him but unfortunately due to a lack of cover the fish always seems to want to 'snuggle' with Juggy (take refuge under his rock) he will tolerate the presence of another creature but not if it's rite beside him in pouncing distance.

He really messed up the fish in the end, with multiple thumps, kind of funny watching him trying to wrangle it even though it has no tail all I could think of is "Ehh...ehh...ehh...can't...reach....:(..." LOL
 
Even though the film is not yet completed (Rise of the Planet of the Stomatopods) I feel somewhat compelled to release something...and whilst I do not want to do another trailer...

I am considering releasing 1 completed scene...mostly because once I learned about the difficulty of the whole extraction of cages/wire I essentially jumped over those scenes, did others further into the movie and am now back at the scenes where there are cages that need extracting...which takes a VERY long time but the effect is very good :D.

Either way I am considering releasing a 5-10min clip of a scene from my movie to ensure people that this is still happening...
 
Caught the Juggernaut (O.scyllarus) off guard by sneaking up all commando style with my camera :D


Upon noticing me get closer he turned his full gaze on me and began to ward me off...


I acknowledged his anger and backed off, a smasher of this size could do serious damage to the glass if provoked into doing so...


If there is one distinct difference between when I first got Minos (L.colemani) and to date is the simple fact that he seems to be getting more use to the whole 'no burrow' ordeal...even though he has not advanced in shell rot and shown significant recovery and even though he is yet to bring down live prey he has become more bolder, initially if approached to quickly by anything he would dart and bounce around the tank running into many things...

However now he seems to of grown more of an inquisitive nature, whilst I still do approach slowly, he no longer backs away but rather comes forward almost to greet the camera...


Curious about the camera he came forth to the very front and crawled up the glass a bit :)


Notice the still developing antenna, a sign that his health is returning.


It's relatively easy to capture photographs of these 2 stomatopods seeing as their sheer bulk makes them an easy target for the camera, when it comes to the smaller ones I tend to set aside a good 30-45mins to clean the glass off each compartment setup the tripod and coax each one out individually :)

More to come!
 
Here is another picture and good opportunity to describe how I recycle food :)...

Leviathan speared a large live fish, which after a while he released from his burrow only having chewed the fishes tail off, the fish still being alive was then given to Juggernaut who ended its suffering and ate a great deal of it, after noticing the remain of the fish in the corner of the tank still containing some flesh, I removed it and placed it in the tank above, containing the Kraken (a smaller O.scyllarus) who also had his fill of the carcass until he too flung it from the burrow again I removed it and finally gave it to Minos who is now happily munching on it, he took to it quite fast which I am glad to see :)



More to come :D still trying to catch Morgoth on HS again but he is being stubborn -_-
 
After 6 attempts at tempting Morgoth out in front of the camera for some High Speed recording...he finally gave in and swiftly took down his prey :) it was an awkward grab for him as I know he (along with all other spearers) prefer 'head shots' but the fish wouldn't turn to face him so eventually Morgoth just went for it...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7AB4oUaW7SQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

More to come :)
 
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