Neogonodactylus wennerae

[Brock Fluharty]

I have been reading around the mantis forum, and decided I want one for sure. I just set up a 5.5 gallon tank in my basement that was originally supposed to be for holding livestock until I sold it on my website, but I have changed my mind. Besides, how much livestock could I keep in a 5.5 gallon tank right?

Anyhoo, I was looking at the sticky about the ID's of some mantis shrimp, and I decided that a Neogonodactylus wennerae would suit my tank well. If my calculations are correct, they need about 2.6 gallons of water? I understand that they are hardy, active, and are often found in places that ship live rock from the Florida keys, from what I read on the sticky. Is this a good choice for a 5.5 gallon tank?

 

[Gonodactylus]

Most of the Neogonodactylus from Florida will be fine in this set-up. N. wennerae or N. oerstedii would be best. N. curacaoensis is a bit more difficult to keep, but it is relatively rare.

Roy

 

[Brock Fluharty]

How do you breed stomotopods? I posted it, but I didn't get any reply. Do you need some superhuge tank?

 

[Hutton]

cant be breed, the larvae cant survive

 

[Gonodactylus]

Never say never. It has been done, but it is very difficult. The larvae are highly cannibalistic, so throughout the 4 week planktonic stange, you need to house them individually. Also, food is a problem. Brine shrimp just won't cut it. You need a varied diet consisting of rotifers, enriched brine, etc. I have reared gonodactylus larvae to settlement, but I probably wont try again. I started with 100 larvae each in its own 200 ml cup. Each was feed in the morning and the water changed in the afternoon - every day. After a month, two postlarvae survivied and settled.

Roy

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Wow. Doesn't really seem worth it. I am used to preparing small food for babies. I have seahorses...