New manits, please confirm ID

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mynameismikejon

New member
I just purchased a mantis shrimp(a peacock is what i was searching for) and just wanted confirmation on the species.. i have reviewed one of the guides that detailed the specifics of each species and was pretty sure i had a peacock until i saw a listing for a "peacock mantis for sale" that ended up being identified as a Gonodactylaceus ternatensis.

also, he just molted fairly recently.

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..and if it isnt a peacock, any info on the characteristics of the actual species would be appreciated. Either way, this little guy is pretty gnarly and colorfull looking, so i am happy with my purchase.. thank god he just molted, as i havent been able to get some of my more "likeable" fish back to my other pico tank.. my yellow clown goby of only 3/4" has been starring down the mantis and even following him around within milimeters of him like they were buddies... poor unsuspecting goby... but i wonder: since allot of the mantis' shrimp level of aggression is often depends to their individual temperament, and since the fish were there first offering zero threat to the molted and vulnerable mantis, i was thinking there might be a possibility of them co-existing? pipe dream even if my mantis was a well mannered peacock?

hhaha, first reply, i guess my screen name was too large to display "mynameismikejones" - an internet alias of mine. my name is Christian
 
+1 on peacock

as for fish (or anything else for that matter), it's best to assume anything put in will someday be food. may or may not happen, but best to assume the worst
 
That is one sweet peacock!!! All mantis's have their own unique characteristics and personality! i would be more interested in keeping him that yellow color!!
 
cool, thanks for the replies.. yeah i love his coloring, it was kinda throwing off my ability to ID him since he was so yellow vs green - as i had seen in pictures..

he seems pretty active and healthy and has built a barracade behind his burrow entrance using all my live rock rubble and most of my small live coral frags.

too bad they dont eat aitpasia, thats my next chore.

on a cruel side note, i have a larger-sized coral banded shrimp in the tank too - a transplant from my pico tank prior to purchasing the peacock.. the look on the CBS' face and body language when he ID'd the peacock was priceless.. his whole dody contracted and he pivoted his body and head back and forth just in and out of site jerking back to postion after every confirmed siting.. poor bastard, there would be no doubt in my mind to take the CBS out of the tank had it not been for the fact he killed one of my gobies and a sexy shrimp.. i almost think he deserves an *** kicking...

on a more humanitarian side note: if there is anyone in orange county CA that wants to trade fish/coral for my CBS, let me know.
 
Yes, yes, let the CBS die. Many people purchase CBShrimps because they think they are such kick *** predators...well those people are plaids who haven't heard of mantis shrimp :D

Or cuttlefish.
 
just because one animal is a better predator than another, doesn't mean the weaker one "deserves an *** kicking"... in the wild, sure tough chickens, that's the food web; but in captivity, it doesn't have to because you play God. take out the CBS and sell or give it to someone who does find joy in keeping them. you can have the mantis get the same amount of benefits by feeding it frozen table shrimp.
 
Congrats on your Mantis, nice colors too! Agree with Juntinl, please remove the CBS if possible. In the wild, animals can try and escape. In a tank, it's the aquarist's responsibility to protect them from slaughter. Should have no problem donating him to a LFS if can't find a buyer.
 
Well your viewpoint is probably more logically sound than mine.

However, I like my intuitions. So I'll stick to my view.

The mantis, though, is going to need some live prey to stop him from getting lazy. Why go to the trouble of rehoming the the CBS and then buying another feeder animal? Wouldn't both lives be equally as important?
 
those colors are amazing.
and i have heard of a coral banded shrimp killing a mantis. i dont know how big the shrimp/how small the mantis was but apparently it was the most B.A. coral banded anyone's seen. im not saying you have to worry about that at all, but it has happened.

i love my coral banded. it was the second thing i ever got. first was clownfish. he always attacked my clown and ate tons of hermits in the 14 gallon but now leaves everyone alone in my 55. i second the notion to trade him into a LFS. you can get a couple hermits n snails for what you get. and im sure that would last longer than one big meal for your mantis.

p.s. how big is the tank hes in? is it glass? did you add any acrylic to the bottom? i only ask because i was interested in a peacock but they get big and are strong. i'm just trying to get a feel for peacock caring
 
yeah, i had an ad on craigslist offering him for free a week ago when he was outgrowing my pico tank.. then i threw him in the 29 gallon tank.. then i found a peacock for sale locally.. since he just molted i figured i would have a few days before anything is at risk of getting killed.. if i can grab him, i'll prob put him back in my pico tank along with my goby.. the goby was my first priority to save but he kept escaping me.. now that i have been been observing the goby and mantis interactions i think im gonna let things be.. i fuigure the goby has a 50% chance of survival... the CBS, about a 1% chance of survival...

trading the CBS to the LFS for hermits and snails is a good idea, i'll call them later.


my tank is a glass 29 gallon oceanic biocube, with no accrylic bottom layer protection... its dangerous.. im going to start looking for a "safer" peacock tank over the next couple of months.. till then, i know there is the chance of cthe peacock cracking glass, but i feel that it is highly unlikely for a 4" mantis... but he is appraoching the dangerous-to-glass size.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14850236#post14850236 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by micstarz
The mantis, though, is going to need some live prey to stop him from getting lazy. Why go to the trouble of rehoming the the CBS and then buying another feeder animal? Wouldn't both lives be equally as important?
Click to expand...

nope. the whole point of live feeds to our smasher mantids is to make them use their rapts to feed. a shell makes them excercise a lot more than a soft carapace of a CBS
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14851794#post14851794 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by justinl
nope. the whole point of live feeds to our smasher mantids is to make them use their rapts to feed. a shell makes them excercise a lot more than a soft carapace of a CBS
Click to expand...

A shell is barely mobile. It just sits there while the mantis smashes it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14853372#post14853372 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by micstarz
A shell is barely mobile. It just sits there while the mantis smashes it.
Click to expand...

...that's the point. the goal of live feeds with hard shells is so the mantis exercises the rapts. no one gives a crap if it has to swim around to do it. if the mantis doesn't feed by using its rapts, after a while it may decide they aren't worth keeping and will tear them off.
 
I wonder why they tear them off? I mean it is a hell of a weapon so why would they make themselves defenseless?
 
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