new mantis--smithii!

[medellia]

here are some pics of the newest addition to my mantis horde--a little 1.5" female smithii! i can't believe i lucked out on this one. when i saw it posted up for free, i doubted that it was really a smithii...but hey, a free mantis is a free mantis. i got her yesterday (thanks again Kevin!) and sure enough, she really is a smithii!

attacking her reflection

 

[justinl]

sweet smithii! definitely an awesome score. what are you going to put her (did you sex it, or just just calling it a she for no reason?) in?

 

[medellia]

yes, she is a female (i always check on my mantids as soon as i get them in--for some reason it bothers me not to know what sex they are )

the pics i posted were taken when she was acclimating in the drip cup, but here is a shot of her tank. it is an acrylic 6.6 gal, 23" x 9" x 7", with an aquaclear 300 fuge. i like this size and shape of tank, as it gives them a lot of room to roam without wasting tank space on height that they will not use, and has lots of surface area for oxygen exchange.

smithii tank--

here is a shot of the wennerae in the same size tank. ( you can see her peeking out of her den, just above the green star polyps) i plan to add more soft corals in the smithii tank too, so it will look more like this over time.

 

[Pea-brain]

I really like that design Is that custom job or did you buy it from a catalogue? Of course that also means you need less light for the softies andyou can fit more LR in their for filtration. BTW You are LUCKY!

 

[Alesia]

Is that one of those "bookshelf" tanks? (I saw one at at a local pet store a couple months back) I've been contemplating using one because I like the shape for all the reasons Pea-brain mentioned. I love the way you've set yours up, I just wanted to say it looks great!

And awesome find with the Smithii!

 

[medellia]

thanks, glad you guys like the setups!
yes, they are the acrylic bookshelf tanks--Petco sells them for around $50. the design is great, and they have worked out perfect as mantis tanks.

well, the addiction continues...tonight a friend gave me a nice yellow/green P. ciliata, and i have a bunch more havanensis coming in this week...woohoo! i will take some ciliata pics as i start acclimating it to its new home.

 

[Ehudd]

You make it look really natural.
That Smithii has incredible colours!
more pics!! with the mantis's

 

[medellia]

thanks, i try to make their homes as natural as possible, with lots of nice den sites and building supplies. the downside is, with such a wide selection of hiding places, they don't see much point in being out and about. but oh well...whatever makes them happy

i am working on some more pics now

 

[Ms. K]

Great colors...gorgeous smithii.