New to the world of mantis keeping. :)

[Mwil3]

Well, I have been thinking about getting a mantis since first seeing one of the youtube vids about a year ago. I have been doing some research and watching the local forums for one to become available. Last week one popped up. I went Saturday and picked up a female Gonodactylaceus Ternatensis. I have a 20L that I have been using as a refugium for a while and figured that would make a nice place for my new family member. It's got about a 3" sandbed and I added some crushed coral for her to build with. She went straight for the burrow that I kinda constructed, and has been cleaning house. She doesn't seem to be shy at all and is very interested in what's going on around her. I'm very glad I made the purchase, she is one of my favorites now, and I think it's awesome to see her "watching" me watching her. She just seems very intelligent. Here's a picture.

I haven't been able to find very much information about the Gonodactylaceus Ternatensis, so if anyone can point me in the right direction, that would be appreciated.

 

[TundraGuy]

Congratulations and Welcome to the mantis club.

Remember first rule of M club is we always talk about Mantis. The second rule is we ALWAYs talk about mantis. The third rule is we share pix of mantis. The forth rule is we always talk about mantis. The fifth rule is we have tea parties on the veranda…………

Ok now that’s been put out there she’s cute! Does she have the characteristic red inter-segmental stripes? Cus that’s sweet! You got lucky on this find. From what I have seen with other mantis owners these little guys don’t have the high light sensitivity that is a problem with some of the other mantis. A tip for you I have been seeing a lot of bleached coral heads at Michaels lately. So you could go down there and see if they have any that would look good in your tank. If they do place it in a solution of ro/di water and some de-chlorinator to make sure it’s safe. Also for added bonus points you could get a drill bit big enough to drill a hole or two in to the coral skeleton to start a burrow for your mantis. This may not be living but would give your mantis a chance to live in something similar to its natural home. Who knows if the mantis will take to it or not, but still cool. My Smithii lives in a plastic skull he broke a hole into.

Mantis are a fun little critter in that they are interactive the way you’re discovering. I try to keep a good supply of CUC in with mine so that he can hunt instead of hand feeding. My mantis has just closed shop up two days ago. Looks like he’s molting again.

Thanks for sharing with us your new little buddy and the pix.

 

[Mwil3]

Ok...looks like I covered most of my bases as far as the rules go.

She is a deep green color with really nice bright red stripes, and crazy baby blue pattern on her front legs (you can kinda see in the pic) She's a little over 4". I was pretty excited when I read about this species not being shy with the light. I did read about shell rot being an issue, so I've got her under pc light. I'll try and track down some of these coral heads. I'd love to have her feel as "at home" as possible. Currently she is making short work of the CUC that was in there. I've been hearing her clicking away. I think she must be full though....a nassarius got a little close to her hole and she just smacked him away and went back to chillin'. When he got flipped back over, he got the heck out of dodge.

I read that these are not as commonly available as some other mantis, (not sure how true that is.) I'm just glad that she's not shy and hiding all the time.

I'll try to get some good pics in the next day or two.

 

[TundraGuy]

Shyness in this type of mantis is seems to be more specimen to specimen. I know a couple buddies that have these guys and have seen firsthand how vary different their personalities can be. Sounds like you got the right animal for you in that its out and about playing with the little world you’ve created.