newbie questions

[beelzebob]

So this is my first post yea!

i have a 20 gallon tall tank with about 18lbs of live rock that i set up last weekend.

my intentions for the tank are a 1" peacock that i found at my lfs.

originally my plan was to let him "grow up" in the twenty gallon while my bank account slowly "fills up" to the point that i can get a bigger tank.

thats cool right?

im not doing any serious injustice to the lil guy starting him in a small tank, am i?


also i wanted to get some mushrooms, green star polyps etc to spruce up my tank to a "nano reef" (More like a squishy garden), and was looking for any suggestions for when the time is right.

also, what should i plan on feeding this lil guy other than GS and hermits?

 

[30mini]

snails are good, mysid, krill, silversides... basically anything meaty!

 

[DanInSD]

At 1", I'd doubt it's a peacock (O. scyllarus). They are still planktonic at that size -- or barely not so.

Make sure you give the tank a good month to cycle. Mantis are sensitive to water quality.

 

[beelzebob]

Really? not a peacock huh. he's definitly small (1"-1.5") and his colorations are very similar to a peacock (Odontodactylus scyllarus) ive been reading some books and looking online

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthro...ostraca/royslist/species.php?name=o_scyllarus


this is a cool database i found devoted to stomatopods, and the main reason i thought it was a peacock.

what else do you think it could be species wise?

 

[mattyice]

Odontodactylus havanensis prolly that, similar looking to a peacock but much smaller

 

[mattyice]

dan it could be a peacock though, i've seen the sold as thumb sized and they are peacocks, i believe they have a short planktonic life, only 1-2 weeks and they shouldnt be anywhere near that size in that amount of time, i believe dr. roy told me that they only going through about 10-12 molts in the planktonic size and they are done after that

 

[beelzebob]

"Leopard spots on anterior lateral carapace"



this was listed as a distinguishing characteristic, and the lil guy does have those spots....

id get pics but he's @ the LFS until im all cycled and ready.

 

[DanInSD]

Hey, could be, but my thumb sure is bigger than 1"!!!

Does size matter?

 

[mickey85]

How about a G. Smithii? They're smaller and some can be similarly colored to peacocks...