Official Wack Thread - G. smithii
- Thread starter rams
- Start date
rams
ramtheory
This thread is about the history and life of Wack the Mantis. Named by my kids which I think is perfect for what they can do. The story goes I was hanging out with a good friend one day at a LFS. For most of us the perfect place to kill time while the kids were at the in-laws hanging out, and the wife was at work. I was looking thru the coral tanks for eye catching zoas ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œmy favorite past time 
ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ something caught my eye. Could it be? My friend quickly grabbed up the rock and did a fresh water dip and sure enough there it is a Mantis. Man they are fast and once we got it in a specimen container boy can they jump. Well never thought of having a mantis so a quick stop off at a local pet store which shall not be named. Wackââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s house was purchased a 2.5 gallon aquarium and a whisper ten.
Well it was time to pick up the kids and stop by the in-laws. It was a cold night so brought it in. The kids couldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t put the bag down they were so intrigued by this little guy and my stories of what they do when they get bigger. I told my middle child about how they like to wack at hermit shells and other inverts. So from then on he couldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t stop calling it Wack. So the name has stuck with me and the kids even though the wife wants to call it Freddie. The funny part about this hobby in my household is anything that moves has a name. Kids, what can I say gotta love em!
ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ something caught my eye. Could it be? My friend quickly grabbed up the rock and did a fresh water dip and sure enough there it is a Mantis. Man they are fast and once we got it in a specimen container boy can they jump. Well never thought of having a mantis so a quick stop off at a local pet store which shall not be named. Wackââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s house was purchased a 2.5 gallon aquarium and a whisper ten.
Well it was time to pick up the kids and stop by the in-laws. It was a cold night so brought it in. The kids couldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t put the bag down they were so intrigued by this little guy and my stories of what they do when they get bigger. I told my middle child about how they like to wack at hermit shells and other inverts. So from then on he couldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t stop calling it Wack. So the name has stuck with me and the kids even though the wife wants to call it Freddie. The funny part about this hobby in my household is anything that moves has a name. Kids, what can I say gotta love em!
rams
ramtheory
Picked up the wife she didnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t say a thing except what is it. The kids couldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t stop talking about it so I figured no worries. Especially when I break out the tank. When I did I was baffled when she said "Oh" put it on the kitchen counter. Thinking to myself, What! :eek2: Must not of heard that right.
Kids went to bed and it was time to setup the tank. Nice thing about having systems already setup and a DSB tank downstairs wackââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s home was up in running within minutes of getting home. Through a couple frags in the tank after some live sand 2.5 gallons of tank water and Wack was home. Well thats my story of how I found Wack. As it gets more daring I hope to snap some better picks. I have Id it from: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthro...acostraca/royslist/species.php?name=g_smithii a Gonodactylus smithii
Wack is about an inch long and smaller than a green bean.
Kids went to bed and it was time to setup the tank. Nice thing about having systems already setup and a DSB tank downstairs wackââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s home was up in running within minutes of getting home. Through a couple frags in the tank after some live sand 2.5 gallons of tank water and Wack was home. Well thats my story of how I found Wack. As it gets more daring I hope to snap some better picks. I have Id it from: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthro...acostraca/royslist/species.php?name=g_smithii a Gonodactylus smithii
Wack is about an inch long and smaller than a green bean.
rams
ramtheory
Well on day two wife fed Wack a silver side with some tweezers. To our surprise once the fish oil was in the water it knew what was up. A whole silver side flashing away and man that little guy was out of its hole taking a look. Within seconds as quick as it could Wack took it's little fish head off. Couldn't tell how it happened but it was quick. Wife was saying Cool so now I am 100% sure Wack is here to stay.
finally got the Actinic bulb in for the fixture I purchased with a bad bulb for the Wack Tank. Never thought I would get back into nano tanks. But, hey when you got a good reason to a couple cool frags and an actinic bulb. A mantis tank is even cooler. :thumbsup:
finally got the Actinic bulb in for the fixture I purchased with a bad bulb for the Wack Tank. Never thought I would get back into nano tanks. But, hey when you got a good reason to a couple cool frags and an actinic bulb. A mantis tank is even cooler. :thumbsup:
rams
ramtheory
Added some micro hermits. I guess it is pretty bad when they are trying to climb the silicone to get out the next morning. Well thats nature and Wack is hungry. Wanted to let you know once the lights went out last night. Wack was out doing what a Mantis does best. Was watching a little TV last night before heading to bed. Kids finally went back to sleep after the storms. Was a late night as you could tell from the late posts. Started to hear what I thought was pea size hail on the windows. Got up looked out the front door what the? No rain, no wind, no hail. Started hearing the clicking sound. Oh ya, went over to see what was going on in the wackster tank. Boy, it was going to town couldn't break the shell but if I was that hermit. I would of had one heck of a headache in the morning.
This little shrimp is cool. Let me say they have no fear. Was moving some rocks around thinking what the? you should be hiding instead of swiming around. So, out came the tweezers from now on. :lol: After a few moves it was feeding time and boy was it ready. I love how interactive this little booger is. Like I said before, once that fish meat hits the water. This shrimp is out looking around "Whats up!" took a couple more pics tonight. Enjoy. :thumbsup:
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Well thats nature and Wack is hungry. Wanted to let you know once the lights went out last night. Wack was out doing what a Mantis does best. Was watching a little TV last night before heading to bed. Kids finally went back to sleep after the storms. Was a late night as you could tell from the late posts. Started to hear what I thought was pea size hail on the windows. Got up looked out the front door what the? No rain, no wind, no hail. Started hearing the clicking sound. Oh ya, went over to see what was going on in the wackster tank. Boy, it was going to town couldn't break the shell but if I was that hermit. I would of had one heck of a headache in the morning.This little shrimp is cool. Let me say they have no fear.
Was moving some rocks around thinking what the? you should be hiding instead of swiming around. So, out came the tweezers from now on. :lol: After a few moves it was feeding time and boy was it ready. I love how interactive this little booger is. Like I said before, once that fish meat hits the water. This shrimp is out looking around "Whats up!" took a couple more pics tonight. Enjoy. :thumbsup:
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PaulieWalnuts
New member
hmm..never thought of feeding mine silver sides? are they nutritional? do they leave behind a lot of leftovers and waste?
rams
ramtheory
nuevo casa ante freddie
nuevo casa ante freddie
I didn't realize till I just pulled up this old thread how big the little guy has gotten. Wow, like lookin at old photos of your dog when they were that cute and fun little pup. Now they just look at you anytime your in the room like they are so bored. Well its been a year since I spotted the little smasher. I told myself if the family accepted it as a pet and it lived past a year. I would update it's digs. Well Freddie aka Wack has just moved in to like a bachelor pad compared to the old casa. These little guys have so much character. When I placed the rock it utilizes as it's lair in the new tank. It was pretty cool how it reacted. I knocked with tweezers on it's door which is a shell it wedges in place at the entrance of the rock lair. After a few seconds of removing the shell and other junk they collect to seal off the hole. Fred popped it's head out of the rock. It took hours for it to come out and explorer. Popping it's head in and out of the rock like a gopher each eye looking around different ways in a 360s. If a mantis had an expression it was sure looking like what the heck. Well here are some updated pics of our family pet Freddie. Thanks for looking :thumbsup:
nuevo casa
nuevo casa ante freddie
I didn't realize till I just pulled up this old thread how big the little guy has gotten. Wow, like lookin at old photos of your dog when they were that cute and fun little pup. Now they just look at you anytime your in the room like they are so bored. Well its been a year since I spotted the little smasher. I told myself if the family accepted it as a pet and it lived past a year. I would update it's digs. Well Freddie aka Wack has just moved in to like a bachelor pad compared to the old casa. These little guys have so much character. When I placed the rock it utilizes as it's lair in the new tank. It was pretty cool how it reacted. I knocked with tweezers on it's door which is a shell it wedges in place at the entrance of the rock lair. After a few seconds of removing the shell and other junk they collect to seal off the hole. Fred popped it's head out of the rock. It took hours for it to come out and explorer. Popping it's head in and out of the rock like a gopher each eye looking around different ways in a 360s. If a mantis had an expression it was sure looking like what the heck. Well here are some updated pics of our family pet Freddie. Thanks for looking :thumbsup:
nuevo casa
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