I just thought that I'd post this for your amusement.
I had been thinking about Dr. Roy's site, listing 'small crustaceans' as food items of the P. cilata. So, I dropped a small fiddler in with Mephistopheles, one of my P. cilata. He swam around behind it, wrestled with it (Picture some sort of judo hold...), and proceeded to 'shank' him (Prison style!) up and underneath on the softer underbelly, stabbing the hapless crab several times, before carrying it back to his burrow for lunch.
I was astonished and fascinated. So, I gave a larger crab to Tiamat (My larger, and far more aggressive female P. cilata), and she did the same thing, wrestling and then pinning the crab against a rock, stabbing it underneath.
P. cilata is becoming one of my favorite mantis, being the 'smasher-turned-back-spearer', as well as having a lot of personality.
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On a side note, the LFS guys 'got me' again...
I entered the store, for more crabs, as well as snails a few days ago, and Coleman (the manager) asked 'Ron, are you still looking for more mantis?' I did a mental 'D'oh!' and said Nope...
He then asked me to go and look at the Kritter keeper sitting in the banded shark tank (A horrible place for a mantis to wait for a new home, I say,Ach!!!). Sure enough, there was a teeny little mantis, less than an inch long, hiding behind a piece of live rock. I sighed, aloud this time.
Coleman said that he was sorting LR rubble, and the little monster zipped out of a piece, right across his hand. He yelled in alarm, then said 'Quick, let's catch this for Ron!' and he and two other guys got nets and caught the little monster. he was free, and really cute, so what could I do!?! Mantis shrimp #11 at 'Casa de Mantis'.
Pics will have to wait, as my camera's software hates me, but i am pretty sure that he is an N. wennerae. He is currently molting inside a big turbo shell (I said he was small...), awaiting permanent digs, living alongside me other two tiny mantis, in kritter keepers in one fish tank.
-Uriel
I had been thinking about Dr. Roy's site, listing 'small crustaceans' as food items of the P. cilata. So, I dropped a small fiddler in with Mephistopheles, one of my P. cilata. He swam around behind it, wrestled with it (Picture some sort of judo hold...), and proceeded to 'shank' him (Prison style!) up and underneath on the softer underbelly, stabbing the hapless crab several times, before carrying it back to his burrow for lunch.
I was astonished and fascinated. So, I gave a larger crab to Tiamat (My larger, and far more aggressive female P. cilata), and she did the same thing, wrestling and then pinning the crab against a rock, stabbing it underneath.
P. cilata is becoming one of my favorite mantis, being the 'smasher-turned-back-spearer', as well as having a lot of personality.
**************************************************
On a side note, the LFS guys 'got me' again...
I entered the store, for more crabs, as well as snails a few days ago, and Coleman (the manager) asked 'Ron, are you still looking for more mantis?' I did a mental 'D'oh!' and said Nope...
He then asked me to go and look at the Kritter keeper sitting in the banded shark tank (A horrible place for a mantis to wait for a new home, I say,Ach!!!). Sure enough, there was a teeny little mantis, less than an inch long, hiding behind a piece of live rock. I sighed, aloud this time.
Coleman said that he was sorting LR rubble, and the little monster zipped out of a piece, right across his hand. He yelled in alarm, then said 'Quick, let's catch this for Ron!' and he and two other guys got nets and caught the little monster. he was free, and really cute, so what could I do!?! Mantis shrimp #11 at 'Casa de Mantis'.
Pics will have to wait, as my camera's software hates me, but i am pretty sure that he is an N. wennerae. He is currently molting inside a big turbo shell (I said he was small...), awaiting permanent digs, living alongside me other two tiny mantis, in kritter keepers in one fish tank.
-Uriel
