pic'less id ... ya i know...

[Altpers0na-old]

So im at the ole lfs.... and they have a new mantis...

i think its a viridis. it upper body is covered in white spots...

its general coloration is no one specific color. lots of green and white...

on each side of its back, at the tail end, on the last non toothed plate are black spots with an orange dot.

it has matching , nearly matching spots up around its shoulder area...

as for the meral spot its white, i didnt see any trace of color in the meral area

and its a smasher... about 3 inches long...

ima try to get a picture...

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on a related note...

the shop is holding a peacock shrimp for me... and now they have this thing...

im building my stand for a 75 to dedicate to my incoming mantis

if i go ahead with the peacock then no halides... no happy clams or light grubbing corals...

if i get the little guy then i can go crazy with the lights.... 6x1000w MH or you know what ever....

so thats my dilemma , big glorious peacock and not much else... or small fry and lots else...


opinions?

 

[Altpers0na-old]

i think i answered my own ? here, not a viridis, but a

g. platysoma

are there any others that have that distinct black and orange mark?

 

[Pea-brain]

with a peacock you can go with enough light togrow softies and mushrooms. If you go with that guy you'll basically have a reef tank with a mantis in it. Personally, I'd turn the 75 into a reef tank with that mantis, and get a 30 and dedicate it to the pecock and some soft corals.

 

[Uriel]

On G. platysoma. (Well, observations of Glaurung, my G platy, anyways...)

These are the only mantis with this mark.
While most describe them as shy and retiring, mine is a mutant, being my most active mantis (I currently have 10 mantis shrimp...).
Hardy, mine has gone through several drastic molts color changes, greens, pinks, creams and purples.
Mine is a picky eater, not liking crabs (He still kills them, then throws the body into the corner....I have stopped offering crabs) . Mine loves scallop, hermits, snails and ghost shrimp. Mine not only tolerates a large serpent star, he actually seems to regard it as his garbage disposal, walking over and depositing his leftovers whereever it is lurking. They spend a long time locked away diring molts, so you have to be patient and not die of worry when you haven't seem him for 2 weeks.

Definitely my favorite mantis.

-Uriel

 

[Altpers0na-old]

o.0 now im really interested...

pea-brain ty for the input...

the one at my lfs isnt out hunting, but he just showed up today... so far after about an hour of watching it , it spent about half the time curled up in a rock, not hidden very well.. the other half was stretched out so i could see the full length....

it didnt actaully go anywhere or move much other than hanging out next to the rock it liked...

 

[Uriel]

Dr. Roy once said that they are fairly lazy, as far as burrows go, meaning that they don't smash extensively, but would rather find a ready made cavity. This means that you can pretty much decide where he/she will live, provided the right cavity is to be had. I positioned mine with the opening facing the front of the tank (Many will dig at the back of a rock, out of your view).

G platysoma is a shallow water species, so they will roam about a bit, as they pillage tide pools,etc... in the wild. I was thinking of switching mine to a larger, more shallow tank, trying to simulate that, perhaps.
Glaurung does spend a lot of time near the top of the tank, as if he was looking for a way into the next one on a food foraging mission.

These don't show up as often as many mantis, and I would definately grab him/her, if possible. Of course, I'm a bit off, since I have a veritable mantis shrimp city going.

-Uriel

 

[Altpers0na-old]

ya, not many show up here in the unfasionable end of ky... but i have been surprised at just how many iv seen around here..... 3 peacocks, this g. paly, another slasher... an n.wenn or 2 or 3... and some i never got an id on...

 

[Altpers0na-old]

o.0 they flouresce

 

[Altpers0na-old]

now see the problem here is that im trying to figure out how i can make a good wall in my tank so i can get both....

 

[dragonforce]

I use to have a platysoma, they like to pear out of their hole a lot IMO, not super active during the day.

 

[Uriel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9649228#post9649228 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dragonforce
I use to have a platysoma, they like to pear out of their hole a lot IMO, not super active during the day.

This what most folks find to be true. I guess I just got lucky with that one-in-a-million extroverted platysoma.



-Uriel