son wants mantis is it safe?

B

bracebldrs

New member
this may be a stupid question but can a mantis
go in a glass aquarium?after watching thoses things
on u-tube .i was just wondering if they can break glass?
also sand or crushed coral for a substrate?
 
yes and no. It really depends on what species and how big the mantis is. Anything that stays under 6 inches tops would, i think, be a safe bet in a glass aquarium. Although ascrylic would be best a thick glass aquarium would be fine too i think. If you want an idea of which mantis is best for you, check out the site below. Just remember that although a lfs may call a mantis something, it doesn't mean that their mantis is the species they think it is. You need to ID it yourself. Also any kind of spearer would be fine depending only on how large the volume is. plus the only thing they need is a DSB, as opposed to a smasher which needs thickglass/acrylic/volume (species dependent)/LR.

yes and no. It really depends on what species and how big the mantis is. Anything that stays under 6 inches tops would, i think, be a safe bet in a glass aquarium. Although ascrylic would be best a thick glass aquarium would be fine too i think. If you want an idea of which mantis is best for you, check out the site below. Just remember that although a lfs may call a mantis something, it doesn't mean that their mantis is the species they think it is. You need to ID it yourself. Also any kind of spearer would be fine depending only on how large the volume is. plus the only thing they need is a DSB, as opposed to a smasher which needs thickglass/acrylic/volume (species dependent)/LR.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/

Oolitic sand (sugar sized) is best although a few would argue for something coarser.
 
The ability to deliver crushing blows varies with the size and species of the stomatopod. Whether a glass aquarium can stand up to a strike from a mantis also depends on the size and thickness of the glass used in the tank. Assuming that you are using a standard 5-10 gallon glass tank, there are only a handful of stomatopods that could crack or chip it. There are only two that I have seen that could cause a complete breakage. I have had Hemisquilla californiensis (11 inches) shatter a glass tank. I also had an Odontodactylus scyllarus that was over 6.5 inches take out a think glass tank. Our work has shown that a large O. scyllarus can generate 1400 N of force, a couple of thousand times its weight. When we get down to the 10-20 gal standard aquarium, the most typical failure is is cracking or chiping at the edges around the bottom when the animal tries to dig. This can cause leaks. I've seen 4 inch O. scyllarus do this as can the very largest Gonodactylus chiragra and Gonodactylaceus ternatensis. In the case of the last two, both were in the 4 - 4.5 inch range.

Bottom line is that any N. wennerae, G. smithii or other smasher under 4 inches is safe in almost any glass tank.

Roy
 
1400 N! aha! I've been looking around for an actual number to that question for a while. I kept having to say "the largest can strike with the force of a .22 caliber bullet... at least thats what i read" to anyone who asks.
 
Just don't tell this to my wife. I have her convinced that our 5" O. scyllarus wouldn't be able to break his Oceanic 30 (1/4" thick glass).
 
just out of curiousity how old is your son? is he like me and in a teenage stage where we are interested in predatory creatures? lol j/k

btw, about the whole .22 caliber bullet thing, i saw someone talking to an LFS employee about that, while pointing at a 1 inch N. Wennerae.
i couldn't stand it anymore and told them that "Can you imagine THIS TINY LITTLE guy punching that strong? only the big ones can do that!"

PS: After having stomatopods for awhile, you realize that they aren't as voracious as they are made out to be! only my g. glabrous ,and my 4 inch peacock mantis. are agressive

and i know it's too late for this, but did you consider a spearer like p. ciliata?
 
i personally prefer smashers. Spearers as a general rule of thumb like to stay in their underground burrow and sit there. so you don't see a whole lot of them. plus fish stand a better chance with a smasher. lol, with a spearer, well... not so much
 
You can keep cleanup crews with spearers, and P. Ciliata are very active and come out of their holes quite often I hear
 
hmmm a clean up crew would definitely be an upside. And true that P. ciliata seem pretty outgoing. Although I should mention that according to Dr. Roy, small mantises usually don't go after thick shelled prey like turbo snails. Only big ones like peacocks bother.
 
my p. ciliata is very active, and does not bother a small tomato clown in the 24 gal nano with him, but i think this is somewhat of a fluke.

but he is about as active as my peacock mantis
 
P. cilata are active, and make great pets.

P cilata aren't the typical spearer since they have re-evolved back into a spearer, from a smasher (Which a;; started out spearers, as the good Dr. Caldwell have mentioned). this is likely why they don
t play well with others as well, having smasher-like personalities, as oppossed to just digging wherever they feel like it. Both of mine have burrows using live rock and tunnels, btw...

Both roam around as well, and when fed fiddler crabs, both attacked ferociously, wrestling them, and then stabbing them (Prison shank style) from behind and underneath.
In fact, I just returned from the LFS, and mephistopholes and Tiamat are feeling a bit peckish, so I'm off to feed them.
Only my G. platysoma is more active, though everyone else says that this species is shy. I guess that I have done a good job of making him feel safe, as he swims and zooms around constantly.


-Uriel
 
uriel, am I seeing things or do you actually have seven mantis tanks? gee im jealous much. I mean really, are you setting up a mantis lab to compete with Dr. Roy?:D

BTW I absolutely love the names of your P. ciliata. Demonic mythology right? very fitting lol.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9049883#post9049883 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gonodactylus
We currently have over 300 stomatopods (15 species) in the lab. Uriel has a way to go.

Roy
Click to expand...

Wow, that is alot. Is the lab ever open to the public? Open house days or anything???
 
Unfortunately, no. Because I also work on blue-rings, I had to agree to restrict access to my lab. I don't even get janitorial service in the animal holding areas. And would you believe that Homeland Security even gets involved because we have TTX.

Actually, the numbers of animals in the lab are down due to airline restrictions on carrying liquids on planes. It is no longer possible to hand carry specimens that we collect in the field and many are too temperature sensitive to go into the cargo hold. There have been times when we have had over 30 species and 600 individuals.

I am giving a UCMP Short Course February 10th and I sometimes lecture at Cal Day in April. I don't know yet if I'll give a talk this year.

Roy
 
WOW! over 300 individuals with restrictions... now Im realllly jealous. Hey Dr. Roy is your study results available to the general public? If so where might I get my hands on some of your papers? Im really curious about the physiology of stomatopods. Especially how they counter TTX.
 
Do you talk about stomatopods in any lectures that are open to the public? Is the Short Course on Februay 10th open to the public? I live in the east bay but go to college in San Luis Obispo so I do come home alot and I would love to come here you lecture.
 
The short course is a professional development course primarily for teachers. I'm not sure what it costs, but it is not free. Cal Day is free and usually either Sheila Patek or I speak.

Roy
 
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