The Continuing Adventures of Tim (Supermantis)

Well, it would seem Tim didn't get his dinner out of mr crab, but sure appears he got even for that sissy wise crack a while ago..

something like this must be goin thru Tim's head
"I might be a sissy, but who's the punchin bag now?"


ps ... is it just me .. or does mr crabster seem to be missing an eye? ... hehehe oh lookit that, right next to the eye-hole.. "Tim was here"
 
i will start my first post off with a congrats to tim for taking on the emrald. This post is awesome i started it yesterday morning and by late afternoon i had gone and gotten myself a bright green mantis with red eyes any ideas on what kind that is. i had remembered someone brought him into the Fish Bowl where i work part time and he now lives in my 20g with about 11lbs of live rock and a bed of macro algae any recomendations on keeping him and if i get ahold of another mantis can he join we shall call him " Ted " ? i will be adding coral and i guess some snails for snacks. he is maybe a little longer than an inch how big will he get? thanks for the help and kick that emeralds a** Tim.
 
i would say ted is living up to tim expectations i just saw him grab a live baby hermit crab and take him into his chamber under the live rock and crack at his shell. still waiting on an ID
 
your prolly gonna need to post up a pic in order to get a good ID...might also try checking out the lurkers guide to stomatapods ......do a google search for since I dont have the URL handy...
Nick
 
start a new thread with a pic, or a very good description (incl. meral spots) and you'll get good responses. Dr. Roy will usually help you out with an ID, when he can.

WELCOME to REEF CENTRAL!!!!

LT
 
With the number of hitchhiker cast-offs recently added to Tim's abode, one coule almost assume that Tim had taken out an ad for roommates (he may have actually... hrm...)

Anyway, short update tonight from Still-wet-up-to-my-elbows-ville. Tonights lucky roommates lottery winners are...

- Red (because it's late and that's all I got)
acro_crab_red.jpg


and...

- Spike (again, need I mention how late it is for me?)
spikey_crab_under_1.jpg


See how long it takes Tim to start making customizations on his new toys... er... roommates.

Camo-guy, StrongBad and 'Crackle' (the customized emerald crab) are all doing well; especially Camo-guy.

Tanks been (FINALLY) rearranged again to better suit my wishes regarding burrow viewability. Tim will hate it of course, but I think I've finally arranged all the rocks to ensure he has to face the front regardless of which burrow he uses. *GRIN*

That "*GRIN*" won't last too long, of course. He'll find some place to use as a burrow that I still won't be able to photograph... /sigh

Anyway, gonna go dry my hands and crawl into bed now...

Enjoy!
 
I am not (yet). Definitely not a bad suggestion though...

The filtration is still lacking in his tank and I can't seem to beat the evil dinofillangates (sp?). Maybe a tiny skimmer is in order, but I just can't deal with the noise of that out in the open.

On the horizon I plan on building an enclosed stand for a 20 gallon long (29 gallon footprint) and converting his current 10 gallon into a sump/fuge. When that is finished I may finally add a small skimmer when I can hide it away...
 
I never knew the antics of a mantis could be so entertaining.....The LFS must think you have a real snail addiction, they're probably planning an intervention...Alas; Tim must eat!
 
tim...

tim...

....hope he is o.k.....:( my Little Ben....is now R.I.P. I watched him go and could do nothing to help....just got ill.........Steve:(
 
Always sorry to here about a lost mantis.

Tim's doing fine though. He's enjoying what must be like mantis heaven this week as it is his monthly restocking of inverts. This time I put in several astrea snails that I hope are too large for him (the two tiny astreas went fast). Also included 6 cerith snails (one already down) and a few stomatella from the fuge (hoping they'd go unnoticed did them no good; two shells were lying in front of his door completely cleaned already this morning).

The two rogue 'decorator' crabs are still alive. The velcroing beasty of the two has stuck a piece of everything to his shell (including zoanthids, algae, hydroids and even a carpet of dinoflangeatesamacallits). The smooth-shelled burrowing 'decorator' is farming the worm-rich sand-bed and picking at hydroids and even algae...

Last week Donnie tried to add some variety to Tim's diet by donating 3 peppermint shrimp. They lasted an entire week by hiding in the upper-left corner. Last night at surprise-lights-on time I could only find one (and he was poking at a snail on the glass; I hope Tim eats him just for picking on his favorite food). The other two may yet be alive and hiding in the survivors rock-pile. I have started to notice that the population of aiptasia in that corcer of the tank has been significantly thinned. Now if they'd only venture a little farther out to the center where the aiptasia rule unchallenged...

Tim has adjusted to the rearranged tank, but I think he's moved and doesn't want me to know. He still watches me from the same door he has used for the last couple of months, but he no longer closes the door at night. I think he's just perching there to lull me into complacentcy. Then he'll be able to strike from a strange unknown burrow when I least expect it. That, or he's just gotten too lazy to close the door anymore and knows now (finally) that there is nothing in the tank he can't handle...

*GRIN*
 
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Well i wish tom would live up to his namesake, unfortunately he has been and will probably continue being a poon. I've posted up some pics of him in this forum. Go check him out DM!
 
FalsePerc said:
Awesome thread! Up there with the Gonad-Eating Buttfish thread...
Click to expand...

LMAO

Thanks for the kind words (I think) on my behalf.

Tim's still smacking the glass enraged after I read that post to him. I don't think he liked being put in the same category as a fish that lives in the south-bound end of a north-crawling cuke.

:lol:

The 'heavenly' condition of his tank has already diminished over the weekend. I rested a not-so-healthy (large) astrea up next to his (flase) burrow entrance. When I got back from my camping trip to the 1840's he'd cleaned than shell with what looks like the help of a couple nassarius snails. I think the nass. snails tried to help because I found their broken shells next to the empty astrea shell.

Two of the cerith snails also met their doom a the appetite of the mighty Tim (who's only truly mightly when his prey is slow and thinly covered with a calcified shell).

All three peppermint shrimp survived the weekend. While they still hide with the lights on, they do in fact eat the aiptasia after dark. Only two clumps of aiptasia remain and both of those are within close striking distance of the king.

The hydroid-covered 'decorator' has earned the name Medusa, but the sand-dwelling, smooth-shelled 'decorator' has yet to inspire a name for himself. PM me some ideas. I'll run them by Tim and he'll select. I'll try to take post up another couple pics of the smooth-shelled guy. He's kinda tough to capture on pixelated film though since he doesn't leave the sand. He keeps a small dimple in the sand-bed to expose his head and tiny claws, but the bulk of his crabby exterior is concealed under the sand he swims through.


Enjoy all!


(Tim still looks mad... keeps mumbling about being WAY cooler than a butt-fish... personally I think it's a tough call. I loved that buttfish thread!) :D
 
So I was going to make up some nonsensical post answering a PM about what else I keep with Tim, but it's been a good photo day. Apologies to those on dial-up in advance... ;)

The day started fairly normally with me staring at the tank and Tim mocking me with his one all-seeing eye peering just above his doorway. In the absence of Tim posing for photographs I've grown quite fond of photographing the hitchhiker 'decorator' crab. So I took a couple shots of the decorator ham... er... crab.

Bullet-time...
hydroid_decorator1.jpg


Getting bored already...
cu_modern_algae_art.jpg


When a little flash of movement catches my eye (as usual).

On the prowl...
creeping_doom.jpg


"Hey! Where's the meaty part?"
damn_already_empty.jpg


So Tim's hungry. This could be fun. He's going to make the rounds and size everyone up before choosing a meal. Big As-trea is still too big. All the ceriths are gone already. Nassarius are extinct in the tank again. The small astrea is smart (or lucky to date). The "Battle Damage Mithrax" (TM) is still bowing and saying "Yes Mr. Tim, Sir" so he gets an automatic reprieve (for now). StrongBad is still invisible in his mobile vault. The smooth-shelled decorator is secure under the sand until dusk.

Hrm... That leaves one of the peppermint shrimp OR the afore mentioned really neat 'decorator'

Who will he choose?



Who will he chose?...





His decision made, he begins the hunt.


My heart sinks for the neat little crab...
luckiest_decorator_ever1.jpg


Death-blow has to be in motion already...
luckiest_decorator_ever2.jpg


Uh... death-blow incoming?
luckiest_decorator_ever3.jpg




Incredible...

Best vision under the ocean and he can't tell he's wrapped around a meal. He just wanted a better view of the real targets; Moe, Larry and Curly - the peppermints.

Moe and Larry volunteer Curly up for 'decoy' duty while they assure him they're not cowering... they're planning...
ready_to_pounce.jpg


After waiting for over ten minutes (why would I lie?) he makes his 'attack'... and misses.

Entertaining to watch, if only a bit anti-climatic.

I gave him a shrimp pellet and he felt better about himself.

I told him not to be too hard on himself, but I think the snickering let him know it wasn't very sincere. ;)
 
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as always great post and photos too!!!
Don't listen to them Tim!! I know your just fooling them all into a relaxed since of security.
 
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