Mantis ID help

[j_wishbone]

Hi guys

ID help please

Ill try and get a better picture in the coming days

so far this is the best ones ive got :spin1::spin1:


thanks!!!

[Gonodactylus]

Gonodactylus chiragra

[j_wishbone]

Great.. thanks mate

Ive read this
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/species.php?name=g_chiragra

and...

now what does it mean for me? hehe

is there any special requirements or care required for this particular species thats not mentioned in the above link?

how often do you feed this guys? every 2 days? once a week?

[DanInSD]

By the looks of it, you need a bunch more rock in your tank. Also add a lot of rubble (just take some rock and "have at" with a hammer).

I feed my mantis about every other day. I use a bag of mixed frozen seafood from the grocery store -- think "fish stew in a bag". It has scallops, shrimp, squid, and fish. I rotate between these foods.

As for amount, you will have to experiment. They will toss aside uneaten food, which can (and will!) impact water quality. Uneaten food should be removed promptly if possible; then cut back.

Your new pet may take a while to become acclimated and may refuse food for at least a few days. This is normal. Offer food using tongs or a feeding stick every other day or so until accepted. I don't need to tell you not to try to hand-feed these beasts, do I?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wRpTmcPC4I

Regards,
Dan

[Gonodactylus]

Just a quick caveat. Some frozen seafood imported into the US contains preservatives and other additives that you may not want to feed to a stomatopod. You can usually tell by reading the label. We lost some animals a couple of years ago when we feed our stock with frozen commercially farmed shrimp from southeast Asia.

Roy

[DanInSD]

Thanks for this! I get mine from Trader Joe's and it's always been A-OK.

Dan

[j_wishbone]

thanks guys!

I did put in food (not with my hand in the tank of course hehe) and it looked like he just played with it

pulled it out and i might try in 2 days time again

[twiggyb]

Dang how could you identify that from those pics!? I'm nowhere near qualified to even guess a species yet lol. Hope all goes well for you!

[j_wishbone]

is this any better?

[Gonodactylus]

I've seen thousands of G. chiragra. You learn to ignore much of the color and shape and key in on the few characters that are unique to them. Same way that you would identify a car. the overall color isn't that important, but traits like the shape of the head lights the silhouette, etc. is. Your animal would appear to be a female about 5 years old.

Roy

[j_wishbone]

oh man

when you got it.. you got it

i thought those pictures were pretty lame

haha

good job mate good job!

[j_wishbone]

so at what age do they become sexually mature...

[j_wishbone]

According to the info above its a smasher..

does it mean that it will give me a bewtter chance to mix it with some fish?

[young doz]

throw a damsel or 2 in and see if she does anything.
i say damsel because they are cheap (for if it gets murdered by the mantis) lol

[j_wishbone]

yeh cool.. Id probably do that

I read somewhere though some damsels picks on mantis as well


and it may remain hidden more than it does now

it doesnt come out as much???

[Thurge]

it doesnt come out as much???

Welcome to the wonderful world of G.chiragra. Not too interactive but BRUTAL to invading crabs and snails. You probably won't see it less if you add fish.

[j_wishbone]

Welcome to the wonderful world of G.chiragra. Not too interactive but BRUTAL to invading crabs and snails. You probably won't see it less if you add fish.


I havent seen it in action yet... might have to throw some in so that I could see it come out!

Ok kewl... I will try to mix it with some damsel..


do you currently own one? can you post your set up.. looking for some inspiration.. hehe

[Koshmar]

I currently have one in a twenty long:

http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Koshmar_photos/Newscape004.jpg

Their reculsive nature is well known which is why most people that find out they got a chiragra are disappointed. However, this species can be pretty interesting. Out of the four mantis shrimp I have kept, Chet (my G. chiragra), has been the most industrious. He's a little engineer and has built quite an impressive home out of that big rock you see on the left. He's basically made "rooms" with "doors" and puts on quite a show during his construction periods. They are also quite hostile as Thurge has pointed out. Mine is actually a little bit of a chicken until he's cornered. I experienced what I can only describe as a chiragra meral spread one time and it was relatively scary. Imagine looking into your tank and a big black shadow rising up from a hole, puffed up with arms wide spread. He promptly disappeared back into his burrow after he saw me though. :)

So yeah, they are reclusive but I wouldn't trade mine for a peacock now that I've gotten to know him so to speak.

[gozermantis]

throw a damsel or 2 in and see if she does anything.
i say damsel because they are cheap (for if it gets murdered by the mantis) lol

i dont know why so many people think that mantis kill fish... for only a couple of mantis kill and eat fish. Now if a fish is dying or gets to close and gets a defensive smack and them gets eaten after it dies that's a different story. But a chiragra will not kill a fish just for food..

[j_wishbone]

Koshmar.. thanks for the post .. tank looks great

Also interested with the corals that you have placed in there.. I have no experience in corals so what would you recommend as a beginner.

I want to add a couple of corals in my tank which is roughly 30 litres...

and maybe a damsel... =)

[Thurge]

I don't currently have a G.chiragra. I had one for aobut 5 years, up until about 9 months or so ago.
Actually I currently don't have any mantis. We bought a house in October and I have had a tank cycling for an O.havanensis since moving in.

[Koshmar]

Why thank you! The big tree thing in the center is a Kenya tree coral which is extremely easy to care for. In fact you don't really need to do anything for it at all. They readily reproduce and grow relatively quickly. I got a handfull of zoas for free from my lfs (they're really kick a$$ about stuff like that) so I can't really provide much info about the particular species. The larger red polps you see taking over the rock on the left take meaty leftovers from my chiragra (usually squid and mysid) so they help a lot with cleaning up. So I recommend taking a look at the zoa forum on this site for some basics about their care because they are pretty easy to care for in general. I also had the macroalgae caulerpa prolifera in the back of the tank which is the best macro algae IMO for display. This species is extremely fast growing and won't invade your rock work the way C. mexicana or taximorpha does. Avoid those two at all costs, I learned the hard way. As for lighting, I'd have to check but I believe I have a T5 or something on that tank, I'm pretty sure chiragras are shallow depth species but I'd have to check on that to. Hope that helps.

[gozermantis]

when i get home i will post some pics up of my old chiragra reef tank for ya.

[j_wishbone]

thanks koshmar I will follow your advise!!!!! ta least i know where to start now...



looking forward for that tank shot gozermantis =)

[gozermantis]

My old chiragra izzy (rip) and her tank
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/da9_chinga/izzyistheshit.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/da9_chinga/shesback2.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/da9_chinga/25.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/da9_chinga/25b.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/da9_chinga/25g.jpg
Older setup's
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/da9_chinga/izzytank3.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/da9_chinga/izzytank1.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/da9_chinga/izzy1.jpg

[j_wishbone]

oh my.. dats pretty good!!!

and its attractive but simple at the same time!!

thanks