How many mantis shrimp do you have?

[Alex]

I was just wondering who else has lots of mantis. I have 4 right now. 1 big one and 3 small ones.

Alex

[Gonodactylus]

Over 300. 22 different species.

Roy

[orkspace]

No fair Roy!

[kul976]

haha.. i've got 2... a 4 inch O.S. and a 1 1/2 inch something
that i have yet to identify.. and they're in the same tank
believe it or not.. and they both use the same 10 pound piece
of live rock as their home.. haha

[mantisshrimp]

1 4 inch G. chiragra,looking for an O. scyllarus,or spearer ,Roy do you know where I can get a spearer?Can't find any.

[kul976]

YA.. it is definately hard to find a spearer.. i can get limitless amounts of O.Ses... there's a store nearby that gets a 4-8 of them every single week... and they're GREAT specimens too..
really colorful and very active.. but i have yet to find a spearer..
why are they so uncommon

[kalim]

i used to dream of creating a community tank of mantis shrimp to see how they interacted with one another. I mean, with 10 or so small stomatopods in a large tank...sigh...unfortunately, the wife would not be too happy with such a large setup, so i can only dream (at least until i can chip through her resistance)

The one time i temporarily placed a large mantis with a smaller one, the small one boldly walked up to the bigger and tried to strike it after doing a meral spread! The bigger mantis then chased the smaller critter all over the tank until i managed to rescue it.


Originally posted by kul976
haha.. i've got 2... a 4 inch O.S. and a 1 1/2 inch something
that i have yet to identify.. and they're in the same tank
believe it or not.. and they both use the same 10 pound piece
of live rock as their home.. haha

[Gonodactylus]

The most common spearer to be imported is Pseudosquilla ciliata - a great animal for a 20 gal setup. These animals are common in all tropical reef flats except for the eastern Pacific. They are all over Hawaii, the Caribbean, etc. Most importers get them occasionally. They come in all colors, but the yellow - orange ones are distinctive. Ask your suppliers to try to find you a 3 inch yellow stomatopod. It will probably be a P. ciliata. Alternatively, ask for a striped yellow and brown stomatopod. It will be a Lysiosquillina, a large spearer. They aren't much fun in a tank - mostly just sit in their burrow, but they can get very large and the strike is impressive. I had a 32 cm one for 6 years. It just died, so I will probably be trying to replace it.

Roy

[Alex]

If anyone in Metro Detroit, Michigan or in the area of Michigan wants O. scyllarus I can order them at the store I work at. You have to be able to drive there I can't ship from the store yet.

Alex


300 is a lot of mantis!!!

[DreamScape]

heheh.
i guess i can count myself lucky.

i have an lfs that will order in lysiosquilla from Queensland for me at a price of $30.
:D
;)

[orkspace]

Originally posted by Gonodactylus
I had a 32 cm one for 6 years. It just died, so I will probably be trying to replace it.

Roy

Not to be morbid, but what is the best technique for preserving a dead stomatopod?

[DreamScape]

i say encase it in a clear plastic resin :)
have you seen the jewel beetle keychains they do this with?
Spectacular!
:cool:

[ReefRaf]

I have 3 in a 10 gallon. A pair of spearers and a smasher. The pair were mating within minutes of being introduced, and all three have been in the tank for several months. Largest is about 3".
Actualy, I'm bored today, so maybe they'll move to a 20g.

[Fuzzy]

I have one in a 15 gal, not sure what kind it is.
But my wife is after me to get rid of the "horrible creature".
(it ate a few snails in our 56 till I caught it)
I'll probably take it to my office and keep him there.
Any suggestions for care and feeding, water quality etc...?

[ReefRaf]

Originally posted by Fuzzy
I have one in a 15 gal,....
Any suggestions for care and feeding, water quality etc...?

http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/care.htm