smallest L. maculata I have ever seen
 

I just got the smallest maculata ever. He or she is barely an inch long. It looked small at the shop but when I got home I was suprised, it was really so tiny.

I don't have a pic yet but when he settles in I will show him to you :lol2:

Being that small, once he does settle in the odds of you getting a pic will be greatly reduced since its a burrower =) one of the only times you'll get full body shots of an L.mac or any burrower is when you transfer it to the tank and before it makes its burrow =)

Still sounds really interesting and cute can't wait to see it =D

I know, this is my second maculata but I lost it a few months ago.
I'll have to be fast since it has already started its burrow.

Well these are by far the worst pics I ever took. My good camera is broken so I had to use a really bad one. But still, here it is.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/w.../maculata2.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/w...1/maculata.jpg

Haha such a cute lil thing =)

Oh my goodness.. So freaking adorable! Good luck with the little guy.

Should be a breeze really =) L.mac's are pritty tough buggers Leviathan is Thriving in his tank =) one thing I do like about spearers is that if you wait long enough for them to establish burrows its very safe to add a "reef" above them (minus the smaller inverts & fish but in a coral sense) as I once had mine setup like that, since they won't smash the coral to bits like a smasher might to redecorate its home, as of yet neither of my spearers have buried coral.

Very cool mate so jelouse

I fed it a single adult artemia today :lmao: it's just so cute!

Judging from the coloration and size, I would guess that the animal is about 3-6 months post settlement. They settle from the plankton at around 20-22 mm and depending on food availability, will molt around every 1-2 months.

It is important to allow it to dig a burrow. Juvenile recruits that can't dig often lose the ability to do so.

Roy

It is trying to burrow but it just made the whole tank look like a moon landscape. Could it be that, because it is so small, I have to give it mud? I used a fine grain of coral sand but everything looks big compared to this little guy.

No, they can burrow in fine sand. Don't try mud. It may not have enough mucus to get started. Up the feeding. An animal this side can eat several adult brine shrimp a day.

Roy

Allright I will do that. Still weird though, feeding brine shrimp to a maculata :lmao:

He's been eating very well. But it looks like he doesn't have enough of the mucus, like you said. He started burrowing in a corner. He picks up sand en throws it on the edge of the undeep pit he has created so far.

It's a boy :lmao:

Hey doc would it help to start a tunnel for him? Maybe using something like the ridged clear pipe used for under gravel lift tubes? Using about 3” or 4” of the tube to just start out the cave, this way the little critter would have a cave and would be able to burrow under it and in time make its own cave entrance once it’s able to produce the mucus that it is lacking now. Just a suggestion.

This is a cool post you got there sTefaniA I wish you all the luck!

I haven't had much luck starting burrows for very small lysiosquillids. In contrast to adults, they dig simple vertical burrow, so the trick that I use for adults with a horizontal burrow doesn't work. Besides, with the ability to produce enough mucus, they really don't need any help - just a 5-6 " fine sand bed.

ROy

Would you say the sand on the pics is fine enough for it? I always use this sand for burrowers but the grains look big compared to the mantis now.

I can see it is producing mucus, but not enough. He digged a pit deep enough so you cant see it when you look at it horizontally, but the walls are still too flat, so he isn't in a real burrow.

It does look a bit course for a very small animal. I would mix in some super fine sand. A mixture of grain sizes seems to work best.

Roy

I was gonna say that a while back, the coarseness of the sand used for this lil' L.mac is on par with the middle layer of the substrate I used for my system and the grains look really big in comparison to the small L.mac so I can def see it having a hard time "mucusing" them pebbles...

Perhaps if you placed a Rock in the tank it could excavate a sort of cave out beneath it or at least provide a form of shelter

I added another 2 inches of fine sand and he's been digging a little better. He has created one vertical wall but the rest of his burrow still looks like nothing.

That thing is tiny hopefully it can fend for itself. Check on it daily to make sure its not being bullied.

Bullied? By who or what? I'm not keeping it with fish or anything

I find it interesting that so many really small L. maculata are showing up. Animals this size are really difficult to find in the field. It would appear that someone has figured out how to collect larvae as they settle and then rears them for a couple of months. This is how I get mine.

Roy