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Unread 04/07/2009, 06:23 PM   #1
mdavis203
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Timmy!

I have just acquired my first mantis, who will grace my Biocube 14. He's a Gonodactylaceus Ternatensis. I have purchased him, but I'm letting the store hold him since I'll be out of town this weekend. I'll have him shipped about the middle of next week. I've decided to name him Timmy! (think Southpark) in honor of the late pirate supermantis Tim, whose adventures lovingly chronicled by DensityMan in this forum kept me enthralled.

When I called the dealer to ask about him, he was emphatic about this being his favorite of the ones they had for sale and that he was 'a real firecracker'. Uh-oh. Sounds like I may have my hands full.

Anyway, here's a pic of Timmy! from the web site where I purchased him:



I'll keep you guys posted!


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Unread 04/07/2009, 09:03 PM   #2
micstarz
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Very nice coloring! I like the blue on his swimmerrettes and legs.

Would you just look at the clubs on this one?! So darned big!

Congratulations!


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Unread 04/07/2009, 09:05 PM   #3
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Thanks, dude. I'm thrilled!

Thanks to all of you guys for putting up with my endless questions. You were a great help.


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Unread 04/07/2009, 10:53 PM   #4
gozermantis
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was he the last one on stomatopod.com? the one with one missing rap? thanks for picking him up . im glad someone gave him a home. i was starting to feel bad about him and almost bought him (yes like everyone else knows im a stomatoholic) haha so thanks. he is awesome and i know he is going to be a great first mantis. i wanna see lots of pics dude. good luck man awesome choice.


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Unread 04/08/2009, 06:20 AM   #5
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Yes, that's the one. I almost bought one of those two females, just because of his missing rapt. But, I couldn't help myself, I love his coloring. And by the time I had made up my mind to buy him, the two females were gone anyway. He looks awesome. And as small as he is, he'll molt quickly and regrow the rapt.

More pics will come. Thanks!


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Unread 04/08/2009, 08:31 AM   #6
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More pics need to come! I'm hungry to see this guy in his new home


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Unread 04/08/2009, 08:38 AM   #7
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Oh, and you probably know, but in case you haven't thought of this, most LFS's don't know how to or worse, don't care to house stomatopods properly when holding them for sale or for a customer. Remember to instruct your LFS to provide some live rock, food and SHELTER. At my LFS, they sell stomatopods either bagged up in oxygenated bags in polystyrene boxes or in little guppy breeder boxes hanging in a tank. In the latter, they are exposed to high power lighting and a lot of the time, they can see triggerfish swimming around under them...

I don't know what your LFS is like, but if I were you, I'd bring a piece of live rock to them and ask them to provide a tank space with substrate and put the live rock in there for Timmy to hide under. I'd also check how big exactly Timmy is and buy a PVC or ABS tube which is 1.5 times his diameter and twice his length and ask the LFS to put the tube in with him too so he can hide.

Your LFS is probably good enough though (Unlike the shops here in Hong Kong...one time they had a G. chiragra in a guppy breeder box hanging in a tank of pipefish...I told them that they should give it a tube. They ignored me and then the next time I came back they said the stomatopod had cracked open the guppy breeder box and killed two dragonfaced pipefish and an alligator pipefish (which shouldn't really be housed together anyway)


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Unread 04/08/2009, 09:27 AM   #8
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Amazing colors! Def post some updated pics when he comes home! I have had my peacock now for about 6 weeks, I called around to a bunch of LFS and when I arrived at the store that had 2, I found them both in hamster balls in a 20g tank!


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Unread 04/08/2009, 12:03 PM   #9
Jim Morrison
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Good choice


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Unread 04/08/2009, 05:53 PM   #10
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Thanks, guys! I'm looking forward to getting him into his new home.

I appreciate the tips, Micstarz. But he's not going to be at my LFS. I'm getting him from stomatopod.com. I've already purchased him, but I'm having them hold him until next week when I'm back from out of town. I thought about going ahead and having him shipped to my LFS and have them hold him so I could at least see him, but I decided not to for the reasons you speak of. I figured stomatopod.com knows how to take care of them better, so best just to let them hold him until I'm ready.

*noob question alert* He's about 1.5" long and missing his left rapt. Will he have trouble hauling around LR rubble to close his lair? Will he have trouble chipping out his lair? How much LR rubble do you think I need to provide? I kinda had in mind taking about a tennis-ball size piece and smashing it into marble-sized pieces.

Thanks for all the positive comments. I can't wait to put Timmy! in the tank and watch him build his home. I just hope when I start stocking my tank with SPS, he doesn't decide it would make a colorful door.


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Unread 04/08/2009, 07:08 PM   #11
Jim Morrison
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I dont no what you have for substate but it you buy a bag of course live sand with shells and small rocks he should have plenty to work with. You can smash up a rock too but make it smaller than a marble, maybe somewhere between that and a BB.


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Unread 04/08/2009, 07:21 PM   #12
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About 25 lbs. of live sand for substrate. And there are some small (pretty tiny) snail shells scattered around. From what you're saying, that should be good. I'll still pick up a little piece of rock from my LFS next time I'm there to smash up to tiny pieces for him. But it seems that's not quite as much of a priority as I thought it was.

Stupid hair algea abound right now. Nitrates are 0, so I guess this is just a post-cycle bloom. I'll pull some of it manually and trim my chaeto. If that doesn't help, I'll put a big Mexican turbo in there for a couple of days. I don't have much in there for him to knock over at the moment, anyway.


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Unread 04/08/2009, 07:23 PM   #13
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Make sure your phosphates are 0 if your getting algea.


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Unread 04/08/2009, 07:48 PM   #14
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Just checked. (Test came in the mail today.) I got a 0.

I'm going to pull some of it later tonight and cut my light cycle down to 8 hours (currently 12). That should help. I only have a small frag of star polyps in the tank right now, and Timmy! won't care about the light.


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Unread 04/09/2009, 06:05 AM   #15
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He will have no problem moving shells. They use their maxillipeds, and not their rapts to move and carry stuff. Rapts do help a bit I guess.

As for smashing at live rock, it's much easier to just give him a PVC tube or something that is sunken into the substrate. Imagine yourself as Timmy...why would you want to spend a few days bashing out a network in the live rock when you chould either dig a lair in the live sand or get your owner to find you a PVC tube?


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Unread 04/09/2009, 06:15 AM   #16
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I'll try that and see if he'll use it. What size PVC tube would you guys use for a tern? And how should it be buried? Pics would be helpful.


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Unread 04/09/2009, 03:00 PM   #17
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You would probably have to try a couple different sizes but i think your better off with rock that has a bunch of holes it so so he can make his own burrow. Heres a pic of mine.




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Unread 04/09/2009, 03:46 PM   #18
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I've got a couple of rocks with nice holes in it. A couple are in great viewing places, so I hope he picks one of those.


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Unread 04/09/2009, 08:45 PM   #19
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Ask your supplier about his approximate diameter and length and get a tube 2 times his length and 1.5 times his diameter...


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Unread 04/15/2009, 11:02 AM   #20
Cptn Spaulding
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if youre getting algae keep your lights off for a couple days. your nitrates and phosphates would read zero if you have lots of algae in there, because its sucking all the nutrients out. you can also scrub your rocks to remove it too.


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Unread 04/15/2009, 07:08 PM   #21
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Is timmy home yet?


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Unread 04/15/2009, 07:16 PM   #22
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The algae is starting to recede a little (or maybe it's my imagination). I scrubbed several of the rocks that were the worst yesterday. Today, it didn't seem to have grown that much. I think it's just a new tank thing. I'm starting to get coralline on my the back surface, which is a good sign.

Timmy is not home yet. I talked with the vendor and set up shipping for him to arrive on Friday. I'll try to post pics this weekend, if he turns out not to be camera-shy. I'm so eager to get him. Timmy!


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Unread 04/16/2009, 05:00 PM   #23
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Tragic news. I got a call from the online vendor today. Timmy went into a molt a couple of days ago and didn't make it. I guess it's better that it happened now rather than a couple of weeks after I got him. It's sad, even though I never saw him in person.

However, in a very cool move by stomatopod.com, they offered to send me another ternatensis that they hadn't listed yet. He's larger, about three inches, and even more colorful. So, they shipped him out today. The new Timmy! shipped today and will be at my house tomorrow. I normally don't re-use a name; I've always heard it's bad luck. But, I think it will be OK in this case, since I never actually owned him.

I did a 20% water change today in anticipation of his arrival. More news tomorrow after he gets home!


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Unread 04/16/2009, 09:37 PM   #24
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Oh man, hearing that Timmy pass away actually gave me a gut wrench. Honestly.

Glad to hear you're getting a new guy, though.


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Unread 04/16/2009, 10:23 PM   #25
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Dude, I know. I would have never imagined that I would be distraught over a pet I _almost_ had.

I'm so glad that stomatopod.com made it right. It would have been really easy for them to ship a dead mantis and say that the guarantee didn't apply because I wasn't there to sign for the delivery. Those guys are top-notch.


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