mantis
Contents:
- Mantis shrimp are really cool!
by cck/penril.UUCP (Charles Kuehne) (7 Jan 92)
- (R) I have a mantis shrimp
by poulin/cs.buffalo.edu (Marc C Poulin) (31 Dec 93)
- (R) I have a mantis shrimp
by poulin/cs.buffalo.edu (Marc C Poulin) (Sat, 1 Jan 1994)
- (R) I have a mantis shrimp
by gt6441c/prism.gatech.EDU (Jon Edwards) (2 Jan 94)
by cck/penril.UUCP (Charles Kuehne)
Date: 7 Jan 92
Newsgroup: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria,sci.aquaria
In article <1992Jan6.144146.14131-at-uwm.edu>, bowden-at-convex.csd.uwm.edu (John W. Bowden) writes:
> I just saw a little science thing on Mantis shrimp
> on PBS. Those things are really cool. I can see
> now why the reefers hate them though. Anybody keep
> mantis shrimp on purpose? Do they breed easily in
> home reef-tanks? Anybody ever get *nailed* by one?
>
> John Bowden
> bowden-at-convex.csd.uwm.edu
I have a really neat tank at home. It's a 20 gallon with UGF heater,
hood, and a couple of live rocks. I started out with a 6 inch mantis
shrimp I bought at a local retail store. This guy is really pretty. he is
green with red and blue trim. His tail and underside swimmerets look
like peacock feathers of blue and red. He eats a small gold fish per day.
He can't see very well so I need to feed him the orange colored gold
fish. He has gotten faily use to eating. I throw in the gold fish, tap
on the glass to let him know its there and within a min. or two he
has captured it. This is a very clean creature constantly using these
special arms he has to clean himself off (sort of like a cat). He never
wastes food and never leaves any pieces uneaten.
In thinking that he was probably lonely and needing a home for a very
lonely tail less lion fish I dicided to try them together. Tensions were
high for the first couple of weeks after I put the lion fish in with him.
Especially during feeding. I always feed two small gold fish and at this
point the lion fish will eat his instantly after I put them in the tank.
Then the lion fish moves out of the way for the mantis shrimp to eat.
They seem to have a mutual respect for each other and will at times be
sitting within inches of each other. They both (especially the lion fish)
seem to enjoy each others company most of the time.
This is truely my most favorite tank. It is clean, doesn't require much
maintenance and the inhabitants live a very unique life together.
I also have a 5.5 gallon tank wich is the home of a small 2 inch mantis
shrimp of the florida variety.
Mantis shrimp are very hardy and make interesting pets.
Charles C. Kuehne
(301) 593-3076
P.S. This is my last week for being on the net for a while but I hope
to read you all soon.
by poulin/cs.buffalo.edu (Marc C Poulin)
Date: 31 Dec 93
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria
Lee C Brink (lee-at-npac.syr.edu) wrote:
: Speaking of Mantis Shrimps, can one give some general care pointers,
: and how large they get?
I've been keeping a _Squilla_ sp. for about six months in a five gallon
tank with nothing more than a corner filter and some rocks to provide
hiding places. No heater, no lighting or hood, and I think I've done one
partial water change. Once in a while I'll throw in several
saltwater-acclimated black mollies. I've gone as long as a month without
adding any mollies to the tank. It has grown from approximately 5cm in
total length to about 8cm. I've read (no reference handy, sorry) that some
_Squilla_ and _Odontodactylus_ can grow to 15cm.
My shrimp has become a lot more outgoing and aggressive since I obtained
it. I used to have to impale mollies on a dental pick and put them in
front of his burrow, before he would eat them. In this last several months
it has started to hunt and capture food on its own, which is quite a sight.
The shrimp also spends more time in view now, and its stalked eyes will
follow movement in the vicinity of the tank.
At some point, I would like to build a small tank out of thicker glass to
prevent the shrimp from cracking the tank when it gets larger.
Marc Poulin
--
by poulin/cs.buffalo.edu (Marc C Poulin)
Date: Sat, 1 Jan 1994
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria
Lee C Brink (lee-at-npac.syr.edu) wrote:
[deleted]
: If you could come up with a reference, I'd appreciate it. I'd like to
: know the specific species that I have (For description it is a deep
: maroon and is 5cm now).
"The Manual of Marine Invertebrates" by Haywood & Wells (Tetra Press)
claims: " _Odontodactylus_ can grow to around 15cm (6in), and resembles a
heavily armoured caterpillar." (p. 151) "The Encyclopedia of Marine
Inverts" by Jerry Walls (I believe) also has several color plates of
_Squilla_ and _Odontodactylus_, that could be helpful. I have yet to find
a decent reference book on these animals.
As far as breaking glass goes, it's difficult to say. When I first got my
shrimp it was very skittish and defensive and would occasionally zip around
and hit at the glass. Now it is very calm, and spends most of the time in
a burrow in the middle of the tank. But, I think one good shot at a
molly that happens to be near a wall of the tank could cause breakage...
Marc Poulin
--
by gt6441c/prism.gatech.EDU (Jon Edwards)
Date: 2 Jan 94
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria
In article <lee.756656225-at-npac.syr.edu> lee-at-npac.syr.edu (Lee C Brink) writes:
>Speaking of Mantis Shrimps, can one give some general care pointers,
>and how large they get?
>
> Lee
We had a beautiful nine inch "Clown" mantis for sale in my old store. It
was quite a conversation piece, but nobody really cared to buy it... They
do get big, and they seem to molt alot if given proper conditions (ie. a
good reef tank). We fed it anything, really. Snails, coweries, small
crabs, and any sort of "bad" critter that comes in on live rock. It would
also eat frozen foods like squid or mussels. Goldfish were rather messy, and
we only fed it one.
It was kept in a tank made of 3/8" acrylic. Thin glass would not have been
able to handle the pounding it gave.
If you are really interested in keeping them, provide lots of small rubble.
Ours would take 2" pieces of live rock and re-arrange them all day long.
They are really quite fascinating to observe IMHO, and they didn't seem to
be cannabilistic. I was friends with a guy that set up a 20 gallon reef tank
specifically for small mantis shrimp.
Jon
--
Jonathan R. Edwards gt6441c-at-prism.gatech.edu
Georgia Institue of Technology
"...we're just two lost souls swimmin' in a fishbowl, year after year..."
-Pink Floyd
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