I got me a mantis shrimp

[hnf2k]

i actually went to the lfs to get a refractometer so that i could properly do hypo on my cowfish. but that was like 80 bucks. this mantis was only 30. so i came to my senses and now i have a mantis shrimp...im so happy. if i could only let him go in his soon to be home. it's cloudy from the sand i just put in.

 

[supercichlid]

Hey..
Congrats on finally getting a Mantis. Any pics of him? Is he a smasher or a spearer? What size tank will he be going in? Just wondering..
James

 

[hnf2k]

no pictures(no camera). but im pretty sure he is a smasher just because i think he is a peacock. im not sure what to look for to see if he is a smasher or not though, maybe you can enlighten me. he is going in a 10 gallon tank.

 

[supercichlid]

Ok, i am not a mantis shrimp expert, and dont claim to know a lot about them, but...
The smashers ive seen tend to be a lot thicker bodied, and have club like..well..smashers.
The spearers i have seen are usually a lot thinner than smashers, and have thinner, more arrow shaped claw/appendage things... (Not too up on the terminology!). They are also generally larger i believe.
Someone else will be able to explain...
Dont take what i have said as true, i am only saying what i have been told..
James

 

[irenicus]

Congrats on your new pet!

 

[fishy88]

cool addition

 

[jake22]

I would put a few ghost shrimp in with him and just watch how he kills them to find out if he is a smasher or a spearer.

 

[fshhub]

Spearers
Spearers posses from 2 to 20 spines on the last joint of their claws, and this turns these appendages into deadly and effective

[hr]
to capture prey. They feed on soft-bodied prey such as fish and shrimp, spearing them by an extremely rapid extension and retraction of the barbed claws. Typically spearers lie in weighting at the entrance of their burrow for passing prey. When within range, it lashes out in a precise upward spearing motion with a velocity in the region of 10 metres per second. It is one of the fastest animal movements to impale prey ever recorded, taking merely 48 milliseconds. Once the prey is immobilised on the end of the claws, it is pulled in and the meal begins.
Smashers
Smashers on the other hand have heavily calcified heels on the forelimbs, which become very potent clubs. They stalk their prey of molluscs and crustaceans. The hard bodies of the prey are smashed with the heel of the unfolded appendage. A blow from behind, or its claws broken immediately, typically disables crabs. Several more blows are then followed which then smash the carapace and legs. The crab is then dragged back to the burrow to be eaten. Snails or clams are taken back to the burrow first, then smashed and the shells discarded outside after they have been consumed. Smashers are the ones that have the reputation for being able to crack glass.
borrowed from:
http://ozreef.org/reference/mantis_shrimp.html

 

[hnf2k]

so who would win in a fight a smasher or a spearer?

 

[kalim2002]

in a series of experiments on competition, researchers (inc doc caldwell) found that smashers had by far the more potent weapon, and easily evicted spearers like Pseudosquilla ciliata from their cavities.

 

[hnf2k]

hey kalim, have you ever been attacked by a mantis shrimp? i wanna stick my hand in to see how much it actually hurts.

 

[kalim2002]

i would not suggest it.
if you have a large smasher, it might sense you are a soft target and bury its very very sharp pointed dactyl in your hand. this will most likely become infected. divers have lost hands because of such resulting infection.
all in all, it's not a good idea for handling very large smashers (although researchers have done this)...it's akin perhaps to daring someone to knife you...
the only experience i have had with the power of a smash was when a medium sized smasher of mine created one heck of a large crack in a very hard plastic container (I had placed it there temporarily, but the comtainer was obviously too small for its liking).

 

[hnf2k]

kalim, if i put him in a tank with southdown sand is he gonna cloud up the whole tank? or will he make his burrow and that will be all the digging?

 

[supercichlid]

Credit blueboard.com/mantis
"Now this is something you do NOT want to try at home. I named this amazing pic "Let there be light" because it reminds me of a painting I once saw showing Man touching finger to finger with God. In fact, the mantis in this pic is eagerly grabbing at a shrimp fed from the hand of its owner. Fortunately for Alex, the mantis shrimp is regrowing its raptorial appendages and is not in any position to demonstrate why stomatopods are sometimes called "thumbsplitters".
This Odontodactylus scyllarus is 14 cm long, and according to the owner, is fairly tame. It lives in a 32 gallon aquarium with 3 fish, another 4 cm mantis, snails, urchins, corals, and a serpentstar. It feeds on squid, krill, frozen cube foods, and shrimp."
From blueboard.com/mantis
James

 

[hnf2k]

thats exactly what mine looks like. now where are the smashers?

 

[iceburger]

ironic is it not? most people when they get a mantis think its the end of the world, but not HNF2K lol.........i agree they are very cool creatures, but i wouldnt keep them in a glass tank...
I've seen a 90gallon after a mantis had a fit in it....not pretty the whole bottom dropped out...

 

[hnf2k]

mine is going in a 10 gallon glass. after speaking with a bunch of people on the topic. for one kalim the guy who runs blueboard.com/mantis. some guy who posted his mantis on his site. kalim said he uses only glass and has never had a problem. he said they can break acrylic as well and both are very unlikely. the other guy i talked to said he has gone to dr. caldwell's lab and after that he saw that it is ok to put your mantis in a glass tank. that the occurance of them breaking the glass is rare. they possess the ability to do it, but wont just do it because they can.

 

[supercichlid]

HNF2k,
"Fortunately for Alex, the mantis shrimp is regrowing its raptorial appendages and is not in any position to demonstrate why stomatopods are sometimes called "thumbsplitters". "