deuce biggalow
Member
watch your thumbs if you put him in your fuge.
I want a mantis shrimp
- Thread starter hnf2k
- Start date
kalim2002
New Member
for medium sized and large mantis shrimps, people should definitely be careful.
smashers at around 25 cm (about 9 in) have shown in the lab that they are quite capable of breaking aquarium made of double layered safety glass with one hit.
in addition, smashers will switch to stabbing soft bodied parts (e.g. a human hand or finger) after an initial smash. in one instance, a diver ultimately lost his hand after getting stabbed by a large Odontodactylus scyllarus.
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/logs/031398.htm
smashers at around 25 cm (about 9 in) have shown in the lab that they are quite capable of breaking aquarium made of double layered safety glass with one hit.
in addition, smashers will switch to stabbing soft bodied parts (e.g. a human hand or finger) after an initial smash. in one instance, a diver ultimately lost his hand after getting stabbed by a large Odontodactylus scyllarus.
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/logs/031398.htm
hnf2k
Active Member
i email the guy who runs that site a lot. he said that he was scared about a mantis breaking a glass tank also. but after he visited dr. caldwell's lab, he found out that it is extremely rare and only extremely large species of smashers can do it. and they will only do it when very aggravated.
kalim2002
New Member
HNF2K:
funny, but i'm that guy, and i've never visited his lab in my life
...and i'm not exactly an "expert"....
with regards to using glass tanks, it's quite rare for the mantis to break the glass (only if they are REALLY p*ssed off!), so this should be fine.
btw, there are some new great pics on the site, including a pic of a bluering octopus killing a mantis from dr caldwell and some cool smasher pics from various people.
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/update.htm
funny, but i'm that guy, and i've never visited his lab in my life
...and i'm not exactly an "expert"....
with regards to using glass tanks, it's quite rare for the mantis to break the glass (only if they are REALLY p*ssed off!), so this should be fine.
btw, there are some new great pics on the site, including a pic of a bluering octopus killing a mantis from dr caldwell and some cool smasher pics from various people.
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/update.htm
hnf2k
Active Member
Use a glass tank. People tend to overstate the crushing power of a mantis. I was worried about glass tanks for a long time, then I visited Dr. Caldwell at UC Berkeley, and he said acrylic was not necessary.
Gotta go to work, I'll send you another e-mail soon.
Adam
i emailed the guy from that site. where it says who it is run by or whatever. that is the response i get. so i guess you aren't that guy.
Gotta go to work, I'll send you another e-mail soon.
Adam
i emailed the guy from that site. where it says who it is run by or whatever. that is the response i get. so i guess you aren't that guy.
kalim2002
New Member
adam? yep, i know him, great mantis guy who is actually the esteemed moderator of the mantis shrimp board in reefcentral.com....
his website is (which used to have a discussion board as well):
http://www.softfrag.50g.com/
he has a good pic as well in the stomatopod aquaria section:
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pics/ajones_odsc.htm
his website is (which used to have a discussion board as well):
http://www.softfrag.50g.com/
he has a good pic as well in the stomatopod aquaria section:
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pics/ajones_odsc.htm
kalim2002
New Member
sorry, i did not check my email for awhile.
what i usually do to find mantis shrimps is get a list of all the nearby shops, then start dialing...sometimes, you can leave your name and number and they MIGHT give you a call back (oh, and be prepared for the "well, you know that you have to be careful with this critter..." remarks)...
here's a great list of stores by state
http://fins.actwin.com/dir/stores.php?c=1
hmmm....you live in long island....i actually got my first mantis in a store in that area (Petworld?)...i called, they said they had a small one....when i went over there (i was so EXCITED! it took forever to find one), i saw this cute critter dwelling inside a hermit shell with a couple of anemone stuck to the top...i drove in traffic for more than 1.5 hour to get there, but it was worth it...
here's its pic:
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pics/g1asj.htm
it was not even that colorful, but it was darn cute, peering out of the shell and picking up tidbits of shrimp that i fed it....
what i usually do to find mantis shrimps is get a list of all the nearby shops, then start dialing...sometimes, you can leave your name and number and they MIGHT give you a call back (oh, and be prepared for the "well, you know that you have to be careful with this critter..." remarks)...
here's a great list of stores by state
http://fins.actwin.com/dir/stores.php?c=1
hmmm....you live in long island....i actually got my first mantis in a store in that area (Petworld?)...i called, they said they had a small one....when i went over there (i was so EXCITED! it took forever to find one), i saw this cute critter dwelling inside a hermit shell with a couple of anemone stuck to the top...i drove in traffic for more than 1.5 hour to get there, but it was worth it...
here's its pic:
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pics/g1asj.htm
it was not even that colorful, but it was darn cute, peering out of the shell and picking up tidbits of shrimp that i fed it....
kalim2002
New Member
i actually cannot remember exactly the name of the place...check that link i gave you and go to the new york area....there is a petworld there, and i'm assuming that was it...anyways, my point is, check the stores out in your area (and maybe in nearby states like new jersey)....it'll probably cost you less than getting it shipped from somewheres...
a place that i think seems to have something consistently is:
Hanover Pet & Aquarium, 200 R.T 10 West (inside RX place shopping center), East Hanover, NJ, phone 201-386-0885.
they usually have a gonodactylus (priced as a peacock at around $45-60) around....they are also in that link i gave...
a place that i think seems to have something consistently is:
Hanover Pet & Aquarium, 200 R.T 10 West (inside RX place shopping center), East Hanover, NJ, phone 201-386-0885.
they usually have a gonodactylus (priced as a peacock at around $45-60) around....they are also in that link i gave...
j21kickster
Active Member
im locating one in my tank right now
j21kickster
Active Member
depends on his color- if it is nice i have a 10 gal it can go to- if it is ugly- its lion food
j21kickster
Active Member
nope- to correct you i have an 8 inch lion that will swallow that thing whole -i saw it again it is a dark brown color and about 2 inches- the tank is glass- and yes i know what you will say- i 've kept mantis in smaller tanks before and never say any hit or break one
j21kickster
Active Member
i have never seen a 10gal acrylic- it would mostlikely be custom made- but if they can break glass- im sure they can crack plastic- but that really is a rare occurance
kalim2002
New Member
glass is more brittle than plastic, which is probably why there are suggestions to use acrylic to house mantis shrimp.
they are quite capable of breaking plastic as well, it seems. as i'm fond of noting, i once temporarily placed a 9 cm (5 inch) smasher (Gonodactylus chiragra) in a temporary plastic container...it was a small container and this must have irritated it...i suddenly heard an extremely large SNAP!, and when i looked at the container there was some water seeping out of a large crack on the side....i could not believe it, since the darn plastic was HARD...
however, like i said many times, such things are rare, and i've kept all my mantis in glass tanks with no problems.
similar sized mantis and lionfish may actually get along well, but the big size differential in your case probably means the mantis shrimp will end up as dinner (if the lionfish can get to it, or if there is no place for the little critter to rest and hide).
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/logs/030698.htm
they are quite capable of breaking plastic as well, it seems. as i'm fond of noting, i once temporarily placed a 9 cm (5 inch) smasher (Gonodactylus chiragra) in a temporary plastic container...it was a small container and this must have irritated it...i suddenly heard an extremely large SNAP!, and when i looked at the container there was some water seeping out of a large crack on the side....i could not believe it, since the darn plastic was HARD...
however, like i said many times, such things are rare, and i've kept all my mantis in glass tanks with no problems.
similar sized mantis and lionfish may actually get along well, but the big size differential in your case probably means the mantis shrimp will end up as dinner (if the lionfish can get to it, or if there is no place for the little critter to rest and hide).
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/logs/030698.htm
crabbypants
Member
Hi there,
I caught a bugger today, I want him to go to someone who wants him. Would that be you?
schalin1@msn.com
let me know, this link is his spitting image.
http://www.imagequest3d.com/catalogu...s/a009_jpg.htm
I caught a bugger today, I want him to go to someone who wants him. Would that be you?
schalin1@msn.com
let me know, this link is his spitting image.
http://www.imagequest3d.com/catalogu...s/a009_jpg.htm