Reef Diver's Mantis Tank Diary, and the daily life of Davo the Mantis

reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
Another coral

***EDIT***
IF anyone Is Interested, as soon as this thing settles In I will make a couple frags of it from a couple branching lobes, PM me.
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
OOh I took a good video, you can hear the smacks! Gives you a good idea of the sppd at which they strike!
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
Ok, a couple new photos, I promise Ill get some of Davo asap!
These are somke frags I made today, YEs I know thats a very small frag of zoos, but Im trying to make a fragging colony, and the shell is the first place to start, eventually I will frag this onto a large shell to work as my frag colony. The other are some palythoas, the one in the very back fell off, my dog bumped me as I was fragging so I slipped and cut this one, the other is a decent frag that will be for sal in a couple weeks as soon as it grows a bit.

 
royal gang

royal gang

Active Member
Originally Posted by Reef Diver
Another coral

***EDIT***
IF anyone Is Interested, as soon as this thing settles In I will make a couple frags of it from a couple branching lobes, PM me.
Want some, send me all the frags you want XD.
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
Well nothing to update other than the mantis (Davo) is exploring much much more, he even dug a hole under my brain, in the sand. Its funny every so often youll just see sand fly. LoL However when im in the room hes always in his cave. However last night I fed him a big hunk of shrimp, and heres the catch.....He had to catch it first. lol. Just FYI that SPS is already growing, its beginning to conform to the rocks around it, and I placed a few of my homemade frag bases around it. Here are my homemade frag bases:


They are simply aquarium sand, dried, rinsed, dried again, placed into the desired mold, then a thinset was added, however, I think a slower setting may be better, to allow for maximum sand adherence, and to keep the mold shape :) The one Im holding is about the size of a half dollar or silver dollar, and about the thickness of a thin-mint.
 
reefer545

reefer545

Member
Hey Diver
How do you think a mantis would do in a 2 gallon that is going to act as a very small refugium/frag tank for a 24 g loop? I am considering getting one, put it in with about a 6 pound rock I have with a bunch of zoas just for fragging. And I would of course have a DEEP sand bed.
BTW
GREAT VIDEO!! PICS!! and thanks for the not so ordinary thread.
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
Nope, sorry not a 2 gallon unless you can get ahold of a tiny species, but those are rare. 5 gallon minimum for a full lifespan of growth for a N. Wenneare, but then again 5 gals isnt hard to find, and the more gallonage the better. you could do that if you planned to upgrade in a few months.
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
(Yay Page 2)
This ones rather grusome so you may want to cover children's eyes........
AHHHHH, (Lady does horror movie scream, you know da drill :)

The whole spiral piece of the shell is GONE heres a diff angle to show ya what I mean.

In the future I will post no more of Davo's "Murders" unless theyre really exceptional, or I catch one in the action.
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
Im also getting some coralline growth, atleast after so short a time:

Probably due to me seeding the mantis tank with coralline that flaked off my pumps in the 55.
 
meleerock

meleerock

Member
Wow.... he got annihilated

The frag bases are an awesome idea. I would have never thought to have done something like that. Are you concerned that the glue will leach into your tank water at all?
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
Nope, check the archives, and that really good fragging thread, the guy used krazy glue for his frags, AND the stuff is nontoxic once cured, and I hate to say it, but every glue we use, including stuff for aquarium frags is VERY toxic before curing. And ntm the main component of glue we look for, cyanoacrylate is toxic.
And if im not mistaken you possibly could use the stuff the ladies use to put on fake nails, thats stuffs instant and strong!!! I glued my hands together as a little kid, they had to take me to the hospital to get a glue reagent. :p But I wouldn't use it for the sole reason that it ALWAYS smells like isopropyl alcohol.
I really wish Id been there to watch him destroy that snail, he was just finishing with it and throwing it out his hole (like he expects ME to do the dishes, I cooked!) I thought to myself HOLY POOP! Im lucky he didn't mince my finger last time he hit it.
Next time im at my LFS ill pick up a small crab the LFS doesnt want for a nice show.
Also, if anyone has any unwanted hitchhikers, aside from other mantids o course, ill willingly pay shipping if its under $15, or you can just donate, because ill be sure to post the show :)
Davo always likes a dinner guest, or dinner.
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
I really wish Id been there to watch him destroy that snail, he was just finishing with it and throwing it out his hole (like he expects ME to do the dishes, I cooked!) I thought to myself HOLY POOP! Im lucky he didn't mince my finger last time he hit it.
Next time im at my LFS ill pick up a small crab the LFS doesnt want for a nice show.
Also, if anyone has any unwanted hitchhikers, aside from other mantids o course, ill willingly pay shipping if its under $15, or you can just donate, because ill be sure to post the show :)
Davo always likes a dinner guest, or dinner.
 
reef diver

reef diver

Active Member
Lol, I wish I could get them. Its just the law of photography, when its the right moment you never have a camera. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top