Mantis Shrimp ID?

[budsreef]

I found a mantis shrimp in one of my new pieces of live rock. Luckily, I first put it all in a 3G tank I set up as a quarantine for a couple of days before adding it to my 24G. Since then I have left just that rock in it and have now added sand since I am going to try to keep him. I thought it might be a Peacock, but it doesn't look quite right based on pictures I have seen on the web, any ideas? Hopefully, two pictures are attached.

Bud
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[tsciarini]

I'm not sure of the species... but man.... those things are so cool.

 

[glxtrix]

really cool! If you find out that you dont want him, I'll take him from ya.

 

[budsreef]

Tony, it sure is. At first I only saw the red whiskers sticking out of the hole so I removed the rest of the live rock and added the sand. Yesterday was the first time it came all the way out of the hole. It broke off a piece of rock and carried it back into the hole. It then wedged the rock into the hole and closed the rest of it in with sand and debris. Before it closed the hole I put a minnow on a skewer and as soon as it reached the lip of the hole it was grabbed. I'm assuming it will open the hole when it gets hungry again.

 

[budsreef]

I'm planning on keeping him. I think the 3G eclipse is the perfect home for him. Now I just need to figure out how to maintain his environment, because I sure won't be sticking my hand in there. He is lightning fast! and the snaps he makes hitting the rock is a little intimidating. unfortunately, I won't be able to keep any kind of cleaning crew in with him.

 

[tsciarini]

Might want to talk to

 

[kevin]

WOW... that guy is HUGE. Glad that you put the rock in a QT tank before putting it in your display. Keep us updated. Congrats to the hitch hiker

 

[budsreef]

I found the ID on this guy on another forum, it is a Purple-spotted Mantis, Gonodactylus Smithii, </em>and gets to be about 3.5 inches which is about the size it already is. It's been in its covered up hole for a couple of days, but should come out when it is ready to eat again. I'm thinking I need to get a little bigger tank for it, probably a 6 or 12 gallon.

 

[ms_ k]

OK, I just typed a big long post, and then I accidentally hit the back button and erased the whole darn thing....

It is indeed a G. smithii. You can tell by the meral spots in the first picture. They are purple with white/yellow border. You can also tell by the dactyls in the second pic, which are blue with a yellow and pink border. Awesome pics for ID.. I'm very impressed!! Most people get pics that make ID difficult.

Check out this page and let me know if you need any advice. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/species.php?name=g_smithii">http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/species.php?name=g_smithii</a>

This is a cool mantis btw...great find. It's a very popular species. I would recommend the 12 gallon, 2-3" sand bed, live rock, plenty of rubble for burrow construction. This is a shallow water species, so it can handle bright lights. That means you can keep corals with it if you want.

Good luck, and welcome to the club. If you're interested, Reef Central has a mantis shrimp forum that has good info and lots of knowledgable people.

 

[tsciarini]

Ms. K wrote: OK, I just typed a big long post, and then I accidentally hit the back button and erased the whole darn thing....

omg I HATE when that happens!!! It's a good thing I don't write long replies to questions anymore... I just point fingers

tsciarini wrote: Might want to talk to http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/member.php?u=112">Ms. K</a>...[/QUOTE]


Good post btw, +rep points :)

 

[ms_ k]

tsciarini wrote:

Good post btw, +rep points

Wow, thanks!!!

 

[budsreef]

Thanks, Ms K. That's the forum that got me to the ID through Dr. Roy's Mantis ID page which is great. I think I'll take your advice and get a 12 gallon for it. The rock it is living in has a perfectly rounded hole that leads to a cavity in the rock. So far it keeps the hole plugged with a piece of rock it smashed off the main piece with additional sand and debris. Yesterday, I had a Margarita Snail die for unknown reasons in my main tank and I dropped it in the mantis'(Marty's) tank. Within minutes he opened the hole, came out and grabbed the snail, took it back into the hole and closed it up again.

 

[ms_ k]

Aren't they cool?!?!? I think everyone should own a mantis tank. Provided you have a "friendly" interactive species, they are great fun! My peacock taunts the kids when they walk by the tank. She'll shoot a couple inches out of her burrow and spread her raptorial appendages and antennal scales...lol. One of my particularly large, 6 foot plus, 200-lb plus, eighth grade boys told me the other day, "Ms. K, I'm going to punch that mantis shrimp in the face. I walked by, and she bucked at me!" LOL...teenage boys...aren't they special!

 

[ms_ k]

HAHA! Mine doesn't shy away...not any more, but then she's much, much larger than Bud's I think. Bud's will throw a nice jab, but won't be too bad. The real danger is in breaking the skin and allowing bacteria to enter the wound.

 

[kevin]

that is one creature I would not stick my hand in the tank

 

[ms_ k]

I was hit by my G. ternatensis a couple years back, through a plastic container, and it stung. He was about 4" long. I don't even want to know what it would feel like to be hit by my 6-7" peacock!!!

 

[budsreef]

Mine looks to be about three inches so I think it is an adult or pretty close and it just got done whacking off a chunk of live rock and cracked open a large margarita snail so it may be small, but no way my hand is going near it, even with gloves on. I've also got some kind of crab that hitchhiked in on the same rock and I think Marty has been try to crack open the rock to get to it as well. The crab only comes out at night and Marty closes in his hole every night so it has been safe so far.

 

[ms_ k]

For anyone interested in mantis, do a lot of research first. There are two different "kinds" with very different needs. Smashers vs. spearers...and they have very different habitat/dietary requirements. I would highly recommend them to everyone, for species tanks, of course, although the molly has been living with my mantis for a few weeks now. She's a smasher, so fish aren't necessarily her main prey. Mantis shrimp for everyone!!!!!!!!!

Bob, do you know what species you usually see? I imagine you see a lot of N. wennerae. That's the species that comes in on Caribbean live rock from TBS. I'd love to see some pics if you're able to take pics of some of the mantis that you see.

 

[ms_ k]

And a new pic...just for fun!!!
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[budsreef]

Ms K, great pics! Even though Marty is a smasher he will take fish but that may be because the tank he is in right now is so small. I'm hoping my 12G Eclipse comes in today so I'll be able to get him into the bigger tank sometime next week. So far he has eaten several goldfish and two margarita snails. I have frozen cubes that include squid that I I'm going to try giving him next.

What are you feeding yours and how often do you feed it? Since you can't keep a cleanup crew in with it, how are you dealing with algae? Do you have anything else in with it other than the Molly? I'll probably have a lot more questions for you so if you think it is appropriate we can take this offline unless you think others would be interested in the discussion.

Here's the latest of Marty, right after he ate a minnow!
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