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But this was completely worth the risk....
My friends think I'm insane, maybe I am
- Thread starter timeconsumer
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It’s like a dog when you come home from work!! 
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That’s pretty awesome. Although it definitely looks like he’s trying to figure out if he can crack open your fingernails and eat what’s inside lol
have you been punched before?
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No this was my first attempt. I've had this peacock mantis for a few weeks now and I have never heard or seen her snap once the entire time so I'm pretty confident in her demeanor.
Meanwhile my wennerae mantis I've had for 2 years is an absolute death machine and I would never, ever put my hand in front of it even though it's half her size, because I know it's going to hit me.
Hey, like people have said before: “my dog doesn’t bite”. Until it did……
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It was a risk I was willing to take
Yeah… your friends are right
No way would I put my hand in that tank. The fact they pack the punch of a 22 caliber bullet is enough for me. I’m good. At the end of the day it’s a shrimp. I don’t think they have capacity to distinguish friend vs foe.
No way would I put my hand in that tank. The fact they pack the punch of a 22 caliber bullet is enough for me. I’m good. At the end of the day it’s a shrimp. I don’t think they have capacity to distinguish friend vs foe.
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Yeah… your friends are right
No way would I put my hand in that tank. The fact they pack the punch of a 22 caliber bullet is enough for me. I’m good. At the end of the day it’s a shrimp. I don’t think they have capacity to distinguish friend vs foe.
That is absolutely a myth, it's not nearly that strong. My wennerae hits the glass of the tank all the time and it does nothing except make loud noises. Can't even get through a trochus snail shell.
Ultimately it's up to you to assess the risk regardless of what we think. Very cool and curious Mantis. @ichthyoid , I would think avoiding having a Mantis shrimp associate one's hand with food would be the better idea to avoid getting hurt, but your cautionary tale is ultimately what can happen with any of these creatures..
With an acceleration rate which causes water to spontaneously cavitate, and generates forces exceeding 500 Newtons (KgM/S^2), I’m not doing any experiments using my appendages, thank you. They are still wild animals and subject to their own whims.
Aka- thumb splitter
journals.biologists.com
Aka- thumb splitter
Extreme impact and cavitation forces of a biological hammer: strike forces of the peacock mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus
SUMMARY. Mantis shrimp are renowned for their unusual method of breaking shells with brief, powerful strikes of their raptorial appendages. Due to the extreme speeds of these strikes underwater, cavitation occurs between their appendages and hard-shelled prey. Here we examine the magnitude and...
journals.biologists.com
That was the most in-depth and nerdy response! Love itWith an acceleration rate which causes water to spontaneously cavitate, and generates forces exceeding 500 Newtons (KgM/S^2), I’m not doing any experiments using my appendages, thank you. They are still wild animals and subject to their own whims.
Aka- thumb splitter
Extreme impact and cavitation forces of a biological hammer: strike forces of the peacock mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus
SUMMARY. Mantis shrimp are renowned for their unusual method of breaking shells with brief, powerful strikes of their raptorial appendages. Due to the extreme speeds of these strikes underwater, cavitation occurs between their appendages and hard-shelled prey. Here we examine the magnitude and...
- Messages
- 182
- Reaction score
- 175
With an acceleration rate which causes water to spontaneously cavitate, and generates forces exceeding 500 Newtons (KgM/S^2), I’m not doing any experiments using my appendages, thank you. They are still wild animals and subject to their own whims.
Aka- thumb splitter
Extreme impact and cavitation forces of a biological hammer: strike forces of the peacock mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus
SUMMARY. Mantis shrimp are renowned for their unusual method of breaking shells with brief, powerful strikes of their raptorial appendages. Due to the extreme speeds of these strikes underwater, cavitation occurs between their appendages and hard-shelled prey. Here we examine the magnitude and...
Yes but the acceleration is over such a short distance. The peak velocity is about 20 m/s for an appendage that weighs grams. Just think about newton's third law here. The mantis shrimp isn't flying backwards after a strike and this is an animal that is very, very light and does not have a good way to anchor itself. The force number is high sure, but calculating the force requires you to know the impulse or the time estimated for the appendage to stop moving after striking its target, the impulse is much higher against a rigid body than a soft body.
It would be more apt to calculate the momentum I think which at 20 m/s for an appendage that is maybe idk, 10 grams at the high end? We're talking about 0.2 kg m/s of momentum. Even if I'm off by an entire order of magnitude and its 2 kg m/s of momentum. For some reference this is still far less momentum (10 kg m/s) than is present in a billiard ball during a hard shot.
Yes there is going to be more damage because of the smaller surface area of the strike and yes it can absolutely make me bleed. I wouldn't do this with a spearing type under any circumstances. No I don't recommend other people stick their hand in a mantis shrimp tank. I did it because I understand the risk and I know these animals better than most people since I've been keeping them for years.
Lol..a lot of unnecessary pads in sports were used in here...
When did Sir Isaac Newton join ARC? 
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I love these animals and part of that love means I like to dispel myths about them. They are not nearly as dangerous as their reputation might have you to believe in most cases.When did Sir Isaac Newton join ARC?
All good man, I was just meaning you guys have some serious physics skills
