Lately, I've been getting into mantis shrimp (stomatopods), so I decided to set my 10 gallon as a mantis tank. I started this tank up about a month ago, and had a damsel living in it until I got my mantis (had to special order it from the LFS). When they got it in (last Thurs.), I was surprised to find it was a spearer, which I identified as a Psuedosquilla cilata .
Here are the current tank specs:
Equipment: Lighting- 2 20 watt PC fluorescents
Filtration: Whisper (?) filter (the cheap ones you get at petsmart)
Skimmer: None so far, probably going to do this:http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/nano-tanks/766-how-make-water-bottle-skimmer-pics.html
Fuge: None so far, might do AquaClear mod
Livestock: Coral: Pachyclavularia sp. Green Star Polyps
Anthelia sp. Anthelia
Zoanthus sp. Green Zoanthids
I'll be adding more.
Motile Inverts:Psuedosquilla cilata Mantis Shrimp, Rainbow Mantis Shrimp (spearer)
Fish: None (damsel was eaten)
The first night, as I expected, the mantis immediately went into a cave in the live rock, which, as fate would have it, was the spot that the damsel slept. *oh-oh* Now, the mantis is only 2-3", so I didn't think it'd be able to eat the damsel....yet. I was wrong. By the next morning the damsel was eaten, although I could find the two hermits I added to the tank. The mantis had dug a sort of cave in the sand, which I expected from the research. The next few days were dig, dig, dig. The tunnel expanded under the LR, and I couldn't even see how far it went, although it seemed to have at least 3 entrances, the main one being the original point of digging. I would often see him inside the main entrance looking out, but as he got used to me he would poke his head out of the hole, to watch me. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any good pictures; he didn't like the camera. I I left a shrimp pellet by his tunnel entrance, and it would be gone overnight. And, unceasingly, he dug. Always, he dug.
On Sunday I added a small-diameter PVC pipe (I read that having an artificial cave as well as the natural ones is best).
Today (11/07), I came home and looked in the tank, and the mantis was out of the tunnel, in the open! Cilatas are supposedly an active species, but I knew that he wouldn't come out much when I first got him, and probably not around until he finished his tunnels. Guess what he was doing? Digging. I don't know how he does it. He grabs an armful of substrate between his legs, which are tiny, other than the raptorial appendages (the "spears" or "clubs" with which they catch prey, and was taking it back to the PVC pipe and piling it around it. Him being out in the open set the stage for some pictures:
One thing you can't tell from the pictures (I know, many are blurry), are its eyes. Mantises have the best eyesight in the animal kingdom, they can see in ultraviolet and polarized light, and can`see 100,00 colors (we humans can see less than 10,000). His eyes are really cool looking, white with brown stripes. Also, he's green right now, but they can change colors to suit their surroundings when they molt.
Oh, and a couple shots of my zoos:
Please feel free to post any questions, comments, etc.! (Full tank shot coming soon.)
Here are the current tank specs:
Equipment: Lighting- 2 20 watt PC fluorescents
Filtration: Whisper (?) filter (the cheap ones you get at petsmart)
Skimmer: None so far, probably going to do this:http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/nano-tanks/766-how-make-water-bottle-skimmer-pics.html
Fuge: None so far, might do AquaClear mod
Livestock: Coral: Pachyclavularia sp. Green Star Polyps
Anthelia sp. Anthelia
Zoanthus sp. Green Zoanthids
I'll be adding more.
Motile Inverts:Psuedosquilla cilata Mantis Shrimp, Rainbow Mantis Shrimp (spearer)
Fish: None (damsel was eaten)
The first night, as I expected, the mantis immediately went into a cave in the live rock, which, as fate would have it, was the spot that the damsel slept. *oh-oh* Now, the mantis is only 2-3", so I didn't think it'd be able to eat the damsel....yet. I was wrong. By the next morning the damsel was eaten, although I could find the two hermits I added to the tank. The mantis had dug a sort of cave in the sand, which I expected from the research. The next few days were dig, dig, dig. The tunnel expanded under the LR, and I couldn't even see how far it went, although it seemed to have at least 3 entrances, the main one being the original point of digging. I would often see him inside the main entrance looking out, but as he got used to me he would poke his head out of the hole, to watch me. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any good pictures; he didn't like the camera. I I left a shrimp pellet by his tunnel entrance, and it would be gone overnight. And, unceasingly, he dug. Always, he dug.
On Sunday I added a small-diameter PVC pipe (I read that having an artificial cave as well as the natural ones is best).
Today (11/07), I came home and looked in the tank, and the mantis was out of the tunnel, in the open! Cilatas are supposedly an active species, but I knew that he wouldn't come out much when I first got him, and probably not around until he finished his tunnels. Guess what he was doing? Digging. I don't know how he does it. He grabs an armful of substrate between his legs, which are tiny, other than the raptorial appendages (the "spears" or "clubs" with which they catch prey, and was taking it back to the PVC pipe and piling it around it. Him being out in the open set the stage for some pictures:
One thing you can't tell from the pictures (I know, many are blurry), are its eyes. Mantises have the best eyesight in the animal kingdom, they can see in ultraviolet and polarized light, and can`see 100,00 colors (we humans can see less than 10,000). His eyes are really cool looking, white with brown stripes. Also, he's green right now, but they can change colors to suit their surroundings when they molt.
Oh, and a couple shots of my zoos:
Please feel free to post any questions, comments, etc.! (Full tank shot coming soon.)
JK looks awesome, but freakish.
