My Stomatopods (Mantis Shrimp)

G'day all
Thought I would start my own thread as I plan on dominating this soon enough =) for the sake of being to obsessed I thought I would upload just a few pics of my current stomatopods please note that these are NOT the only stomatopods I have, there are MORE!
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I have already shown 2 pictures of my current largest inhabitants however I shall provide a couple more of my largest guy the big spearer aptly called.....

The Leviathan(Male Lysiosquillina maculata) - Here he is under the sand, like the iceberg that brought down the Titanic, many would be predators approach this "little piece of snack food" as something merely be dismissed....until it gets up close then it (like the titanic) is brought down by something they couldn't of imagined....

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Morgoth(Male Lysiosquillina sulcata) - This guy was my first large mantis (rather then getting a smasher which would of been much easier I opted for a spearer) being my first large mantis I worried about him a lot but to this day he has proven to be one tough bugger! Morgoth is around 200mm long and won't likely get much larger being a smaller lighter toned version of the twice his size L.macs.


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The Kraken(Male O.scy) - I got this peacock about 4-6weeks ago and although its smaller(100mm) then its much larger brother (The Juggernaut 180mm) it is just as fiery one thing I like in particular with The Kraken is his color tone being the opposite to The Juggernauts (brown/red based rather then green based) giving me more diversity, whether this holds true until his maker calls (death) is unknown as stomatopods do tend to change there color to better suit there surroundings through molts.

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This next couple are interesting because there just that....a couple/breeding pair, purchased from a local whom had them as a pair himself for as log as he could remember, this is very rare, mostly due to the fact that they are smashers (large spearers often pair for decades...) smashers on the other hand usually like to bang (the fun way ) then if they don't part, FIGHT sometimes fatally with the winner obviously eating the looser....

This pair deserves particular special attention not only for being smashers and living peacefully together but because the male, is basically 2 times the females size...YET it is the female that 'dictates' the entire relationship....she determines when and where to copulate if I don't feed her first she will take the food out of his much larger claws, he is totally submitted to her, even though size wise he could drop her (permanently), there relationship is very comedic and almost a mimic of ours....cept we don't eat our babies I have seen her push the much larger him out of his burrow (no strikes just pushing) in order to make love, very funny xD. Either way I present...

Maximus & Minnie(Gonodactylaceus graphurus) - He is at a whopping 120mm (massive for there species) She is at a smaller 60-70mm.

This is Maximus, he broke my finger...(as mentioned earlier) he is taunting me in this picture with his threat "Stick that finger in again mate!"



The wife of Maximus....Minnie!


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Smaller specimens now all around 50mm long but there ever more fiesty then the rest!

Rocky - (Male Gonodactylaceus graphurus) This lil guy is a miniature Maximus basically and may potentially replace Maximus one day as I fear Maximus may be nearing his end (you just don't get that big as a G.graphurus...not unless your near the end...). Being small this lil' stomatopod is zippy and very interactive my most interactive small specimen I'd say =)

In this image you can see he is in the defense position, he saw his own reflection and got scared

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Adam - (Male Gonodactylus smithii) This guy is very interactive coming almost on par with Rocky and Adam loves to do nothing more then pretend he is 10ft tall and bullet proof always taunting me and dishing out threats, rather cute in his defiance



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That is it for now, I shall start to upload vids later =) and as I said above, that is only about 1/2 my collection =D

Please note that all photographs are mine and were taken by me.

More to come

My Multi Mantis Systems- Left to Right STAND A, B & C


STAND A - Houses small species both smasher and spearer from 50mm - 100mm. | Top & Middle Tank dimensions are 600mmLx300mmWx350mmH, Bottom Tank dimensions are 600mmLx300mmWx450mmH (to account for water storage when power goes out), all tanks have fixed in place dividers.


STAND B - Houses medium sized species both smasher and spearer from 100mm - 200mm. | Top & Middle Tank dimensions are 900mmLx300mmWx350mmH, Bottom Tank dimensions are 900mmLx300mmWx450mmH (to account for water storage when power goes out), Only the Top Tank has a divider and one of its halves is divided again via eggcrate, this is the housing where Maximus & Minnie live, the egg crate is to protect her in case he for some reason gets angry, she can pass through but there is no way he can).


STAND C - Houses only large sized spearing species from 200mm - 400mm. | Interesting tanks here...take heed to dimensions...Top Tank dimensions are 1200mmLx600mmH but its only 150mmW (yes 15cm wide), Bottom Tank is 1200mmLx700mmW but it too is only 150mm wide....this is because its inhabitants (large spearers) VERY rarely leave there burrows and so need next to no swimming space, only substrate space which I gave them more of then water space. This also allows prey to be bottle necked making capture all the more easy, not only that, it allows me to photograph & film up close and personal + because there so close to the front of the tanks and because they burrow, I can see portions of there burrows through the glass in the front aka seeing them underground, a big ol' mantis ant farm look a like!


I built the stands myself as I work in a steel shop, so the stands came cheap =D

More to come =D

One of the most attractive things about these creatures and some my forsake me for this.....

But its the LACK of maintenance required, don't get me wrong here, I am all about stomatopods and there well being and it is them I think about before any other fauna or flora that resides in my tanks! Having said that and what I said above, the reason why I forsee stomatopods being basically the perfect first marine animal for a beginner to keep is because of this.

Each stand is run via a...Fluval FX5 canister filter, currently with a big of Chemi Pure Elite in each beyond Live Rock and LED for lighting I do weekly water changes at 120L (40L per stand) ...that is it! lol This is one reason why I love these creatures....practically the costs of a freshwater setup but its marine with a creature so interesting and diverse that you will not find another for such 'low cost maintenance:Entertainment in return'.

Having said the above...(I say this a lot I know...) I plan on upgrading the system, either sumping each stand (likely) but this would be more for the corals sake rather then the stomatopods...STAND A for example holds my toughest stomatopods, there the smallest but there the toughest (nothing to do with power here) mostly because of the habitat that there found (this is the rock pool / tidal species) since there found so close to the shore line/on the shore line there frequently exposed to bright Sunlight/Freshwater/shifts in salinity and they have adapted to shrug off such environmental changes.

Low maintenance animal + Low cost setup + Huge entertainment and interesting/crazy colorful = win ?

My entire setup would of probably been the same costs as a completely state of the art 4foot reef, likely less actually as some of those 'state of the art' lights are like 4-5k a piece...

A compilation of live feedings for The Leviathan my large spearing L.maculata

This is rare footage since not many people in general keep stomatopods even fewer again keep the really big ones like this guy, there usually locked up in labs and kept hidden from the world...

Feeding The Leviathan this evening

He really nailed the poor fish, the fish basically hit the water and was instantly taken....hence why you don't really see it in the video (still learning how to best position camera).



Hope you like

This is the mantis i told you about kharn

Great info mate

I particularly like how they all have names....

Nice..

liquidg wrote:This is the mantis i told you about kharn

That is a G.smithii while a great if not the perfect stomatopod to start out with I regrettably have a ew already and am not looking to get more (might be looking to get rid of mine soon, just the smaller guys though to make room for more unique smaller guys =D)

thanks for getting a pic though =D just never know....

Thats cool,it was just one that got caught more so accidently.it now becomes dinner for the dotty back,bit by bit,lol.

liquidg wrote:Thats cool,it was just one that got caught more so accidently.it now becomes dinner for the dotty back,bit by bit,lol.

Maybe I'll get a Dottyback and feed it to The Leviathan bit by bit

Feedings for last night were just some prawn meat on a skewer a little less dark then the live food but none the less it does give me the opportunity to get some decent shots of them =D

Again this isn't all of them just a few of them.

Minnie - Female G.graphurus




Maximus - Male G.graphurus


The Kraken - Male O.scyllarus




The Juggernaut - Male O.scyllarus




More to come as it happens!

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zhyr wrote:One day I'd love to come have a look at your set up

Your not the only person but I pride myself on keeping a creature many wouldn't even think twice about!

Maybe when the room is finished (its embarrassing rite now... ) as I said your not the only one I have had to decline

Thanks for the comment though

Omfg I want one

scottatwello wrote:Omfg I want one

There not exactly hard to come by (depending on the species) liquidg has one he wants to get rid of unless he has mutilated it already

Thought you would know all about them scott, as a fisherman.....they are the best parrot bait to use.....

Just gotta get a bucket full of em as the come off real easy....

just fine gravel and a canister filter ok to keep one of these mate
or any other special requirements.
Ta RICK

I found this whilst checking some stuff out - thought you may be interested

I like his humour....

http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/care/maintain.htm

.

If there is one thing a stomatopod will quickly succumb to its house hold chemical agents...

deodorant/perfume, soaps, window cleaner etc these things are instant death to stomatopods.

Even the fumes coming up from a floor recently cleaned are lethal...

I'm in contact with Dr. Caldwell frequently (one of the worlds top researches on stomatopods) and in his lab (inside the university) he has lost countless stomatopods to STUPID mexican cleaners.....he puts up countless signs etc yet they still come in and clean his floors etc. whenever they do it he would loose nearly half his stock and most recently the biggest hurt when some mexic**t wetback cleaner killed the Dr's +10yr old mated paired specimen of L.mac's.

Feedings last night for my large spearers =) they were in hibernation for a while (The Leviathan last ate on the 19th of June)

The Leviathan


Morgoth - A little bit more graphic due to the blood...


Hope you enjoyed =D

Mate this is brilliant stuff

liquidg wrote:Mate this is brilliant stuff

Glad you like it so much =)

Always nervous about uploading videos of graphic content through fears of it being removed / me banned etc...

I have run into my fair share of haters....

Well that large Chromii that Morgoth meticulously murdered...certainly gave him the energy to further excavate his burrow and in the process create a larger window where by I can easily view him and much more of him too, the window is about 8inchs long...





To go along with Morgoths extensive excavation which was NOT there this morning but noticed upon my arrival home from work. I also encountered and potentially found the residence of an tiny mantis which I based on assumption to be a C.tweediei, its hard to see it and I only noticed it when I was looking in the tank and it moved a little, upon closer inspection, it is that little fella (I think unless its another mantis lol...the bright blue antenna are the noticeable feature).


I could hear rapid smashing coming from STAND A this evening and as I looked to investigate it was Rocky...bashing, something lol, what ever it was he succeeded in getting it as I saw him swim off with it (likely some shrimp in the rock), when I caught him in the act, he got all tough and ramped up like a little kid (10ft tall bullet proof...).




Not only did I encounter the tiny mantis in its compartment this afternoon but I also found an interesting hitchhiker inside the same compartment which I hadn't seen yet...its a 2.5inch diameter starfish of some sorts...


Finally my favorite kind of hitchhiker/beneficial tank inhabitant (besides a stomatopod) is the ever cute and cuddly looking....Stomatella! I just LOVE these little dudes (there everywhere in STAND C and big too (well for stomatella), being at around 1inch long), there so cute!!!


More to come!!!

Kharn wrote:

liquidg wrote:Mate this is brilliant stuff

Glad you like it so much =)

Always nervous about uploading videos of graphic content through fears of it being removed / me banned etc...

I have run into my fair share of haters....

Khan,its nature, though it may seem violent, the ocean is literally, you make one mistake and you are eaten or torn a part at best!

If you are concerned some may find it confronting, say it may be so; they can make their own choices before watching.