My Stomatopods (Mantis Shrimp)

Here is my third test movie!



hope you enjoyed

Great work cutting with the soundtrack. Cant help but feel sorry for the chromis tho

mikezea6 wrote:Great work cutting with the soundtrack. Cant help but feel sorry for the chromis tho

I am still learning / practicing how to best make videos as I would really like to become good at it (I fantasize about them a lot xD)

One thing that does surprise me on this site...

Is the amount of people I personally know mostly through my school years which was about 1/2 a decade ago...even though I haven't seen them since those days I instinctively remember there faces.

I am sure (I hope at least xD...) that they would remember me too, once they see me.

For now I shall remain...a mystery

Well if your pictures are anything to go by, I have no doubt your video productions will be top notch in no time. They are pretty good now...

I truly admire your knowledge and commitment to these awesome critters....keep the updates coming its fascinating reading .....

Thanks

Ignobolis wrote:Well if your pictures are anything to go by, I have no doubt your video productions will be top notch in no time.

I truly admire your knowledge and commitment to these awesome critters....keep the updates coming its fascinating reading .....

Thanks

Totaly agree mate

I thought ignobolis would agree that though the mantis killing is violent, it is very natural and with his extensive fishing experience,he would appreciate that nature is cruel and at the same time amongst the gore,it is beautiful.

If the vids are a bit rough in content,just put in the threads a warning that this is so and folks can avoid having to see the violence if that may offend some.

A part from that tiny issue,mate,its all good

Since Morgoth has made a large window in his compartment beneath the sand, it has enabled me to capture him on camera deep inside his burrow, this is some of said footage.

Pictures taken within 10-15seconds after prey captured.



Video is incoming however there is no below sand level action on the video as he didn't do much but munch the face of the fish.

Ok so it uploaded quicker then expected.

Here it is, Feeding Morgoth this evening.


Hope you enjoyed =D

30mins before its to late
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Being "Friday the 13th" today I thought that whatever kind of good footage I captured during a feeding I would edit into a Friday The 13th / Jason Voorhees style theme. As I am a fan of Jason (rather then freddy) I though it was fitting, personally I really like this video, make sure you watch it till the very end



Hope you enjoyed!

Photography for today!

Rocky - G.graphurus - Caught him hammering away at his acan encrusted rock again! Cheeky bugger zipped rite into his home after noticing the camera, then poked his head out as seen in the pics as if to pretend he wasn't doing anything wrong...not that he was anyway =D, just a cute reaction like some little kid!



The Kraken - O.scyllarus - Also caught The Kraken methodically picking his shots at a nice sized hermit about his own size, there are pieces of the hermit scattered in the local area so I know he has been having some success, either way he wasn't phased by the camera and continued to pummel the crab into oblivion...




The Juggernaut - O.scyllarus - He is becoming a lot more bold and confident in his surroundings, I can no longer "press" the camera against his tank to get as close as I can of a shot of him, for he now charges the camera and hits the glass, each time he has hit the glass (less then half a dozen times..) it makes an ear splitting "Chink!" noise (sends me white as I just wait to see that hair line crack appear...) rather then the thud of him hitting a snail/hermit/rock.





too be continued...

...continued

The Leviathan - L.maculata - Previously The Leviathan was rather secretive about his burrowing ways, never actually really creating windows in his old tank that allowed me to see him below the sand level (unlike Morgoth whom created very large windows and is beginning to do so again!). However The Leviathan seems to of had a change of heart and has created the largest window so far in STAND C and continuing to make it larger as I type, he is very close to breaching the other end of his compartments surface there by creating the classic "U" burrow.










Hope you enjoyed the pictures and by the activity of The Leviathan..I dare say there might be a lot more pics incoming very soon (like within a couple hours) as to him breaching the other side of his compartment.

Stay tuned for more!

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zhyr wrote:And the whole club isn't there to witness?
How selfish!

Your eager I shall give that to ya

Got some fish out at the jetty today for my spearers =) couldn't believe the price at the LFS for there "cheapest" fish...just ridiculous...and it's really sad too as they had the exact same species in there a week ago but 5-6times larger but at the same price -_-...

They have these Chromii in there about the size of a Thumbnail/5-10c coin and there $12ea.....they had the same Chromii a week ago but at about 2-3inchs long or large ones, $12 each.

(I need to find a fish breeder xD preferably clownfish and someone that doesn't mind monthly massacres...( I have bore witness to The Leviathan capturing 8 fish in 1 evening between 11pm & 7am all 2inchs+).

Tonights Feedings





Hope you enjoyed

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zhyr wrote:OOOoooo
I'll be soon to witness the power of the peacock mantis!
He's hiding in a rock in his new tank.

How often do you find that they bang on glass?

Glad to hear you got one =)

Hope the tank is nice and dark with NO lights on it ? (Else it will kill your peacock, I don't mean a dark place in the tank that has lights on it either....the whole tank must be dark because the infection comes from the water too which has made contact with light.

Good species very tough if you provide them with a dark tank as far as them hitting the glass, they do it a few times but start to understand what the glass is therefor (support there life).

The single most important thing for this species is to make sure no light gets in the tank, I leave a light fixture above my tank but only ever turn it on for a few mins a day just to view the animal at feeding, all other times the light is off and to enhance the darkness, both sides and the rear of the tank (inc above it) are black to prevent light penetrating.

Most people that have lights on there peacock tanks only have the peacock for about a year at best, when they could have it for a decade +

The Juggernaut finally had enough of the huge hermit...



Hope you enjoyed!

Latest Test Movie and my greatest to date (well I'd like to think so anyway...)



Hope you enjoyed!

Excellent..

Very well done..you have spent some time syncing that.....great job, I especially like the evil laugh..

Great stuff Kharn...

There was an influx of videos for today so there are a few =) (since I haven't really uploaded anything lately...)

Managed to get a batch of Live Food again today and in the process filmed those that fell to stomatopods.

Up first is my all star small guy!

Rocky - G.graphurus, I gave him a real test today and a potential real threat, a yabbie/crawdad almost the same size as himself, its claws are far more advanced then the shrimp he got a week back...nonetheless Rocky swiftly showed his dominance over this unwanted intruder.


The Result & Victor - Rocky!


Maximus/Minnie - G.graphurus, Up next is a rather comical feed, watch what happens...


The Juggernaut - O.scyllarus Didn't take him long to over come his crawdad (I gave him the biggest one being a touch under 3inchs long), there is one part in the video where he hits it so hard (and I slowed it down) that he not only cracks the crawdads head open but it...EXPLODES open and all the internals just spew out which you can see clearly floating about the tank after that hit (the yellowy/golden stuff), imagine what it would do to your finger (being that the crawdad was easily as thick as my finger) except the crawdad has more armor then our fingers too....amazing.


Morgoth - L.sulcata, this guy was hungry today! A true pig taking 2 fish in the space of a few hours....however I should thank him after all he did finally rid me of my last annoying humbug (Humbugs pick on other Live Food essentially killing / stressing them out).



More to come as I haven't tempted The Leviathan yet and have another one of them funky eel looking fish to offer

Latest Test Movie which I made this evening =)



Hope you enjoyed!

Here is Test Movie 6 my greatest to date!



Hope you like =)

A while back I asked about a glue I could use to safely smother a PVC frame in and then coat with a substrate, well I went ahead and did it and I am half way through it all it is looking better then I though and I can't wait to get it done and in a tank with a mantis poking out the exit/entrance holes along with the plateaus stocked with a nice coral each =).

The idea was to put a plateau at each vertical entrance there by allowing me to get a picture of the stomatopod should it poke its head out, rite beside a really nice coral that I plan on saving those plateaus for, (morphs will litter the base/floor).

Here is how its going so far with my first attempt.

FRONT


LEFT SIDE


RIGHT SIDE


TOP


REAR


As you can see I still need to do some gluing of substrate to the frame itself and touch up certain areas, the touching up is the last thing I will do, it all may take a while but the longer I take the more thorough it will be =) and hence better it will look.

The likely first candidate for a test run will either be Adam or Eve they are G.smithii, here is Eve being all excited perhaps she wants to be first =D


I forsee this looking exactly how I ... forsaw it lol, the same thing with my whole multi mantis design, I though of it, then did it =D however things won't start looking 'natural' until algae sets in / time has gone by either way I am really happy with it so far, still a fair bit to do.

More to come =)

This evening I wanted to target feed my smaller smashers, the smaller the were the more I wanted to offer them and although I couldn't get as many pics as I'd of liked, I did get one in particular that I am happy with =D.

Female G.ternatensis - Just after she grabbed it, I proceeded to give here 2 more portions of prawn the same size as the one in the pic after I took this pic in hopes I could get better shots, but she was too quick, I'm happy she is eating.


Beyond her STAND A was rather lack luster, I suspect 3 of them are under going molts (Adam, Shockwave & Rocky) due to not having seen them in a few days and the last time I did see them was when they all got a few small crabs to bash on and eat, so I think the missing crabs + missing mantis means, there all eaten & the stomatopod is molting from the massive food intake (crabs were only slightly smaller then stomatopods and each compartment got about 4-6 crabs).

However STAND B was a lot more fun =)....

Minnie is always a fiery 'tart' and tonight was no exception, as soon as the food hit the surface she darted around the corner and got all 'tough' as in to say "Who dare enter my lair!"


Then she realized it was a big phat tasty piece of prawn and rage swiftly turned to Joy "Om nom nom nom..."


Alass I regrettably shoved the prawn on the skewer to far, so she was having some trouble getting it off, she made a break for her cavity in the rock and then proceeded to use the leverage from within to pull the meat free from the skewer! Problem solving =) free at last to munch on the goodness of prawn meat =)


Obviously after feeding her, Maximus her husband was up next =) and he knew it, having repositioned in his burrow to not only 'best' whatever falls in, but in order to watch whats going on with his wife, he curiously watched on as she valiantly removed her piece and patiently waited his turn, he didn't have to wait long.


Perhaps wisdom comes with age in stomatopods too as I said he repositioned himself inside the burrow (hence greatest leverage) rather then come charging out like his anxious wife, by doing this it only took one hard pull and he got what he wanted, having said that, he is much larger then her so things come easier in the strength department...


Up next and just below the above action was The Kraken, hearing all the commotion from above he knew what was going on (that and probably tasting the water) either way he was too quick for me, as soon as the prawn meat on the skewer entered his tank, he shot up to it, grabbed it and darted back into his den, he is looking up and can see the prawn meat, this was just before he shot up to it!


Within a split second he was up down and within the burrow, before I started to laugh at the whole speed of it, I saw him slowly start to poke his head out the rear of his den almost as if to check and ensure that he wasn't spotted or had no followers, its a hard life for a stomatopod in the CIA, gotta cover your tracks!


Finally...the king, the heavyweight of heavyweights...the stomatopod that would quite literally take down any other stomatopod...even though he is the same species as The Kraken, its his sheer size that is frightening (mixed in with his species being O.scyllarus, Peacock) he is big (as big as he will get) he is fearless (will attack if the camera gets to close to front of tank) and he has destroyed every living (and dead) inhabitant that has dared to tread water with him, The Juggernaut peers out from his cavern with greedy eyes awaiting what he surely knows.


Like a Childhood form of Hercules playing with his food at his father Zeus' table at dinner time...The Juggernaut whacks his already dead and prepared food "for good measure, to ensure its dead..." sending particles and pieces of the food flying off... I guess The Juggernaut wants to extend his domination to not only the living but, the dead as well.


Hope you enjoyed =) more to come soon.

Current suspected Molters: Adam, Shockwave, Rocky, Morgoth & The Leviathan.

Latest Test Movie (UFC commentating special)

Note: Much better video quality overall due to different formatting export then previous, as I said videos from now on will be like this, make sure to select 1080p & full screen view.



Hope you like =)