Mantis Shrimp

Discussion in 'Inverts' started by Cat4wisson, Dec 11, 2008.

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  1. Cat4wisson

    Cat4wisson Feather Duster

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    And you think it will never happen to you, lol

    Tonight my wife and I were looking at the tank and noticed a small creature we had never seen before in one of the rock crevices. We watched it for a while and eventually it came out totally and smacked a crab nearby making a distinct sound then retreated into it's hiding place. We were stunned, we have both seen videos of these shrimp on the net and never thought we would have one in our tank.

    SOOO we went to work trying to remove it.

    An hour an a half later we finally finished, after taking out the piece of rock it was on, trying to suck it out of the rock, without success, tweezing it out, without success, trying to coax it out with food, without success and Finally the only thing that worked was to take a Phillips screwdriver and breaking off the side of the rock, luckily it was on the edge of the piece, and exposing its hiding place.

    I'll try to post some pics as soon as I upload them,

    What an experience, another exciting night with the Reef tank,

    Hopefully that is the last one we find.
     
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  3. missionsix

    missionsix Super Moderator Staff Member

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    I would go grab a quick 10 gallon starter and keep it.;D
     
  4. =Jwin=

    =Jwin= Tassled File Fish

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    What mission said! Trip to wally world, put your next water change into a cheap 10g, and presto you have a nano that can kill you. Well...not you...but you get the idea.
     
  5. nanoreefer555

    nanoreefer555 Fire Shrimp

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    HAHA. My buddy did that and kept the guy for a couple months before he finally bit the dust. It was pretty cool while it lasted.
     
  6. missionsix

    missionsix Super Moderator Staff Member

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    I kept one in my office for a long time.
     
  7. snooopidydoo

    snooopidydoo Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 11, 2008
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  9. ZachB

    ZachB Giant Squid

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    Cool, but they look ... creepy :)
     
  10. totter0817

    totter0817 Purple Spiny Lobster

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    Be careful, check out the thread I posted in the Bucket, its called interesting living fossils or something, click on the link and it takes you to a cool article, mantis shrimp are about halfway down the page.

    Anyways,
    I hear they are pretty dangerous. I would get an aquarium with some pretty thick glass, I heard they can break glass with their claws or pinchers whatever they are called. I also heard that they are pretty destructive and can mess a human finger up pretty bad.
    I would have been scared as hell trying to get that thing out of the rock.

    They are pretty smart shrimp though. Excellent vision, certain species of mantis shrimp will actually live in monogamy with one partner for their entire life. Pretty intelligent for a shrimp that probably has a brain the size of a nail head if not smaller.
     
  11. inwall75

    inwall75 Giant Squid

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    Most hitchhikers are of a fairly small species and won't hurt you if they hit you. In fact, I catch most species with my hand because I don't like their legs to get caught in nets.

    In fact, stomatopods have 3 brains. Each eye stalk has it's own brain just for vision. Kind of like a "pre-processor".
     
  12. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    I never realized that each eye stalk has its own brain...pretty cool! So that is why they are so smart. Bob (my peacock mantis) follows me when I am in my office with his eyes. He will now come up to the side of the tank whenever I am in the office and lie against the glass and I "pet" him through the glass.

    I say for anybody who has never owned one, they really ought to. They are the smartest and most interesting saltwater animal you will ever own. I find myself looking at Bob more then I probably do my big reef tank. And I am not afraid to put my hand in the tank and clean his tank or even get it close to him. He warns me when he is in a foul mood (do to a molt) by getting into this stance...and then I know to keep my hand out of there, otherwise I dont think twice to put my hand in there!

    Cool find in the mantis...what are you going to do with him? If you dont want him try to find somebody that does in your area..even take it to your store. Many people love them!