setting up mantis shrimp tank

they sry obtainable usually not as easy as a peacock... keep in mind you wont see spearer types as much bc they hide till prey passes by ... then blamo !!! also keep in mind food for spearers can get pricey

 

i could get a spearer no problem there is 1 in a local shop i think its a zebra mantis. its just english pet stores are rubish they all say well i can get you a mantis but its pot luck as to what it would be so i have now began givin them a second choice to the purple spot and that would be caribbean rock mantis i live in hope lol

 

ok so last week i gave up on gettin a mantis and got a clown fish and a purple fire fish and took my damsel back to the shop then yesterday i visit another local shop and they have in a 2 inch bright green mantis that somebody caught in their tank lol. they have no idea what it is or even if its a smasher or a spearer so i have asked them to try feeding it and find out and if its a smasher im havin it will put pics on if i get it

 

I got the mantis shrimp 2 days ago, we dont know whether it is a smasher as we are yet to see it smash/stab anything, even with some persuasion. Can you help identify it? I'm hoping it is a n.wennerae. Please help. Thanks

 

It is a spearer type.

Pseudosquilla ciliata I believe.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthro...acostraca/royslist/species.php?name=p_ciliata

Very cool mantis. Nice coloration, but that may change so be prepared. Have fun with him he looks really cool, and it is good to see he is out and about. When I got my N. Wennerae he was about 3/4" so he hid all the time. Now that he is bigger he is roaming around most of the day and its more fun to watch him.

I can tell it isn't a N. Wennerae because it does not have a white meral spot, so I am sorry if that is what you wanted, but I don't think you will be disappointed with your Ciliata. Watch some videos of spearers taking food on youtube its pretty fascinating.

Congrats.

 

very nice specimen

 

yeah thanks stepho i also started a thread in i d this and people suggested that. after reading about it i agree it is p ciliata but im havin so much trouble finding a smasher i may just keep him.

 

whats wrong with a spearer? all my smasher does is obliterate hermit crabs and flake food i think a spearer is pretty cool. anyway congrats on the mantis! iv never seen one so yellow

 

FYI this thread is a year old.

but to answer your question there is nothing wrong with spearers. Especially not P. ciliata which are usually as active as smashers.

Generally spearers are ambush predators that will wait in their hole until food swims by. Some people may find this behavior boring, except for the few feeding moments.