Help For Mr Googles

[MBOU]

Well, kind of a funny story...

We have a lovely marine display tank at work and we knew we had a Mantis in there as the clicking was driving us all to distraction. We have a desk in an L shape a d the 350L cube makes up the corner of the L. Well recently we had a tidy up and seperated a desk from the tank and took the backing off the tank so we could see through it. Only then did we discover our Mantis. He had a lovely little hole in a rock where he sat watching us we worked, he actually stopped clicking because he had to much to watch, he was fascinated! If we put a magnifying glass up to look at him, he came out to peer through it at us LOL.

Before long i was using tongs and feeding him PE Mysis and he grew to a nice size (was a piddler at first!) and then... boss being boss decided he was too much of a risk for the shrimps, young goby and dragonet in the tank and that he had to go... out came the live rock and out came the hammer.... one big whack and the rock fell in half and out popped Mr Googles!

I managed to scrape him into a jar of water from the tank before he got the hammer as well!! How cruel, i have come to really like the little dude!! He is just so clever!

He is now living on the invert system in his own tank with hidey holes temporarily until i can get a tank for him.

I have a 19L glass tank with hang on filter (i think) or i can get one, will this be suitable for him and a little bit of rock and maybe a few polyps to make it look less like i have a pet rock?

Am i just being weird and sentimental over a pest and ought to take up growing aiptasia or something? He was brown when he came out of the display tank and now he is a lovely lime green when he is happy!

Am i mad?

ps- i didnt realise quite how looooong mantis shrimps are!!! Or how terrifying his claws are!!

 

[xxBarneyxx]

You have a marine tank at work!!!!!!

Regarding care. It really depends on what species it is, if you can get some photos it might help with ID'ing it. Also is it a "smasher" or a "spearer" as this helps with getting an ID too.

Below is a link to a great site for Mantis Shrimp. Has details for all the commonly found ones along with photos for id'ing and care guides.

http/www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/

19L will be fine for some species of Mantis but others will require a much larger tank so need to get an ID first.

Definitely very cool though and I'm glad you saved it. I have been thinking about setting up a mantis tank for a couple of years now for either a Peacock or Purple Spotted Mantis. they are pretty hard to get hold of in this area though and I don't have space for another tank at the moment

Cool fact: Mantis shrimp can see polarised light and have patches of colour on their shells and appendages that can only be seen by humans when using a polarised filter (you can get these from camera shops for a couple of pound).

 

[bae1994]

not got anay info but great name

 

[MBOU]

Found him and it makes sense!!

http/www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/images/g_falcatus4.jpg

Gonodactylaceus falcatus is what he is, makes sense as he would have come in on an indonesian liverock import! (Barney, i work for an aquatic shop). Aparently 20L as an adult is fine but they arent the easiest to keep.

Bae, lol he got named that because all we got to see was his little googly eyes watching us until i taught him to come out for food.

EDIT: Peacock Mantis are easy to get from TMC in Chorley Wood, its the prices that are ridiculous but because no one else has them, they can ask what they like but unless you want to pay between £50 and £80 for a shrimp...

 

[xxBarneyxx]

(Barney, i work for an aquatic shop).

lol, that would explain having a marine tank there then

Very cool looking little guy!