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Woooo.
Got this guy today.

Just thought i'd post, he's a peacock mantis about 4 inches or so. In with a tank full of rubble and sand, and a bit of tonga branch.
Will post some of my own photos when he settles in.

I read about these in one of the TF mags .. apparently they can injure so be carefully when trying to trap it! They person in the article showed us his bleeding hand! They are crafty strong critters and they attack hermit crabs, fish etc so hope anything you may have in that tank is smart enough to survive!

Amazing critters though and i remember reading the article with interest.

Look forward to seeing some more pics!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

LOL all of what you said is true Carpe_Diem, however i am fully aware of this.
I am a huge fan of the Mantis shrimp, moreso the clubbers than the spearers [well spotted matt].
The mantis shrimp is in a dedicated tank of its own, and there was no trapping needed, it is pictured in a sweet jar with holes that we simply put in the bag with a bit of added water.
James

What size tank? They get pretty big I think.

Also, isn't it smashers and spearers?

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

well spotted matt.
Its in a 15g at the mo, will eventually go into a nice juwel 3ft tank i think.
We also have recently aquired a 70 gallon 27" cube tank.

Very nice. Mantis shrimps can be very attractive, if you can get over the fact they're also known as "thumbsplitters".

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

15 gal? Is it glass? I have seen several 10 gal glass tanks that have been cracked by these guys. One friend of mine put in some live food for his one day new one, and actually watched it miss the shrimp and hit the glass. Cracking it. Acrylic tanks are much better when using small tanks for these guys. Your larger tank should be fine with the thickness.

I had one about 10 years ago. They are really great little critters to watch. You will enjoy him mez. I kept mine in a 19 gal acrylic hex by himself. I mostly fed mine mollies that had been converted to SW. He ate one about every 3-5 days.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Well its actually going in a 24x12x12 tomorrow thats glass too..
Here is a photo of him today, im going to feed it some squid soon (dead prepped of course).

Mez

Do you know if he will take dead squid? Mine and all that I know of would never take dead foods.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Well, i moved him into the bigger tank and didnt feed him yet anyway.
Im pretty sure he was fed on dead lancefish/silversides at the shop, and believe most of them do take dead baits.
Will get some more photos up after ive added a nice bit of live rock tomorrow.
Any pics of the ones you kept Marc?
James

Nope, unfortunately I lost them as well as many other pics when my hard drive fried a couple of years ago. I have a plaque I made of his molted shell once. It is in storage, I'll see if I can find it next time I am there. Their molted shells are very hard and they will keep for a long time if you dry them out right away.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Well, after adding a yellow tailed damsel yesterday (hey, it cant be eaten!), i placed a bit of live rock in the tank and he's happily eaten some lancefish tonight.
Here is a photo of the tank, it looks a bit crappy but it was made with a free 2ft tank, and the lights are two t8s, fathomed with a mouse cage bottom and tinfoil to make a luminaire. How good is that? You can spy the damsel to the left of the mantis which is in the middle.

James

Its looking really good Mez!

Keep us updated with pics.. looks like a very interesting critter!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them