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Holding a Huge Mantis (video )
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Wow... thats unreal. Lol.
I'd hate to see that guy get nailed by that thing... would probably do alot of damage. It looked a bit on the thin side, the mantis... anybody feel the same way? |
its all fun and games till somebody loses a thumb!! lol
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Yeah, it does look thin. Gave me shivers just watching it!
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I saw that a month or so back. I had done a search on a lionfish on youtube and that come up as a link. I was thinking that he is putting a lot of trust in a shrimp with a brain the size of a grain of rice- an animal that will act on instinct as much as anything else. Oh, what a well trained shrimp he has...
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I don't think I would be doing that, he's got more guts than I do.
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Thats just crazy. What would even make someone think of that?
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that's not brave, that's just plain stupid. This is one of the species that can split your finger down to the bone. Mantis shrimp also tend to get a lot of nasty bacteria growing on their carapaces; which is why they molt... so they don't infect themselves. And being terrestrial in nature, we don't have much defense against marine viruses and bacteria.
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I will remember that everytime I siphon out my tank, yum!
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It reminds me of a documentary on sharks I was watching a while back, a so called expert was walking knee deep with i think it was bull sharks talking about how they won't attack because he's not afraid and they can sense it, Then one of them stripped his calf off! I'll see if I can find the video and post it.
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here is the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pjbH5OuBc4 |
I had one of those and returned it to the store since it was a risk to try to do anything to the fuge with him in there. Mine struck out at me and missed and I could feel the wake of the water as his spears whipped past my hand. I could hear the strike as well. I do know they are opportunistic so this guys shrimp just did not have the correct range to strike out at him. They need a certain amount of distance to strike and this guy was just lucky he was not in correct range.
I would not say that they are stupid at all. It is a very formidable predator and I saw it let a damsel fish sit on it's head for a number of days prior to killing and eating it. They love to hunt and enjoy live foods which I just did not have the stomach to give him anymore. I hope we see a video with him getting nailed in the future. That shrimp could skewer his hand and then what is he going to do to get it out? |
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I have held one of of my mantis shrimp, just a little one, but I wouldn't do it again, it was a very impulsive move due to a lack of having a net... didn't quite think that one through very well, but all still have all my fingers lol.
Everyone goes through a lapse of good judgement every now and then, its whether you learn from you mistake or not! |
What he is doing is irresponsible and could lead to other people trying to do the exact same thing. I have kept one and know what they are capable of doing. This guy is being an example to other people whom might have one, or are looking into getting one. Showing that it is a a little pet is just dangerous/
Call me disgusting, I doesn't really matter much to me... I may not be as experienced as you in reef keeping but know enough about this animal to know better. Quote:
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I agree. It is a terrible idea. When I grabbed mine I quickly put it back down after realizing what I did. I was very lucky and happy that my mistake was with a very small one (maybe 1 inch?). Mine was a mistake that I make sure to never make again.
That video does set a very bad example. |
I also would like to add that on the zebras tail end they also have sharp spears. One good flick of the tail and you toast. They are not a toy.
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For some reason there are people in this world that like to take stupid chances for the amusement of others ie. Jackass.
I don't get it. |
Did I say it would be entertainment?
What is sad is the fact that these creatures live in isolation and are not social. They hide in self constructed tunnels of sand under rocks. What he is doing is stressful to the mantis and belligerent I am standing my ground on this one. All he is doing is showing off at the animals expense. It would be best to see him get struck so others know it is NOT okay to bother them. I don't get off on seeing people hurt but if it discourages the complete disregard of a creature, then I am all for it. Just because it's a shrimp it still deserves to be respected. |
I'm not sure where all this contention is coming from. We're all pretty much on the same side in that we all know what a bleeding stupid move this video shows. Do I wish he would get struck for his folly? No, although i admit it crossed my mind. But is that the point? nope, not to me.
Just to put things into perspective, here is a pic of the typical damage a large smasher can do when it spears a finger. The species that did this is not designed for spearing and only gets to about half the size of L. maculata (the species in the youtube clip) so you can only imagine the kind of damage a foot long spearer might do. warning: kinda graphic... http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showp...t=1&thecat=500 |
The only way to play with mantis like that is only after they molt and skeleton is soft.
Mantis will not strike for a few days after molting. may be that's the case ? |
whoa, no. bad, no. never touch anything that's just molted; that is a surefire way to kill any crustacean. Molting is a wicked stressful event and the best thing you can do is just leave it alone for a couple days. Actually Dr Roy Caldwell of Berkeley (the finger in my previous post belongs to this guy) had a mantis strike at him right after a molt and the action actually made the arm of the creature sort of... explode. Such immense energy goes into the strike that if the carapace isn't hard, it will essentially break the mantis' musculature.
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Hey, did anyone watch the shark video? Just as it started I chickened out and closed
it. I can not stand the sight of blood I tend to faint. LOL No one has mentioned it. |
If you go through people's comments on this video, it is promoting people's desire to own one now... so they can play around with it and bother it...
Mine had enough sand and rock to hide under, but when I needed to do anything in my fuge, I had to watch it. They are territorial and don't like people being in their business. This is why I could not keep him, since it was stressful to both of us to do what I had to do in his home. I downloaded the shark bite link posted, but I could not bear to watch since I don't get off on people being hurt. However, some replies to the video clip of the mantis made my feelings of the guy having a strike from the mantis justified. How many people bought one and tormented it? Everybody on this forum cares about the well being of our aquatic life, a mantis is not different. |
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That is what I figured!
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I'm not saying that what he did was smart, I don't think anyone in this thread is, but by no means does he deserve to nailed by it. |
What does one have to do with the other? I do not boast about the things I have done, and show off to others. I do not promote anything I have done to anyone else, or give advise or suggestions on things I have no right to say anything about. Actually you would never know a thing about the mistakes I have made, unless I admitted to them and posted about it, right?
What this video does is promotes the exploitation of a creature that does not like to be touched to others that now want one, because they are cool and you can wow your friends with your bravery. Have you ever seen me post to anyone encouraging anything I have done? Give me a break. Quote:
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I never mentioned anything about you "showing off" or "boasting", nor is that the point of my rebuttal. My point is, I think its disgusting that you would wish ill fortune on someone for a mistake they made. People let him know its a bad idea, but I don't see anyone wishing the loss of a finger, which is possible. Granted I have better things to do than read through 100+ youtube comments, and I'm sure there is a few "cool man!" comments, but the people who know better have posted, and should be a warning for anyone else. (quoted below) Maybe posting this video has given the kid an eye opener from the people commenting, who know its a mistake to try that, and will think twice before he does it again. Even the last quote, "cool vid, but I wouldn't grab one". Quote:
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There are times when some people only learn things from doing them the hard way. That being said while it would be good for him to learn a lesson here and not play with a mantis like that, I'm sure no one wants that lesson to be him loosing a finger.
I know I've thought (and I'm sure others have to) "serves you right, getting hurt for doing something so stupid" but usually that is only when someone wasn't hurt to bad, but bad enough to learn their lesson and not do it again. For example: jumping a bicycle over a ramp, falling off and scraping your knee. Gee that was dumb won't be doing that again. Pretty sure no one would wish that the bicycler would break their neck if they fell in order to learn a lesson. |
A mantis is not going to kill or seriously maim someone beyond recognition. If I wished that upon the guy, that would be disgusting. I don't wish bad things to happen to people if it is life threatening or altering. I am actually a decent person but I will pretty much always side with the animals when people get hurt.
This creature has no way else to defend itself or tell the guy to leave him alone. I can tell you that they do not like being touched or disturbed at all. This poor creature has had to endure this treatment for how long? This guy just knows its striking range and how to grab it where it cannot defend itself. It may look brave on the video, but the guy just has learned it's limitations and knows it cannot strike him. I knew these areas because I had to try to work around my mantis to clean his tank or remove dead things he had as left overs. Perhaps I might seem barbaric because I have to opportunity to study mine for many hours and learn a lot about him and his behavior. If this animal is still alive, how much more of this does he have to endure? This guy will continue to handle him, unless he can strike him just once to make it known there is a line to be drawn. Perhaps when things are written on a forum it is easy to judge the writer without really knowing the reason behind the comment. Sorry but I hope the mantis gets a shot in on the owner so perhaps he can live a peaceful isolated existence that he deserves to live. People will always push an animal until someday it gets the chance to defend itself... Call me disgusting but this animal deserves to have a peaceful life and will not have that until it does have the chance to get the owner's attention. The only way it can do that is by striking him... No matter what people say to warn the owner of the potential harm it can do, he will keep doing it. Why? Because he has gotten away with it for as long as he has. Sad as it is... the only way that mantis can convey a message is by giving the guy what he deserves. I actually do not want to see it, I just wish the mantis would do it. Sorry if we cannot agree on this but we both have valid points as to why we feel the way that we do... Quote:
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In addition to it's reflexes it's eyesight makes me think that it may have been giving you "fair warning" instead of trying to sever your fingers... Quote:
By getting it used to the idea that he provides food and getting it used to his hand over time he likely minimized the chances of being struck. Is it a good idea? no... is it torturing the animal- well, again I refer you the the fact that if the animal felt it was in imminent danger the guy would have lost blood and flesh... And for the record- I do not feel bad at all in saying that I watched it fully expecting the shrimp to split his finger open and somewhat hoping that it would. I am a proud supporter of the Darwin awards and feel no pity when things that are bound to happen do. When you spill hot coffee on your lap because you are driving don't come crying to me- when your shrimp splits your finger open because you squeezed it a little too hard I am going to laugh. It is just me. |
Mantis are amazing creatures. I read all about their eyesight, and was amazed. Very formidable predator. I know my guy just gave me a warning since I was careless in respecting his territory. I did learn areas he could not reach me when I had to clean up his tank just in case. If you are really close to his arms he cannot strike out correctly to spear. I watched him wait patiently for a fish to swim by within the correct range, which was farther away then I would imagine. When my guy struck out I was out of there so fast I smacked my hand on the lights above the tank. It scared the bejeezus out of me, big time.
I have seen him spear fish and know he could kill a fish larger then himself. A mantis is a pretty peaceful and reclusive creature and I know they don't appreciate being disturbed unless you have a damsel or two for them to hunt. I did find the video did send the wrong message to others, and perhaps if he got even a warning strike he would feel the power behind the wake of the water like I had felt. Perhaps you can teach them a certain amount of tolerance, but why bother... I wish people could enjoy the animal for what it is and enjoy it from afar like I enjoyed mine. I have to say they really don't do very much most of the time, and can be quite boring. They lay there on theri sides of backs in their sand pits and wait for prey to swim by... I am not a monster that wants people hurt, but this is a no brainer and perhaps the mantis is waiting for the right chance to make a point. They are very patient and can wait forever it seems to do anything. Quote:
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