Mantis Identified!!!! and for all those other Mantis lovers.... there is another one!

[justinl]

you did good. That's what i would have done too. leave the lights out for at least 24hrs. Don't attempt to feed it or anythingg else in the tank unless absolutely necessary. also don't keep checking up on him every 5 minutes... i know you are. we're all guilty of doing that.

as for calming him down... well it IS a peacock mantis, what did you expect? lol, just give it time to get comfortable. there may be a period of a lot of clicks for a few days while it finds itself a nice burrow. Just imagine how po'ed it'll be once you move it again! lol

hey i just noticed your title says surrey... but you live in white rock i thought?

[Ticketyboo]

ok so leave it alone.... ok i can do that.... i will just throw the wife in bed now and i will sleep out in the living room with the sleeping bag next to the tank... just in case... ok?

Its stopped clicking which is a good sign, i threw in another rock with more holes in the tank so its got more hiding places, as well as 6 towels and 3 buckets around the tank....... just in case

Many many many thanks to the person who donated the matoid... you know who you are... its a beaut and i will try my best to look after him / her.

Justin... what do i feed it? and how frequent? does it like light? im only using standard 40 watt flourescent lights on there, do i need more? i wouldnt think so...

Oh and i offically lived in white rock but had to move to 18th ave, which i do believe is officially south surrey but 1 block from white rock.... sigh..... politics, politics,,, politics....

How did the cannucks do? my cables down..

[G1GY]

If you're worried, you can set him up in a 5 gallon salt pail with a powerhead and heater untill you get the acrylic tank.

Just a thought.

[Ticketyboo]

Ok i survived the night :-)

The mantis is out and about and quite happy

Ok so i took a few pics.... can anyone ID if it is a true Peacock? Justin.... im countin on ya, cause your my hero

[justinl]

the canucks are sitting with the series at 1 and 1. We sucked for the first halves of the 1st and 2nd periods (that's when dallas scored both). other than that we dominated but couldn't manage a finish. game ended at 2-0. sigh. well sopel is back in the game from his supposed strain while picking up a cracker. lol. on to game 3 in dallas!

im your hero?! lol buddy, you're MY hero! you're the one who got me my mantis in the first place!

okay now you're probably gonna hate me for sayin it, but that's no peacock (leopard spotted head and red legs). If what i see in the first pic is part of its meral spot, then i think you have a G. smithii. do you think you could post a pic of the guy's telson (tail)? if it has two lil pink bumps on it then i will say definitely G. smithii.

I have a G. smithii. they stay small... maximum is a bit over three inches. no way is it capable of smashing glass. minimum volume tank to keep em is 5gal. they are sort of the holy grail of mantids. generally they are the most active of all and probably the most hardy too.

I feed mine varied frozens every 2-3 days. these include white shrimp, scallop, krill... pretty much any marine meaty food. just make sure that the chunks of food you feed it are about half the mantid's size. I drop the food a little bit away from the burrow so the mantis is forced to come out in the open. I gradually move the food further and further from the hole. I only feed if the burrow isn't sealed up.

G.smithii is an intertifdal species and is used to lighting anywhere from low to high. Just be sure it has the right materials to make a nice dark burrow. if peacocks are kept in strong lighting they tend to develop shell rot. icky.

what are your tank cohabitants? they will probably determine how carefully you must watch the tank and what lighting is required more than the mantis. they really are very very hardy.

[justinl]

Well, im sure what you have isn't a peacock, but if you do find a peacock are you going to get it? If you do plan on seeking out a peacock, then you might as well get an acrylic tank.

[Ticketyboo]

Damn it Justin, why couldnt you just lie to me and tell me it was a peacock?????? i always wanted one of them ... oh well... as it was donated, i am more than gratefull

So it cant shatter glass right??? are you sure??

Can i feed it live crabs?, the small ones i find under rocks on the beach? i have seen those in videos on you tube, but just wondering if i can do this.

Ok well i have it in my glass 20 gallon at the moment on its own, but would it be compatible in my 180 acrylic tank i wonder? In there are 2 lion fish, 3 eels and my shark.... or maybe just keep it in the tank on its own?

[justinl]

lol a free mantis is a good mantis. especially if it ends up being a G. smithii.

for your current situation i would highly recommend leaving it in the 20gal. it can have a few co habitants after a while (not for now... let it get comfortable) but nothing that might eat it or attempt to. like lions. or eels. or sharks. lol see why the 180 is a bad place for it? also, it very well may get lost in the 180 and you might not see it often if at all.

am i sure about the glass? 100%. like i said only large peacocks (6 inches and up) and G. chiragra (adults over 4 inches) are capable of smashing glass. im pretty sure yours is not a chiragra anyways.

can you feed it shore crabs? sure. collect a few crabs (ten or so) and throw them in a bucket with a bubbler. I think that would keep them alive for a while. Don't feed them to the mantis right away. let them get rid of whatever toxins they might have in them. try to collect from a clean spot. don't add too many in the tank at once as they are not used to hot water. Id only add one at a time. Or you can try to acclimate them to hot water... Im not actually sure how that would go.

[fishmaster]

Back when I lived out there. I found quite a few people from from South Surry would claim they were from White Rock Has a better ring to it, don't you think?
Shaun.