Mantis Shrimp; just another one of God's creatures.

[ReefGuy]

Venice Beach, here in Florida is covered in them. I come across them all the time. They're the coolest, unless you get them as hitchhikers in your tank. They can smash right through the glass of a 75g aquarium quite easily. Beautiful creatures, though.

 

[nwscubamom]

Here's an interesting article about this little dude....

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/killershrimp010105.html

:wacko:

 

[BacardiSpice]

I love the idea of sin binning the little buggers!

 

[Gymnothorax]

Yes, I had one actually break a glass aquarium that I had. Thats how sharp they are. After that I fed it to my Triggerfish and Moray eel. That pleased me and them.:mean:

 

[Juls64]

The show I watched said they were able to differentiate between hard and soft materials and if it was something hard like a mollusk they smashed, and soft like human skin, they speared. The show said they were capable of both methods of attack or defense, depending how you look at it. Did I totally misunderstand something or there two different types?

Juls

 

[ReefGuy]

There are two different types the spearers and the smashers.

 

[mcse_jacksonvil]

I keep two of them, one in my home and one in my office. Fascinating creatures.

 

[JustAddWater]

Do you keep them in glass or acryllic tanks? Are they compatible with any other fish? I keep a couple of tanks, and am always curious about interesting tank species.
Thanks,
JAW

 

[mcse_jacksonvil]

Mine are always kept in glass but it's a matter of personal preference. The critters have the ability to break both types.

Factof the matter is, they hide 99% of the time in the live rock and only come out occasionally at night or to feed.

 

[pasley]

Observed my first in the wild at Redondo Beach, California last week. They are neet creatures. But talk about fast. 1/32,000 of a second is their striking speed. At that speed, you can't see it. It is litteraly like the old joke, what to see my jab? Want to see it agiain?

Strike with the force of a .22 CAL Bullet. Can shatter bone and aquariums. But they are neat.