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- Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
- Path: sparky!uunet!utcsri!geac!torsqnt!uunorth!esrican!schwarz
- From: schwarz@esrican.uucp (Brian Schwarz)
- Subject: Mantis Blues
- Message-ID: <1993Jan25.023944.22827@esrican.uucp>
- Reply-To: bschwarz@esri.com
- Organization: ESRI Canada
- Distribution: na
- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 02:39:44 GMT
- Lines: 57
-
- Well, well, well...
-
- I've decided that it was high time I rid my tank of the
- mantis shrimp. I've had no luck at all finding out which
- rock he has chosen as is residence. Until last night.
- I finally spotted him in the largest of my live rock pieces.
- This piece is also home to a nice feather duster and a
- brittle starfish. I removed the piece and placed it in
- a bucket hoping that he would come out in search of water
- (recommended by someone).
-
- The brittle starfish did seek out water and I was able to rescue him.
- Unfortunately the feather duster is unremoveable and the
- mantis has not yet exited. It's been a day since I removed it.
-
- Do you folks think it will eventually come out? Any comments
- or suggestions?.
-
- My bigger problem, however, is this. I noticed - about week or
- so ago - many small (approx 5-8mm long and .5-1mm wide) crustacean like
- critters moving around on the live rock after the lights went out.
-
- I didn't think much of it; I often find I don't recognize many
- creatures on the live rock (esp. at night).
-
- Now I have this sick feeling that my mantis has left me with many
- of it's youngin's. I'm not 100% sure on the mantis ID of these
- small critters but they are somewhat similar in shape. They have
- antenae and the tail/body is sort of curved, like that of a
- lobster.
-
- While checking out the small critters I noticed two tiny
- bristleworms (ie. 2cm). I have already removed 3-4 of these
- worms (approx 10-15cm) and have spotted 3 remaining.
-
- The disappointment of these realizations has led me to question
- the time and money I've devoted to this hobby. Sure I have enjoyed every
- minute, but does this mean I have to rid my tank of all the live rock
- and start again?
-
- Is there any creature which will feed on these young mantis shrimps
- (if thats what they are)?
-
- Has anyone ever had this sort of unfortunate luck with mantis shrimps?
-
- Thanks in advance for responding,
-
- Brian
-
-
-
-
- --
- _|_| Environmental Systems Research Institute, CANADA
- _|_|
- bschwarz@esri.com
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
-