Stepho's dual 10g mantis tank. (Mr. Fister)

I took some new pictures of the mantis today. I think I got some pretty good close ups.

 

Nice!!!! ;D

 

those are decent close up shots
what surprises me, not just on this thread, but those two images highlight how outgoing these creatures are when contented, and confident
I always imagined that they would spend most of their time in hiding and as such never considered keeping one (well the ones you get as hitchhikers which you know are there but hardly ever see gave me that impression)
the picture on the left with Mr Fister climbing the coralline encrusted branches is fantastic.



Steve

 

Everyones on their mantis craze because species only tanks are becoming so popular. Great pics. Great mantis!

 

Yeah I thought it was really neat to watch him climbing on the tree. He isn't just climbing though the branches have become a hot spot for various tube worms he is eating, or killing I'm not sure which.

They can be very shy and reclusive at times, and it took a long time for him to get this comfortable around me. Now he is out of his den a large portion of the day and me being close to the tank doesn't bother him at all. If anyone else gets close though he will immediately dive into his den. Since they are capable of 30 body lengths per second it, usually all they see is a flash of green, followed by two eyes peeking out of the rock.

 

Wow that is very quick! im looking into keeping one but i dont now a lot about them at all... Do they even need the speceal lighting(i figure they do sense they molt) or is a normal light work. Also Will it be ok to put on in a 10gallon tank..

 

Lighting depends on the species. Different species occur at different depths and as such different species do best under different light. Most species do well under low lighting actinic only. In my experience activity was inversely proportional to the brightness of the light (lower light levels = More active)

 

Mantis

Stepho,

Great thread, love your mantis, I'm thinking of getting one, one of these days.

Thanks a bunch for letting us see Fister

 

That's pretty cool.
Good pics too.