well, i know some of you dont really know me, as i dont get to this board very much, i wanted to share one of my tanks w/ you

i have a Stomatopod, aka, mantis shrimp

for those that dont know what they are, they are one of the, imo, coolest inverts you can have and can strike with the force of a .22 cal bullet

mine is a female OS and is the smasher type, there are 2 different types, a smasher and a spearer
i had a male, but lost it in a bad molt

here are a few pics



and even though i have a decent cam i cant get a good pic of here attacking, i put the feeding tongs in there to get her to attack



Jay

Hey Jay, cool mantis shrimp. That's pretty amazing on how strong they are . How big of a tank do they need, and whats the difference between a smasher and spearer? Any other cool facts about them? This is pretty interesting..

this would actually depend on how much room you have, they dont need a large tank, but imo, the larger the better, mine is in a 30g tank, most people have them in a 10g
it is recomended to use a acrylic tank and not glass, smashers have been known to break glass tanks. that isnt very common but has happened

the basic diff is with their raptorial appendages
smashers have what most call clubs and spearers have spears, most generaly the smashers are the smaller of the 2 even though an OS can reach 15cm some others can reach 30cm
stomatopods can take on prey that would out match most other animals like trigger fish and octopus

instead of my trying to remember a lot of stuff about them, i will give you a link or 2

lots of info here
The lurker's guide to Stomatopods
this is an interesting article
Mantis shrimp may have swif-*test*-('") kick in the animal kingdom
a friend wrote this, is good if you are interested in keeping one
Stomatopods 101 - Basic Care of Mantis Shrimp
Jay

i just realized that i posted this in the fresh area, duh

feel free to move it

Jay

Wow, all of this is very fascinating. Especially on how fast/strong they can strike, and that one type has evolved to actually roll like a wheel to return to the ocean. Just amazing...

i tell you , they are one of the most interesting critters i have ever had, just the way they move is cool as they can turn around on a dime

here is a little newer pic
you can see her club in this pic




Jay