Smasher and spearer in the same mantis?!?

JasonK84

I want more!!!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
2,975
Reaction score
8,188
Location
Amarillo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I’ve got a smasher. I feed it clams and I can hear it smashing and the clam is in pieces after it’s done.

So today it gets puzzling. It molted sometime yesterday or last night (2nd time since I’ve had it) and I was digging out the remains of the molt. I found one of its smashers and upon further inspection it had a pointed barbed section that folded from the “mallet”. Is it that all mantis shrimp are able to spear but only smashing types can do both? Here are some pics.

4D94453D-70EC-4564-AC3B-31C7ADB7E0B3.jpeg 88C68A6D-88B5-414F-8BB1-32DEFB954AA0.jpeg 13063C35-3092-4590-93FB-478F9155FCEA.jpeg
 

xxkenny90xx

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 2, 2019
Messages
4,654
Reaction score
6,040
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is the one eyed mantis I've seen you post about before? If so maybe it had some kind of gamma ray exposure and lost the eye and grew new radioactive weapons/powers? That's my best guess anyways...

Lol sorry, just giving you a bump
 

footgal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 4, 2020
Messages
6,505
Reaction score
11,007
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
That barbed thing looks wicked!! I catch mantis in the ocean for fun and have never seen one with a weapon like that. I’ve caught probably over 100, all over the world, and have only ever seen the ‘smashers’
 
OP
OP
JasonK84

JasonK84

I want more!!!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
2,975
Reaction score
8,188
Location
Amarillo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
That barbed thing looks wicked!! I catch mantis in the ocean for fun and have never seen one with a weapon like that. I’ve caught probably over 100, all over the world, and have only ever seen the ‘smashers’
That’s my problem here. This is a smasher. You can hear it punching and pulverizing when I feed it.
 
OP
OP
JasonK84

JasonK84

I want more!!!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
2,975
Reaction score
8,188
Location
Amarillo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Maybe try to feed it something spear-able? Like a shrimp or possibly an incapacitated guppy?
I’ve actually got 2 damsels in QT to put in with it. Figured since it’s a smasher they would have somewhat of a chance. Now I’m wondering?! A yellow tail and an Azure. Also a Starcki in QT but it’s not going in there.
 

footgal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 4, 2020
Messages
6,505
Reaction score
11,007
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I’ve actually got 2 damsels in QT to put in with it. Figured since it’s a smasher they would have somewhat of a chance. Now I’m wondering?! A yellow tail and an Azure. Also a Starcki in QT but it’s not going in there.
I definitely wouldn’t... I use dead/dying damsels as mantis bait when I’m hunting for them. Imo, mantis should be a species dedicated tank. I’ve kept a few for about a month and have witnessed the destruction of many creatures due to them. I fed them anything I could think of just to see if they’d eat it. Whole live clams, ghost shrimp, live mollies, guppies, feeder fish, live crabs, hermits, snails, octopus, squid, silversides, even a gigantic hermit crab (was using a queen conch shell, over 6”) was smashed to pieces and consumed less than a week after entering the tank. My friend owns an LFS and I asked him for ideas on what to feed it and he gave me a large fox face that died due to shipping stress that morning (doa). I tied it to some rubble to weigh it down and the thing was gone in 24 hours with only 1 mantis. If you care about those damsels at all, I’d put them somewhere else.
 
OP
OP
JasonK84

JasonK84

I want more!!!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
2,975
Reaction score
8,188
Location
Amarillo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I definitely wouldn’t... I use dead/dying damsels as mantis bait when I’m hunting for them. Imo, mantis should be a species dedicated tank. I’ve kept a few for about a month and have witnessed the destruction of many creatures due to them. I fed them anything I could think of just to see if they’d eat it. Whole live clams, ghost shrimp, live mollies, guppies, feeder fish, live crabs, hermits, snails, octopus, squid, silversides, even a gigantic hermit crab (was using a queen conch shell, over 6”) was smashed to pieces and consumed less than a week after entering the tank. My friend owns an LFS and I asked him for ideas on what to feed it and he gave me a large fox face that died due to shipping stress that morning (doa). I tied it to some rubble to weigh it down and the thing was gone in 24 hours with only 1 mantis. If you care about those damsels at all, I’d put them somewhere else.
The 2 damsels were purchased for the purpose of going with the mantis after they finish QT. $5.99 each. I figure if they become food then so be it. There have been 2 astrea snails and a couple hermits in with the mantis for a couple months now. They are still there.
 

footgal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 4, 2020
Messages
6,505
Reaction score
11,007
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The 2 damsels were purchased for the purpose of going with the mantis after they finish QT. $5.99 each. I figure if they become food then so be it. There have been 2 astrea snails and a couple hermits in with the mantis for a couple months now. They are still there.
Do you know what species of mantis it is?
 
OP
OP
JasonK84

JasonK84

I want more!!!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
2,975
Reaction score
8,188
Location
Amarillo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My mantis is missing an eye and he can be pretty clumsy at times. I think a healthy damsel will stand a chance or I wouldn’t even try. If one disappears I’ll catch the other and put into a different tank. Easily done since I’m QTing first.
 
OP
OP
JasonK84

JasonK84

I want more!!!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
2,975
Reaction score
8,188
Location
Amarillo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Do you know what species of mantis it is?
I believe I do
 

footgal

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 4, 2020
Messages
6,505
Reaction score
11,007
Location
Houston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Okay so I looked up some google pics and did a little reading. UC Berkley says that they are a ‘smasher’ type, and none of the google pics online show the spearing claw. I’m thinking you may have a different species?
 
OP
OP
JasonK84

JasonK84

I want more!!!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
2,975
Reaction score
8,188
Location
Amarillo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Okay so I looked up some google pics and did a little reading. UC Berkley says that they are a ‘smasher’ type, and none of the google pics online show the spearing claw. I’m thinking you may have a different species?
Going to have to search for anatomy of maybe a peacock mantis since it’s of the same genus? Well maybe it is? I don’t know. This mantis was actually listed as a peacock when I ordered it.
 

Crustaceon

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 15, 2019
Messages
2,444
Reaction score
3,357
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It’s probably a genetic abnormality. The smasher club likely evolved from the spearer claw. When that limb was being formed, that portion of the shrimp’s genome that produces the club was “skipped”, causing the spear to form instead. This would be confirmed if the shrimp has a club as well.
 
OP
OP
JasonK84

JasonK84

I want more!!!
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
2,975
Reaction score
8,188
Location
Amarillo
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Is there anyone here that has kept a peacock and recovered the molt? Did it have the same spear like dactyl?

The first molt I recovered I let dry with the spear closed up as I didn’t know it was there. Once the molt dried there was no way to open it as it solidified into place when it dried out. At one point when I was looking ad the dried molt I thought it looked like it opened further but didn’t want to break it trying to pry it open. This time while the molt was still wet BINGO. Sure enough.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 78 38.2%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 69 33.8%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 26 12.7%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 29 14.2%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
Back
Top