I am new to TRT and I am thrilled that there is a mantis forum here.
I have two N. Wennerae in my 55g display tank.
I set this tank up in August of `07 and I bought a LR/LS package from
Tampa Bay Saltwater (TBS)
http://www.tbsaltwater.com/
When you order from TBS you get all kinds of hitch hikers which is awesome but there can be some HH that you do not want in your tank. I was hoping that I would get a mantis and I was doubly blessed with the first half of my Package. Then I got a 3rd one with the second part of the Package and this guy lived in my sump for 6-7 months until a local reefer agreed to take him.
My mantis are Neogonodactylus Wennerae which is a small Smasher species from the Gulf of Mexico. Full grown they will only be about 3 inches. For more info on
N.Wennerae. When I first got them they were maybe an inch long and completely black. They have been great reef inhabitants. I feed them well - fresh squid, scallops, and shrimp (I work in a restaurant and can get fresh seafood). They pretty much have left my clean up crew alone. They may have taken out a snail or a hermit on occasion but there is no mass carnage. Early on one of them did kill one of the 2
sea cucumbers that I got from TBS but that cuke spent about 3 days over the mantis' hole. They have since never bothered the other one even if he hangs out by their lairs.
I have named them #1 and #2.
The are both about 2 inches long and #1 is a blueish green while #2 is a nice rose color.
Here are a few pics:
#1
#2 The curious one
#2 has come to shake hands on more than one occasion. In fact he did it tonight but then ran off as I reached for the camera.
Build a Stage add a Pole & they will Dance
If it wasn't for disappointments, I wouldn't have any appointments. ~TMBG
