Tank setup for a Gonodactylus smithii (Purple Spot Mantis Shrimp)

[Reeftanker3295]

haha well there main spawning seasons in august so just look around for dug up ground or just look around small ponds for a smaller sized one. They are pretty easy to keep, just need a small filter to keep the water clean haha. I have to hide my filter under rocks or else he gets mad because it blows out water and he bites it and aims it straight up in the air then gets scared because water is falling from the sky and he knocks everything over, waking me up at 3 AM and having to stick my hand in the tank with one angry snapper! The eel is reeeaally easy, just watch him fly around and hes got a super nose haha he smells fresh food. he wont eat old stuff then the second the new stuff hits the water he goes to the center of the tank and starts sniffing around the ground, hes pretty cool. I have a pic of the turtle as a baby but i need to resize it. for now, hes the picture of my crazy shrimp that rips my hair out i told you about and my tank!

[quader94]

im going to check the pond in a few weeks because i always see turtles in the middle but they always hide when i get close enough.

seems like he has quite the personality for a turtle

i used to have this one eel in a 29 but all it would do is sit there, is that eel freshwater or salt?

ide hate that shrimp if it did that to me lol

[Reeftanker3295]

VERY cool thing about american eels, they spawn in the sargasso sea and the babies are born looking kinda like see through leaves, they float and swim all the way back here and make their way up rivers and streams, now heres the cool part, they can adapt from salwater to fresh water with no problems. i caught mine in saltwater and then threw it right into my stream water no acclimation and absolutely no problems

[Reeftanker3295]

its pretty hard to get the turtles, i dont know anybody else who has one, but of course i live with a bunch of rich people who dont know anything of nature.. haha ill be the only one with a saltwater reef, mantis shrimp, eel and turtle. im pretty legendary. haha

[quader94]

Originally Posted by Reeftanker3295

VERY cool thing about american eels, they spawn in the sargasso sea and the babies are born looking kinda like see through leaves, they float and swim all the way back here and make their way up rivers and streams, now heres the cool part, they can adapt from salwater to fresh water with no problems. i caught mine in saltwater and then threw it right into my stream water no acclimation and absolutely no problems

sargassum? i had tons of that stuff in my reef tank till i ripped it all out

its weird how some things can go from salt to fresh easliy

[quader94]

Originally Posted by Reeftanker3295

its pretty hard to get the turtles, i dont know anybody else who has one, but of course i live with a bunch of rich people who dont know anything of nature.. haha ill be the only one with a saltwater reef, mantis shrimp, eel and turtle. im pretty legendary. haha

getting a big ones easy, a little guy is hard.

at one point my house might as well been a zoo from the stuff weve had

[Reeftanker3295]

haha ive had 2 snakes, 2 turtles, 2 lizards, 2 cats, my eel and we were setting up my reef tank all at once. And your right its just the small ones that are hard to get they are actually pretty cute when they are small though haha

[quader94]

Originally Posted by Reeftanker3295

haha ive had 2 snakes, 2 turtles, 2 lizards, 2 cats, my eel and we were setting up my reef tank all at once. And your right its just the small ones that are hard to get they are actually pretty cute when they are small though haha

2 dogs,4 rabbits,3 ferrets,2 guinie pigs,an unless supply of hamsters from a hamster couple, 2 birds, a lizard , tons of fish tanks, and a koi pond

right now i have
2 fish tanks one fresh one salt
a lizard
a bird
a dog
and a koi pond

[Reeftanker3295]

Finally got the pic small enough! that thing above him is the grip of a pen to compare his size, this is like a week after we got him

[quader94]

wow he was a little guy!

how bigs he know comepared to somethign?

[Reeftanker3295]

and right now i have 2 turtles, an eel, 2 cats, my biocube, soon to be mantis shrimp and 1 lizard

[quader94]

Originally Posted by Reeftanker3295

and right now i have 2 turtles, an eel, 2 cats, my biocube, soon to be mantis shrimp and 1 lizard

what kind of lizard?
and what mantis you decide on? n. wennerae or p. cilitata?

[Reeftanker3295]

haha well in a few minutes ill send a pic over and post it on here of him compared to a 20 fl oz pepsi bottle

[quader94]

what you going to do when hes to big? you cant let him go because hes be brought up in captivity,

my one LFS has these huge turtles and they live in a little den with plywood as a fence and they look miserable and everyone who sees them complains to the owner to give them to a zoo lol

[Reeftanker3295]

just an anole i got at the rennaissance fair haha and the n. wennerae is pulling me because i want a smasher and they seem perfect for my 10 gallon and have some nice color