owen Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Hi Id like to know whether peacock mantis shrimp are on the market in auckland or anywhere in nz. Iv read that they often hide in live-rock in other countries and most people think of them as a pest. I dont have space for one right now but Id love to own one in the future as I think theyre amazing critters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Unfortunately any live rock that comes into NZ gets baked to death- including any mantis shrimps. I think someone here may have found one in their tank but the search thing isnt working so I might be wrong on that. Just a geuss but they sound like a species that might be on the not wanted list. http://www.102tech.com/fish/mantis.wmv (cool mantis video) I think that there are subtropical and temperate species. Someone has found them in "Houhora Harbour", so they're around. Definately go with an acrylic tank if you manage to find one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted March 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Damn I dont see how they could be a pest in our waters as theyre tropical. The ones in "houhora harbour" would be the native sp. theyre fairly common in areas with muddy bottoms. They are a smal,l muddy coloured spearer. I guess I scratch my plans on making a polycarbonate tank then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Wait till others reply, they might be able to help. I'm not sure if mantis shrimps are not allowed, I'm just assuming - the law's real stupid about what species are allowed in, and I'd geuss they arent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 A few years ago they had one on display at Hollywood Mt Roskill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 I liked the video Feelers...did you make it? The only thing I didn't like was the....yuk, mantis thingy What was that he was...ug...eating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 i have a small green one living in my overflow (lots of rocks in there) and see him once in a while. don't know what he eats as small snails are alive as well as some little native glass shrimps that managed to escape from my royal gramma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 That video was NASTY! Hermit crab tried leaving his shell to escape, bad move! But then staying would have probably been fatal also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 I was going to ask the same question in a week or so. I thought a mantis would be good in the pico that I've been designing to sit on a coffee table that I bought for it. I sort of had a mantis a long time ago. It was in a tank that I set up for my parents. For along time we couldn't work out what the clicking noise was because it was a freeloader in one of the rocks that we never saw. If I could I'd rather have a Harliquin Shrimp though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 I'm kinda wondering if I have one in the left side rocks in my tank. Or something anyway. I was a bit suspicious when my mushroom leather(Looking ok, btw!) kept falling over onto the sand despite being pretty secure. But I thought it wasn't likely. When I got home from vacation I found it had moved around and was wedged up in space between two rocks about 6 inches from where it was before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Control if you hear a clicking noise it is probably a pistol shrimp - They are considered harmless and tend to be very shy. Mantis on the other hand will kill fish and crustaceans, and you'd probably see it at some point if you had one. They are very intellegent too - they can be trained to smash plates to be rewarded with food. Does anyone know if they are on the allowed list? Normally they come in on live rock but since we cant get real live rock - it must have come from somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 No it was a mantis I went on a hunt and found it. Mantis also make a clicking noise. That best died years ago, the tank is sitting in my lounge empty now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 I missed the last bit of your post, it must have come from somewhere else. It came on rocks that had something on them, not plain rock. It would have been about 11 years ago now, I remember it was just before we moved into the house we're in now,That was when we lost most of our stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 It would have been about 11 years ago now, I remember it was just before we moved into the house we're in now,That was when we lost most of our stock. Perhaps the rules on importing live rock were different back then, and it was able to make it to sale without being pressure steamed. There's a really rare type of deep sea matis which is real cool, although I think it's supposed to be extinct due to bottom trawling. I found a pic of an NZ shallow water one- apparantly from the north island. They are definately around, perhaps ask a diver if they could pick one up for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Few years ago there was a brief period when it was possible to import proper live rock, also corals come in on live rock, often with crabs, starfish etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Few years ago there was a brief period when it was possible to import proper live rock, When was this? Like 15 years ago? I have had a peacock mantis in the past, got some bad photos of it. I left it in the tank, it was fine, only about 2cm long. I have another mantis in my tank now, came attached to a rock that my birds nest coral is attached too. Was a good buy that coral, had about 6 crabs in it, the mantis, 2 pistol shrimp and some nudi Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Was a good buy that coral yeah i purchased a few corals over the years for the extra's and not the actual coral. 8) lots of americans do that with stuff from the caribbean because of the ban of the collection of stony corals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted March 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 If we cant import 'live' liverock into new zealand what do kiwi reef keepers use? I thought it was crucial for keeping reef tanks. Btw what is liverock? is it dead coral thats full of microbes or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 When was this? Like 15 years ago? Duno, SteveA told me, he found out that hollwoods (?) had some when he ordered some rock, so he took all that they had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Yeah I think thats well over a decade ago. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 Feelers There was something on the rock, maybe buttons, I can't remember. A few years ago I got some rock from a dealer and the rule was that it had to stay dry for three weeks, to my knowledge they were new rules at the time. To go further than this would just show how ignorant the people that maf get there info from really are. Most of what they do in regards to us is based on what might happen, not what will and here is the proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 i managed once to get some rock from a guy further south that imported rock (thats vague enough i guess) he had over a ton of live rock coming in with beautiful growth on it. almost everything fitted in the drum with the bleach. well almost everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 If we cant import 'live' liverock into new zealand what do kiwi reef keepers use? I thought it was crucial for keeping reef tanks. Btw what is liverock? is it dead coral thats full of microbes or something else? The imported rock has to be left dry for 3 weeks to ensure any pests on it will die. However the rock is very porous, and becomes "live" again after it's been put in a tank for a few weeks and becomes colonised by bacteria. The bacteria eat the crud floating around in the water, hence liverocks usefulness for filtration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.