Peacock Mantis Shrimp
The peacock mantis shrimp is one of the most sought after mantis shrimps as it is one of the most beautiful shrimps. The following article will discuss some peacock mantis shrimp facts that will help you in taking care of your tank inmate.
The peacock mantis shrimp is one of the most beautiful and intelligent mantis shrimps. The peacock mantis is also known as the harlequin mantis shrimp, painted mantis shrimp and Odontodactylus scyllarus. These are one of the large mantis shrimps that are native to Indo-Pacific region from the Guam to East Africa and even Hawaii. In this article, we shall learn some of the peacock mantis shrimp facts related to its care in a home aquarium. You can read more on aquarium fish.
Peacock Mantis Shrimp Facts
The peacock mantis shrimp is an ornamental aquarium shrimp. These mantis shrimps are many times raised exclusively in a tank as they are very well capable of hunting fish and crustaceans. The most distinguishing feature of these creatures are the peacock mantis shrimp eyes that are blue in color. They have beautiful, colorful patterns on the body and tail. They are about 3 to 18 centimeters in size and are primarily green in color. They have orange legs and leopard-like spots on their anterior carapace.
The peacock mantis shrimps are burrowers and tend to construct U-shaped holes in the loose substrate. These holes are constructed near the base of the coral reefs that are about 3 to 40 meters deep. The peacock mantis shrimps are lethal predators. They can not only kill small snails and fish, but can inflict injuries on humans as well. Their strike is the fastest in the world and the naked human eye cannot capture the entire motion of attack. The peacock mantis shrimps eyes are one of the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. The peacock mantis shrimp eyes not only perceive polarized light, but they can also see light in the range of ultraviolet to infrared.
As a predator, the peacock mantis shrimps have a lethal weapon to make the kill. They use smashers to finish their prey. The smashers are designed to crack open the hard armor on the crustaceans body. They use their club shaped raptorial appendages to smash open the armor of the crustacean and gain access to the soft tissue inside. They love feeding on gastropods, crustaceans and bivalves.
Crabs
are a favorite meal of the peacock mantis shrimp. You will be surprised to know, one blow of their smashers is equal to the force exerted by a .22 caliber bullet.
You can read more on shrimps in the article information on ghost shrimp.
Peacock Mantis Shrimp Care
Many aquarium enthusiast think about keeping peacock mantis shrimp as pets. There bright colors and active behavior makes them a popular tank occupant. However, due to their predatory nature, they hunt down most of the other tank mates. Thus, they are often kept as solitary inhabitants of the home aquarium.
Peacock mantis shrimp tends to be quite a hardy pet and they will thrive in captivity, if provided with live prey. While keeping peacock mantis shrimp as pets, you should keep in mind that they are used to eating live prey. They are not interested in eating pellets, frozen cubes, etc, that does not look like live prey. Remember, they are strict carnivores.
The best way to feed a peacock mantis shrimp is providing them with live crabs. You can buy cheap crabs and feed them live prey. What matters is their size, you need to buy the right sized crabs that are not too large for them to prey upon. Few people have also been successful in feeding frozen crabs.
The peacock mantis shrimp is about a foot and half in length. Thus, they require large aquariums, and smaller spaces will make them feel cramped. These are burrowing species, and will remain in their burrows, till they do not detect presence of prey. The peacock mantis shrimp is a diurnal species that usually hunts at night. Their burrows are lined with pieces of coral, rock and shells.
The male peacock mantis shrimps actively searches for their female partners to mate. They mate in front of their burrows. The male guards the female till the larvae can swim out and only then will he leave. These are active and intelligent animals who are curious and are seen interacting with their keepers.
The peacock mantis shrimp are not meant for marine aquarium setups. They cannot be mixed with fish or crustaceans of any kind. They need the tank to themselves and are very undemanding pets. All you need to do is ensure a good diet and little pet care to keep these beautiful marvels happy and healthy. I hope this article on keeping peacock mantis shrimps as aquarium pets has proved to be a useful read.
Warning
:
The peacock mantis shrimps are recommended to be kept in acrylic glass, rather than glass aquarium. The mantis shrimps tend to dig the seafloor in wild and will try to break any obstacle they encounter. While burrowing in the fish tank, if the mantis reach the glass in the corner, they tends to strike at it. This leads to chipping of the glass causing it to leak. Over the years, it has been seen, that few mantis shrimps have managed to shatter their aquarium glass. Also, keep your fingers away from the water while feeding them. Their appendages are extremely dangerous to human fingers. You will avoid any serious injury by exerting caution.
