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R.I.P

T
TDrag27

Cuttlefish of Cthulu


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Little guy perished 2 days ago. We got him full grown, so it's not much of a surprise. They have ridiculously short life spans...Still makes me sad. He's was just so cute. I would tap on the glass and he would come right up to me and wiggle his tentacles, show his beak and beg for food.


Dean is bummed and it's our anniversary this weekend so I'm offering to stock his tank with anything he wants. I found him some baby cuttles so we could at least get 7-8 months with them. But with the short life span and the extra effort and cost to keep him fed live food, he decided to hold off on another cuttle. Now he wants a Mantis Shrimp. It's not a Mantis. And it's not a Shrimp. It's in the Stomatopod family.


Here's what one looks like:


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These things, depsite looking like googly-eyed shrimp, are actually deadly bad-ass predators. There are over 400 species that are separated into 2 main varieties - smashers and spearers. Smashers have little hammer-like appendages that beat the shit out of their prey and break open shells - like other crustaceans. It makes a very loud noise. Spearers have these wicked sharp appendages that spear nearby fish and eat them.


A large Mantis Shrimp of the smasher variety can smash with the force of a 22 cal. bullet. They call them "thumb splitters." The sea is full of the weirdest shit. Later on I'll post a video of one annhilating a hermit crab. It's actually kind of sad - but that's nature. We'll probably have ours by the weekend. We might name him Monty. Pics later.


 


 


 

Comments (27)

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Lusetti67·
Sorry to hear that man. His poor family .
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mrsleestak·
I'm so sorry for your loss Meemos.
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pearly_54·
So sorry, Meemoos.
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MikeJames·
sorry to hear that meemoos.......I fear I only have days left with my dad....\r \r mj
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OldManRiver48·
So sorry for you and the Familys loss, glad to hear her pain is over even tho thats not much comfort.....Godspeed to Ginnia.
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frozenground·
sorry for your families loss meem :( we went thru that last summer, it was hard..
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doorgunnerjgs·
No matter how much warning you have, it always hurts to lose someone you love. I'm glad she got to see her son before she left you. Peace be with you and your family.
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madwoman·
Where's the pic of what one looks like? Sorry to hear he died.
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pearly_54·
So sorry about your Cuttlefish. And, I can't see the pic, either.
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J-Cat·
R.I.P. wee cuttlefish. We hardly knew ye.\r \r Deep sea fish scare the ever loving bejeesus out of me. Serisouly, I am having a major case of the screaming heebie jeebies now.
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TDrag27·
blogs hate me. I can see the pic just fine????
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ATC_1982·
can't see the pic either. He was so cute. Happy Early Anniversary
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TDrag27·
Can you see it now?
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madwoman·
The pic is there now....dunno what happened.
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Caesar·
i used to have all kinds of fish for yrs, the most personable were my oscars. \r they were kick ass, even my wife loved them,. ill post some vidz later this week. \r i used to play video games in that room and they would follow me from the time i came in till the time i left.
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snowpunx08·
Mantis Shrimp wiki: \r \"Although generally considered an urban legend due to few occurrences, some larger species of mantis shrimp are capable of breaking through aquarium glass with a single strike from this weapon\"\r \r Wow. I think I'd be looking for an aquarium with thicker glass!! def cool though.
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Snuphy·
Recently caught a 3D Imax ocean flick. It had footage of a mantis shrimp. The little bugger went toe to toe with an octopus and lived. Definitely bad ass.
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MikeTheKnife·
Cuttlefish looks like a navigator from the original \"Dune\" movie
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nae·
you sound like a Nerd lmfao\r miss ya~
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d0od·
I have always wanted a salt water tank, how much work are they? I work for a high end home builder and we had a buyer that wanted a tank, it is 11'Lx48\"hx33\"d had to add a beam in the floor and some pier pads to support the thing. I never got to see it w/ fish but here are some pics of it un-watered.\r http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j25/tobymark/DSC_1362.jpg\r http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j25/tobymark/DSC_1363.jpg
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TANK·
And hey, when this one dies.... you can eat it ! :lol:
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hilskie·
@snowpunx - that is RAD! Tara, I totally hope you get one of those!!
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TDrag27·
dood - Maintenance depends mostly on what you stock the tank with. The cuttle required live food. That's shopping 2-3 times a week, maintaing a feeder tank and also cleaning out all the left over parts after he was done eating (goldfish heads, claws, shells, etc.). \r \r And a smaller tank typically requires more frequent water changes. We do 5 gallons every 2 weeks on the 30 gallon tank and 20 gallons every month on the 90 gallon. \r \r Then - a reef tank is significantly more complex than a live rock, fish only. Coral requires extra nutrients and special foods if you want them to thrive - so every day you're dealing with different additives and special foods (and more testing). Reefs are a lot more expensive to maintain as well - and coral is costly. \r \r You can also make up for a lot of maintenance by getting better quality filtration. Get a refugium over bio balls, etc. Get lights powerful enough and appropriate for the corals you want to keep - like metal halides...\r \r That's a lot of an answer - the short answer is it's more work than fresh to go salt, but how much more really depends. PM me if you have other questions.
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KittenMag·
I'm with J-cat.. I do not like the picture of that thing, lol\r \r Sorry it died though.
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budman24·
that sounds like a lot of time and money lol. sorry about the fish :(
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microscent·
Sorry to hear about your loss. What a cutie!
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Devonsangel·
It would be kind of cool to have a salt water tank to sit and watch. Interesting choices in inhabitants available, too cool.