R.I.P

TDrag27

Shared on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 07:46

Cuttlefish of Cthulu

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:

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.

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Comments

Submitted by madwoman on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 07:57

Where's the pic of what one looks like? Sorry to hear he died.

Submitted by pearly_54 on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 08:31

So sorry about your Cuttlefish. And, I can't see the pic, either.

Submitted by J-Cat on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 08:33

R.I.P. wee cuttlefish. We hardly knew ye. Deep sea fish scare the ever loving bejeesus out of me. Serisouly, I am having a major case of the screaming heebie jeebies now.

Submitted by TDrag27 on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 08:34

blogs hate me. I can see the pic just fine????

Submitted by ATC_1982 on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 08:42

can't see the pic either. He was so cute. Happy Early Anniversary

Submitted by TDrag27 on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 08:51

Can you see it now?

Submitted by madwoman on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 08:53

The pic is there now....dunno what happened.

Submitted by Caesar on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 09:00

i used to have all kinds of fish for yrs, the most personable were my oscars. they were kick ass, even my wife loved them,. ill post some vidz later this week. 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.

Submitted by snowpunx08 on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 09:25

Mantis Shrimp wiki: "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" Wow. I think I'd be looking for an aquarium with thicker glass!! def cool though.

Submitted by Snuphy on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 10:16

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.

Submitted by MikeTheKnife on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 10:16

Cuttlefish looks like a navigator from the original "Dune" movie

Submitted by nae on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 10:36

you sound like a Nerd lmfao miss ya~

Submitted by d0od on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 10:45

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. http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j25/tobymark/DSC_1362.jpg http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j25/tobymark/DSC_1363.jpg

Submitted by TANK on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 11:24

And hey, when this one dies.... you can eat it ! :lol:

Submitted by hilskie on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 11:26

@snowpunx - that is RAD! Tara, I totally hope you get one of those!!

Submitted by TDrag27 on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 11:43

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.). 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. 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. 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... 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.

Submitted by mrsleestak on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 16:22

I'm so sorry for your loss Meemos.

Submitted by pearly_54 on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 16:37

So sorry, Meemoos.

Submitted by MikeJames on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 16:54

sorry to hear that meemoos.......I fear I only have days left with my dad.... mj

Submitted by OldManRiver48 on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 17:04

So sorry for you and the Familys loss, glad to hear her pain is over even tho thats not much comfort.....Godspeed to Ginnia.

Submitted by frozenground on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 17:21

sorry for your families loss meem :( we went thru that last summer, it was hard..

Submitted by KittenMag on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 17:42

I'm with J-cat.. I do not like the picture of that thing, lol Sorry it died though.

Submitted by budman24 on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 01:20

that sounds like a lot of time and money lol. sorry about the fish :(

Submitted by microscent on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 08:09

Sorry to hear about your loss. What a cutie!

Submitted by doorgunnerjgs on Sun, 07/06/2008 - 15:08

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.

Submitted by Lusetti67 on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 15:22

Sorry to hear that man. His poor family .

Submitted by Devonsangel on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 15:18

It would be kind of cool to have a salt water tank to sit and watch. Interesting choices in inhabitants available, too cool.