Community Inspiration.

[LAME]

Hello fellow members,

Last night before calling it a night I had a crazy thought rush through my head. Since all my current LARGE adults have passed and I'm currently sitting on a empty 29 gallon aquarium... I thought now would be a great time to try and build a "Community Inspired" tank with the help, ideas, or advice from the fellow members within the community.

Currently I'm gutting the tank and plan to clean it tonight or tomorrow morning (day off...) and will post photos of the aquarium then, as I'm getting ready to go to work now I don't really have much time to post. But since I was pondering over the idea, I wanted to go ahead and start the thread.

Hope to hear what you all think of the idea!

-LAME.

 

[Vespertino]

Are you thinking of using live plants or plastic?

 

[baskmantids]

id like to see how this turns out

just waiting to see what kind of tank youll be using

 

[idologrl]

I have 4 idolo males in mine. They are happy :stuart:

 

[LAME]

Vespertino: Honestly... I'd love to make it with real plants. Ive used the tank with 3 other large species but they had fakes. Knowing of course it probably doesn't much matter to the insect. Itd be more eye appealing for my family/froends or myself

Baskmantids: Me too! I really thought it would be a cool way for the community members to get involved with a sort of "project"

But definitely, ill get photos and measurements when I get off!

 

[LAME]

Idologrl: Yes, ive seen yours and love the set up! But I'm iffy about community idolos lol

 

[idologrl]

As long as you have flies buzzing around their heads they are fine or at least so far. When I notice they are getting ready to molt I take them out and put them in the molting cage. BTW I went all idologrl crazy and bought 20 nymphs plus I have an ooth incubating plus one of the girls I sent off for breeding seems to have been successful! I'm going to need more enclosures!

 

[PrayingMantisPets]

I keep Heterochaetas communally and Idolos communally.


I also have a huge tank that i am going to convert into the "Mantis Paradise." I don know what to do with it yet.

...BTW I went all idologrl crazy and bought 20 nymphs plus I have an ooth incubating plus one of the girls I sent off for breeding seems to have been successful!...

I also went mantis crazy and got 10!

 

[MantisMatt14]

I agree with Crystal 100%. Idolos will be fine communal as long as they have flies and a good amount of heat! Never had any problems at all ever. She was successful mating and the first ooth is good sized. She ate a Manduca sexta sphinx moth the other day and she was super fat after! That means more eggs that will be produced!

-Matt

 

[LAME]

Here's a photograph of the tank, I believe its a standard 29g from WalMart?.. Not sure, it was actually given to me for free some many months back and was full of fish stuff which I have to remove and super deep clean the tank. (it was pretty foul...)



The tank is 30x18x12 (30 inches long, 18 inches high, 12 inches wide.)

I'm also going to make a custom glass lid for it... Really id like it to have a sort of sliding glass top. Which ive already got the glass for, just needs to be cut and I need to acquire the hinges.

 

[MantidBro]

Here's a photograph of the tank, I believe its a standard 29g from WalMart?.. Not sure, it was actually given to me for free some many months back and was full of fish stuff which I have to remove and super deep clean the tank. (it was pretty foul...)

The tank is 30x18x12 (30 inches long, 18 inches high, 12 inches wide.)

I'm also going to make a custom glass lid for it... Really id like it to have a sort of sliding glass top. Which ive already got the glass for, just needs to be cut and I need to acquire the hinges.

Ive got a bit of an idea!! i was thinking, you make a mini world, like you did with that other home! like where the fluffy moss looked like a bush and the sticks looked like trees and the flatter moss looked like grass?

Who is gonna go in btw??

 

[idologrl]

I agree with Crystal 100%. Idolos will be fine communal as long as they have flies and a good amount of heat! Never had any problems at all ever. She was successful mating and the first ooth is good sized. She ate a Manduca sexta sphinx moth the other day and she was super fat after! That means more eggs that will be produced!

-Matt

You did an awesome job Matt! I am so excited!!!

 

[MantisMatt14]

You did an awesome job Matt! I am so excited!!!

Thanks! Yes she was calling all the time after her meal and I guess he got the message. I fattened her up very well so she will develop more eggs in the ooth! The male is still going strong too!

 

[LAME]

Who is gonna go in btw??

I'm currently learning towards griffins... But honestly, a communal tank WOULD be the coolest thing ever!! ( ive yet to do one...) but at the same time....I would be extremely upset if I was to lose one of the idolos.

 

[MantidBro]

I'm currently learning towards griffins... But honestly, a communal tank WOULD be the coolest thing ever!! ( ive yet to do one...) but at the same time....I would be extremely upset if I was to lose one of the idolos.

I feel the same way!!

 

[mantisman 230]

No communal Polyspilota xD, mine threat each other when a foot apart xD, but a very nice species, my oldest shed to sub Sunday morning, you could try an army of ghosts xD, that might fair better than Polyspilota in a group setting.

 

[dmina]

I think a ghost tank would be cool... with the moss and live plants.... But that is just my opinion... I love the ghosts... but you probably want something bigger ..mantis size ... right???

 

[mushroom]

A community inspired tank is a great concept, LAME!

I say definitely go communal, if possible. Violin mantis are communal as well as the tiny Purple boxer mantis, and of course Ghosts. People in the community, like myself, who would like a communal tank but are unable to, can do so vicariously through your project.

As pets need names, maybe the community can get involved in the naming of the mantids though a vote or poll.

Another idea is to have a web feed* for us (or the world) to view 24/7. It may be the first and only live mantis cam.

To fund this you could sell raffle tickets. You would get the cash, and a lucky winner or winners get a prize, like some nymphs, an ooth, or a Harley-Davidson (depending on how many tickets are sold, ).

* I have a webcam I am not using I could donate.

 

[LAME]

No communal Polyspilota xD, mine threat each other when a foot apart xD, but a very nice species, my oldest shed to sub Sunday morning, you could try an army of ghosts xD, that might fair better than Polyspilota in a group setting.

LOL! yeaaah, definitely don't want to do that ^_^ mine are the exact same... I ended up moving mine to different locations so they couldn't continue to harass each other lol.

But yeah... I was think a huge ghost tank would be ideal when speaking on the communal tank. I really wanted to do it with my first ghosts but only had two. Not wanting to lose one to accidental cannibalism, I kept them separate.