Optimus Prime (Updated)

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   Ok, well we will let the saga begin... 

Friday night I went to pick up the new home for Optimus assuming he (Peacock Mantis Shrimp) wouldnt be in until October-ish.  When I purchased the tank, the LFS informed me that they infact had one in stock and he was just a little guy about an inch in length.  I paid for him and took his tank home but left him at the store for the time being.  To speed the process up I stole the water from my 75gal and got him a nice little slaughter field setup.  Saturday arrived and I couldnt wait to go pick the killing machine up, so I ran the tests and saw the water was perfect jumped in the car and brought him home.  After about an hour acclimation I introduced Optimus to his new casa and he explored for about 2 hours then started to create his sand tunnel under the LR.  I figured to start I would give him a choice of Entrées so I tossed in a Blue Damsel, Turbo Snail and a Blue Legged Hermit.  It is now Day 3 into this series and I have only seen his curious little eyes poking out from the rock to see what is going on outside his little universe.  All 3 of his meals are still alive and enjoying the peace and quiet that the Nano has to offer.  From what I have seen this little guy has more personality than any of my other fish and critters in my Reef Tank.  As he gets more and more comfortable with his surroundings or as soon as he picks his first meal I will update this post.  So for now,

To Be Continued...

Day 5:
Well as of Tonight I havent seen much of Optimus, he has found a nice chunk of LR that has a pretty good burrow already built in and has made himself a nice little house out of it.  Tuesday night was the first time I got to see him try to attack his first meal.  He went after the Hermit first and just kicked him around like a soccerball for about 20 minutes before giving up and retreating back to his home.  I tried to run get the camera to get a video and I think I startled him because he has yet to come out and play again.  After witnessing the poor little guy struggle with that tiny crab I figured he might still be a baby and unable to break shells, so I have started feeding Mysis shrimp thru a turkey bastor.  I thought I was doing him a favor, and he leaped out at the bastor snagging the shrimp as it torpedoed out the tip.  After the feeding I started to notice he was craming little pebbles into the crevices at the openning of his Mantis Cave.  I would leave the room to watch the Red Sox (Who lost to the Yankees....  Again) and when I returned an hour later he has completely blocked the entrance and is hiding inside!  I have yet to understand this but in my expert opinion there are only 2 possible explanations on why he has done this, 1: He didnt like me peeking in on him or injecting shrimp filled water into his Mantis Cave or 2: He has been getting heckled by that punk ass crab that he failed to kill or even scare for that matter, that he feels so ashamed the only thing he can do is barricade himself from the evils of the outside world.  Ya know, Crabs can be so cruel!!!  Now it brings me to thinking of the future and unless he wants to starve to death then I will eventually have to break down his super barrier.  For all of you awaiting pics and video, I now have the camera charged and ready right next to the tank waiting for the perfect moment to snap pics!

Once again, To Be Continued...

Edited by Biznitch - August 29 2007 at 10:17pm