extreme_tooth_decay

Believe me, you aren't the first

OK, OK...LINK

Well, I just got back from a week of snorkeling and hiking in the Galapagos. I was amazed how much wildlife is there. It was difficult to stand at any point on any island and not see tons of things. I chose a few of my favorite pics from land to show. I have 2 cameras full of underwater shots developing, but am not confident any of them will come out. If they do, I will post them. There were a lot of things I saw but didn't get a good pic of (but one of the other 3 people might have), like Sea turtles, Flamingos, Galapagos Sharks, and of course Blue Footed Boobies I resampled these pics down to make them easier to upload. Land Iguana (male) Random Lizard (Male) A crab that was EVERYWHERE. Big one. They call them "sally lightfoot" crabs, but they are not the Sally Lightfoots I know. !? This crab is almost the size of a dinner plate... The tide pools there were amazing. See all those crabs? There is a lava Heron and a Pelican in this pic that are hard to see, as well as fish which are impossible to see. There were sea lions EVERYWHERE. Had to shoo them out of the way. Here is a baby nursing right in the path. BTW, there are about 10 sea lions in this pic... The Galapagos Hawk. Only one we saw. Top predator. Eats Iguanas, lizards, snakes, birds, etc. Beautiful lizard I saw. One of the species of marine iguana. They call them "christmas iguanas" because of their coloration. Yep we saw giant tortoises... Those sea lions were just everywhere...the beach, the park, the benches, the boats...I told Colleen to sit on this bench and took a pic. We went ahead and stopped by the equator while in Quito...this is me and the 3 friends I went with. Yep, the weather was nice, the water was clear...such a great place...

Get in line! I'll try to post some up tonight...it is a pain for me to upload them to my gallery and then link to them. I'm also not sure any of my underwater (film) pics came out...I do have some nice land pics, though. I went with 3 other people and we need to consolidate our pics.

I recall getting 3/4" at Fischers. I'd try them.

Wow, what a place. Any place you stand on the islands, you see something. Usually less than a couple feet away. Iguanas, birds (yes, even boobies), snakes, sea lions, flamingos, sea turtles, it just goes on and on. Stick your head under the water, and don't be surprised to see thousands of fish. I even saw a bunch of Galapagos sharks feeding/hunting flying fish. That was really entertaining. No pics ready yet, but don't let that stop you from posting that "this thread is useless without pics" image...

It is amazing what fish can survive. I once had a huge Oscar that had his tail (size of 3 silver dollars) eaten completely off. He just had a bleeding, meaty nub. The whole tail grew back...

FYI, the wikipedia articla (if you take any stock in that), says "about the acceleration of a .22 calibre bullet". Neither the speed nor the force. Heh. This site claims the speed of a mantis strike is less than 1/10 the speed of a .22 bullet, and furthermore the .22 bullet comparison was really intended for pistol shrimp and never for mantis: "Well, according to the presentation the snapping speed is 20m/s. A .22 caliber bullet goes 330 m/s." "I am pretty sure that a .22 cal bullet has quite a bit more energy behind it." "That was cool but I thought that the 22 analogy was for another crustacean that snapped its claw together creating a percussion" The famous Sheila Patek video (LINK) says the snapping speed is around 20m/s (15 times slower than a .22, if you believe a .22 goes 330 m/s). Unfortunately, with this hobby, there is a lot of misinformation out there...which is why I think being very clear is important, as well as not believing everything you read...I am amazed how many people believe the literal force of a mantis strike is the same as a .22 bullet. OK, off the soap box now.

Hmm...I am not sure if the correct argument is ounce-for-ounce or "same speed" (I thought it was "same speed")...in either case, it is not "the same force"...I get comments almost every day on my youtube videos from people who think it is the same literal force... Right...I agree. I've always thought it was the same measured speed, but it is possible it is the ounce for ounce force...in either case, I think that additional phrase ("ounce for ounce" or "same speed") is very import to add, or else people start thinking crazy things....

Hi Nice to see other mantis types out there. Unfortunately, I see they have fallen victim to perpetuating the myth: "Name one other creature whose front appendages can have the same force as a .22 caliber bullet" This is way, way off. While they may strike at the speed of a .22, with enormously less mass in their appendages than a lead bullet, they have enormously less force than a .22 bullet... I myself have watched a big peacock strike 1/16" incredibly thin aquarium glass (2.5G) hundreds of times. Never cracked it. A .22 would crack glass at least 16 times that thick...would probably chip glass 100 times that thick. Just think what would happen if you shot a 2.5G tank with a .22. It would completely explode. A mantis doesn't even have the force if a BB gun. I have been stricken my a medium sized chiragra several times (which is the hardest hitting mantis there is). My finger did not get blown off or shredded like it would with a .22. Didn't even come close to breaking the skin. Not to say they aren't tough (they are), but I hate it when I see that particular mis-characterization. Normally when you see videos of them taking a crab, they hit the crab or snail over and over and over and over...if it was anything remotely like a .22, the crab would disintegrate on the first hit. Happy smashing!

I have seen this type of aquarium set up before. I am not surprised the fish are alive. We often get carried away with the "best" way to do things. This is not the "best" way, but it does not guarantee failure, either. Plenty of times a sub-optimal approach works just fine. That isn't to say that later on he won't make some mistake and have a nuked tank...

That is what I did...just got a few 2x4s and made a simple stand. Set it up so the fuge was 1/8" above the tank.

I went there once, and saw enough. Amusing thread here: LINK