PIMPALA
Well-Known Member
Many many threads are created on reef forums all over the internet with the question:
"My fish and inverts keep disappearing, and I dont know why?"
then the inevitable "I hear a clicking/popping sound" and you will find bits and pieces of broken snail and hermit shells.
and then "So how do I get rid of this mantis shrimp thats in my tank?"
the most common questions, also bring up all the reasons, and ways to capture, and sometimes kill the pest. but wait!! Mantis shrimp arent "pests" by nature. They are just predators. They are some of the smartest, most cunning, and most interesting creatures on the planet. So dont flush him if you do remove him. Make a post on a local forum, or take him to a LFS, I guarantee someone will quickly take him off of your hands, possibly even buy him from you.
now... dont freak out just because you hear the dreaded "clicking" sound. its not always a mantis. if you SEE the mantis, then its a mantis. dont assume.
also, once you actually identify that it IS a mantis, dont freak out and automatically assume that its going to run out and smash the front panel of your aquarium, spilling all of your water on the floor. this is a very VERY uncommon occurrence, and only two species of smasher mantis (out of the over 500 species of total mantis known) even get large and powerful enough to smash glass. and even then, there is pretty much a ZERO % chance that either of them hitchhiked into your aquarium in a piece of live rock.
now that you know you have a mantis, and you are positive that you want him removed from your tank, lets talk about getting him out.
The most common trap is the bottle trap. (search for threads, there are hundreds of them explaing the build, and showing pictures of how to do it) This is constructed out of a 2 liter bottle, with the neck cut off, flipped over, then re-inserted into the bottle. place food inside (like raw shrimp or fish, etc) then wait for the mantis to get hungry. dont put anything else into the tank (like new inverts, etc) while waiting. might take lights being off, or a day or two for him to get hungry enough to go into the bottle. you may also catch several other of your critters while waiting, but once he is in there, get the bottle out ASAP, because mantis are VERY smart.
lots of other trap ideas have been used, and successful. the bottle trap is simply the most common. that doesnt mean it will work for you, so dont give up!
second (and possibly easier) solution would be to locate what rock the mantis is living in, and remove it. if you cant locate the rock... then its time to start tearing the aquarium down, rock by rock. I suggest holding a net under the rock as you pull it from the tank, as the mantis will sometimes attempt to jump back into the water, but if you have a net under it, its right where you want it!
if you have a fish only system, and just want to eradicate the mantis, then dosing copper will quickly kill it (but not harm your fish). DO NOT ADD COPPER TO A REEF TANK.
Hope this all helps, and happy hunting!
"My fish and inverts keep disappearing, and I dont know why?"
then the inevitable "I hear a clicking/popping sound" and you will find bits and pieces of broken snail and hermit shells.
and then "So how do I get rid of this mantis shrimp thats in my tank?"
the most common questions, also bring up all the reasons, and ways to capture, and sometimes kill the pest. but wait!! Mantis shrimp arent "pests" by nature. They are just predators. They are some of the smartest, most cunning, and most interesting creatures on the planet. So dont flush him if you do remove him. Make a post on a local forum, or take him to a LFS, I guarantee someone will quickly take him off of your hands, possibly even buy him from you.
now... dont freak out just because you hear the dreaded "clicking" sound. its not always a mantis. if you SEE the mantis, then its a mantis. dont assume.
also, once you actually identify that it IS a mantis, dont freak out and automatically assume that its going to run out and smash the front panel of your aquarium, spilling all of your water on the floor. this is a very VERY uncommon occurrence, and only two species of smasher mantis (out of the over 500 species of total mantis known) even get large and powerful enough to smash glass. and even then, there is pretty much a ZERO % chance that either of them hitchhiked into your aquarium in a piece of live rock.
now that you know you have a mantis, and you are positive that you want him removed from your tank, lets talk about getting him out.
The most common trap is the bottle trap. (search for threads, there are hundreds of them explaing the build, and showing pictures of how to do it) This is constructed out of a 2 liter bottle, with the neck cut off, flipped over, then re-inserted into the bottle. place food inside (like raw shrimp or fish, etc) then wait for the mantis to get hungry. dont put anything else into the tank (like new inverts, etc) while waiting. might take lights being off, or a day or two for him to get hungry enough to go into the bottle. you may also catch several other of your critters while waiting, but once he is in there, get the bottle out ASAP, because mantis are VERY smart.
lots of other trap ideas have been used, and successful. the bottle trap is simply the most common. that doesnt mean it will work for you, so dont give up!
second (and possibly easier) solution would be to locate what rock the mantis is living in, and remove it. if you cant locate the rock... then its time to start tearing the aquarium down, rock by rock. I suggest holding a net under the rock as you pull it from the tank, as the mantis will sometimes attempt to jump back into the water, but if you have a net under it, its right where you want it!
if you have a fish only system, and just want to eradicate the mantis, then dosing copper will quickly kill it (but not harm your fish). DO NOT ADD COPPER TO A REEF TANK.
Hope this all helps, and happy hunting!
