care for a mantis

[bullet_buddy]

I caught a mantis today about 1\2 green blue and red and I,m wanting to keep it.Is there anything I can put in the tank with it besides lunch?The only other tank I have is a nano I'm getting ready for seahorses so I dont think it would be wise to keep it there.Could I keep it in a bowl if I change the water 3 or 4 times a week till i get a 5gal at the end of next week?It looks to cool to kill .And also could I just drop a snail or two in there to feed it and how many a week do you think it would need..Any help will be appreciated.Thanks

[Woodstock]

Cool... show us a pic of it! Sorry, I don't know about keeping them alive .... someone else will chime in.

[Gina]

While I don't have any personal experience with them, here is some info I found for you. Hope it helps.

http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0723/

[XBwlr]

You could use a plastic bottle of some kind, drill holes in it for the water to flow through, but not big enough for him to get out and then put him back in you tank until you get your other tank set up.

HTH

[Charlie97L]

If you did a bowl, you'd have to have an airstone, heater, and some rock for him to be not stressed and survive, minimum. i'd just run get the tank.

he'll outgrow that... something to be aware of, which i wasn't until i went to the mantix exhibit at the zoo this past weekend. the smasher mantis's can (and have) split open tanks. their claw, even when small, can produce the force of a .22 bullet. so be aware, if you put him in too small of a tank, he might not like it, and break it. i'd go with a 10 gallon, personally, that way he has room to grow, and it's what, 5.00 more at petco?

[cracker]

Bullet,How did you happen to catch this mantis and where?

[bullet_buddy]

Originally Posted by cracker

Bullet,How did you happen to catch this mantis and where?

I saw something scoot into the rock wed night, thursday morning there was a snail shell with a hole in it next to the rock it ran into.So I took the rock out and put it in a bucket of freshwater and let it sit till it came out.Took almost an hour till it evacuated the rock and I caught it with a net.I broke down and put it in my nano I did'nt have the heart to kill it .It's funny but the shrimp is tiny[1\2"] hard to belive it killed this snail[1"].Also found out I really have no idea what's living in my tank when I put that rock in the freshwater all kinds of stuff came out with a few unsavory crabs to boot.

[Woodstock]

That is great that you caught it now before it grew large and started eating your fish!

[Witfull]

Crab Evictor~

WELCOME TO THE CLUB~~

[bullet_buddy]

Originally Posted by Witfull

Crab Evictor~

WELCOME TO THE CLUB~~

tan striped with dark brown pointy pinchers

[KeyserSoze]

I've read that they CAN break a glass tank and acrylic is preferred. I've also read that if not stressed or crowded that this is unlikely. Let us know how it turns out. I've thought about trying to keep one in a nano tank at work.

[Yarr]

in my [ersonal opinion.. a good mantis ias a dead one. Im sure they have their place in the ecosystem.. but just simply.. not mine..

the one i had although very pretty accounted for a few hundred dollars worth of fish, not tomention the death on corals and stuff caused by me tearing down the tank and rotting fish stuff that it casued raising the tanks water params past a nice level.


The guy at a pet store has one sitting on his counter in a plastic milk container. throws a bit of tank water in there once a week.. and it lives nicely there as a sign of what you DO NOT WANT in your tank

[Witfull]

also,,No Petting~~

[fishcrazy]

This might help you and other people who want to keep mantis.

You've all seen the posts before. "All 3 of my fish died...what could've caused it?" The answer comes back, "You must have a mantis". That is actually highly unlikely. Smashers can take out small fish but rarely do unless there isn't enough crabs or snails. I've even kept fish successfully in several of my mantis tanks for ages. On the other hand, if your missing a small snail and you find a broken shell, you probably have a mantis.

First of all, while they definately do have the fastest movement in the animal world, most of the species that are common hitchhikers cannot break your aquarium or hand. It's simple Newtonian physics. Force = Mass x Acceleration. The smaller mantis have the acceleration thing down pat. However, they don't have the mass in their clubs. Peacocks and a couple of other rare species are different. When full grown, they can break small tanks and they can hurt you so keep your hands out of the tank. Unfortunately they are never hitchhikers.

I apologize in advance that this post is concentrated on smashers. However, I've never kept spearers so my knowledge is limited to what I've read for them.

I have to tell you. I've done softy tanks, SPS tanks, mixed reefs (not a good idea ), etc., etc., and so on. In the course of doing this, I have observed a lot of interesting critters. However, none have ever been more interesting than my mantis. Not only that, mantis have been the only animals that observe me back. I'm not talking about getting excited about being fed like cats, dogs, and fish...I'm talking about a quite intelligent creature studying me right back.

I have kept many species of mantis. Most hitchhiking species do not require an acrylic tank. However, if you want to keep my favorite species (Peacock Mantis) it will be a VERY good idea once it hits about 5 inches or so. If you have a small nano with very thin glass (like an eclipse) and you desire a medium size mantis as opposed to a small one, it is a very good idea to put a thin piece of plexiglass on the bottom of the tank before putting down a sandbed. Once they get into den building mode and they start banging, they could care less if it is rock they are banging or glass. There are species that are even larger than peacocks but I've never once seen them available to anyone other than scientists.

There is one thing that ALL smasher species of mantis requires even if it is a small hitchhiker...a titanium heater or a cage around a glass heater (unless your heater is in a sump). I can't tell you how many smasher-mantis have met an untimely end due to electrocution by hitting the ultra-thin glass used in most heaters.

It's real easy for me to advise you on a spearer tank. A VERY deep sandbed. That's about it. Unfortunately, you won't see a spearer very often in captivity and you won't get one as a hitchhiker because they don't live in LR.

For smashers, a good setup truly depends on the species you have and/or want as I alluded to above. I have had good results by creating a den for mantis using PVC tubing (size depending on species) and covering it with LR. You want the tubing to be 1 and 1/2 larger than full grown size of the mantis so they can turn around (and you will be quite surprised on how quickly they can turn around). Do NOT put the other open end of the tubing against one of the glass walls. They get into redecorating mode often (just like my wife) and if there is any type of barrier against extending their den, they may or may not decide to keep banging on it until they get through. Remember, they get stronger as they get bigger. Your specimen may not take to your den at first because you will have placed it in such a way as to maximize view. However, I've found that once you become known as the "bringer of food" and they are more comfortable, they will accept this new den. Regardless, I've found that they will make a secondary den too. Provide shells and small pieces of rubble for them to decorate, and re-decorate, and re-decorate, ad-infinitum.

Why hyper-salinity dips don't work to remove most mantis.

Many mantis live on patch-reefs and intertidal zones. When the tide goes out for half of the day, the water pools, evaporation happens, the temperature in the tidepool increases substantially, and the salinity continues to go through the roof until the tide comes back. They are accustomed to this type of abuse.

Where did my mantis go? He's been doing well for months and he/she put a whole bunch of rubble in front of the den and I haven't seen it for days.

It's molting. They have an exoskeleton and eventually their tissue size will outsize it. They have to shed it in a similar manner to shrimp. Leave the molt in for a day or two. They will often eat it for calcium, strontium, and other needs. Then discard it. BTW...the molt on the first day will be an EXACT duplicate of your mantis. Unfortunately, just like in nature, this is the most likely time to lose a mantis.

Should I add Iodine to help my mantis shrimp molt?

Heck no. Mantis shrimp are not shrimp, they are stomatopods. However, this is one area where they are similar. Just like shrimp they have an exoskeleton and adding Iodine MAKES them molt, it doesn't HELP them. If you force them to molt too early, you are severely weakening it.

How do I make my mantis like me?

All living things have an innate instinct for security, food, and procreation. Provide them with a secure den, and from the beginning don't allow any natural foods for a while. You need to provide it. Once they feel secure, you will then become the "bringer of food". It's not a good idea to put more than one mantis in a nano because sexing them is hard to do unless you are holding onto them. In nature, mantis of the same species and sex merely engage in "I'm tougher than you" contests like rams and they both walk away at the end. However, in a small nano tank, there isn't sufficient retreating area. In other words, don't try to breed them unless you are SURE of their sexes. Most species breed with the same partner for life.

I understand that in nature, some critter is always eating another critter to survive. However, I cannot put something in my tank that might be killed.

If so, then a mantis probably isn't a good animal for a species-tank for you. If you have a smasher, once you earn their trust, you will have to start adding a clean-up crew. If mantis don't exercise their clubs, they will lose them in the next molt. With feeding of your mantis, most of your clean-up crew will be left alone. (They are quite intelligent and prefer free food over food that requires work). However, they will slowly one by one disappear over time.

Should I put my hand in the tank?

I'm quite popular in town when someone has a mantis. That's because I will grab SMALL mantis out of a local reefers tank with my bare hand. They will back up from it like I pulled out a lion or a grizzly bear. Being afraid of a 1 inch G. wennerae as opposed to an 8 in peacock is like being terrified of kittens because lions have killed humans before.

I've heard clicking and have a couple broken snail shells so I'm sure I have one. I tried the red lense over the flashlight trick at night but could not see my mantis.

In addition to being able to see polarized lighting, many species can also see in ultraviolet and/or infrared light. The red lens trick is not going to work on most species.

[bullet_buddy]

Thanks fishcrazy.That's some good info.Have the link.?