Mantis not eating....

[Reefstalker]

I bought a 3.5" lime green mantis shrimp from DFS. I've had it for over a week now and it seems fine -- digging under the gravel, peeking from its hiding place, etc. But he's not eating the hermit crabs in his tank. I gave it some freshwater feeder shrimps when I first got him as a welcome home present (and he ate those), but he hasn't touched the hermit crabs at all. I haven't fed him in about a week, eagerly waiting for him to massacre the hermits, but it hasn't happened. Should I just give him regular fish food? The whole point in buying the mantis was to see him butcher snails and hermits...and it's not happening.

 

What do you guys suggest? Should I capitulate and just give him regular food, or should I wait until he's hungry enough to rape, plunder and pillage the hermits?

[KMitch]

My mantis has yet to touch hermits--i think its because the hermit is big enough and hes small enough that he wont go for it.

 

Try feeder guppies-- my mantis loves em

[Reefstalker]

How does he catch the guppies?

[Argent]

I feed mine frozen brine shrimp - neither one will touch hermits and they've only eaten the reallly small snails (both of my manti are no bigger than 2" though)

[shrinky]

I am a total mantis noob - but aren't there two types of mantis, spearers and bashers? Seems like if you had a spearing type it wouldn't go for snails/hermits, etc.

[KMitch]

My mantis is fast enough that he can catch them and smash them. I'm talking the little bitty feeder ones

[Reefstalker]

OK...I'll try feeder guppies.

 

Since they're freshwater fishes, how long do they live in the saltwater tank? Will they last a week if I put 5-10 feeders in my saltwater tank (assuming the mantis eats 1-2 per day)? Or will I have to dole out 1-2 feeders per day?

[Reefstalker]

Here's a pic of my finicky 3.5" mantis.

 

Do you guys think he'll catch a damsel if I drop 2-3 in his 10g tank?

[yankeereefer]

I think the freshies will die pretty quickly in SW - You may have luck with the damsels, but it make take some time. - Mine took almost 3 weeks to catch the damsel in put in there.

 

Get a bunch of snails (astreas, margaritas and/or small turbos and chuck 'em in the tank. Feed the fresh shrimp (small pieces) a couple times weekly - Dip the shrimp in Selcon or Zoecon

 

I've heard that guppies / feeders may not be nutritionally wholesome for the mantids, but I'm not sure - I mean how much is a guppy gonna differ from the damsels we sometimes use?

 

HTH

Yankee

[y0bailey]

my mantis goes forever without eating sometimes. like he will keep his hole boarded up for weeks on end, and i'll end up opening it with tweezers and shoving food in there. he usually snacks then just closes his door back up. then he will go on a week or so binge destroying all life in the tank.

 

stick it out...as long as he is large enough to break a hermit he will.....i mean he will eat eventually or else he will die, and trust me he doesn't want to die. if you hear him trying to smash the hermits but can't then you need to feed him.

[Reefstalker]

What do you think of Mollies? They're kinda brackish/salterwaterish, cheaper than damsels, and move slowly. They should be perfect for mantis, don'tchathink?

[eastcoaster70]

My mantis has yet to touch hermits--i think its because the hermit is big enough and hes small enough that he wont go for it.

 

Try feeder guppies-- my mantis loves em

 

i think it depends on what kind of mantis it is. if it's a "spearer", then he may go after fish. i have a "smasher" type who unfortunately hitch hiked into my tank via liverock, who doesn't touch fish, hermits or snails. But he sure did feast on my peppermint shrimp, and loves to smash n grab the clams off my live rock. I try to fill him up on frozen krill, which he loves, so he doesn't totally decimate the clams & barnacles.

[travisurfer]

Your mantis deffinitely sounds like a spearer do to the fact that you say he wont eat hermits, he is only digging under the sand, and the yellow color could be P. ciliata. You will need a dsb and for food, i would try feeder shrimp, really small damsels, and chopped frozen shrimp. Krill is also a good alternative. HTH, feel free to pm me

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

is he a smasher or a spearer. smashers like hard things like snails and crabs, spearers like soft fleshy critters like fish.

 

my lime green mantis wont touch larger snails or crabs, however tiny 1/4" limpits and the tiny little brown and white snails we find in our aquariums dont stand a chance. he's all over them. the food you've supplied is probably just too big.

[Reefstalker]

I finally realized he was a spearer about a week ago. I was watching him move about the tank and he started flexing his "muscles". It was then that first noticed he had spears, not clubs. Oh well...no smashing will be happening in my tank in the near future then.

 

I've been giving him feeder shrimp and guppies.

[eastcoaster70]

I am a total mantis noob - but aren't there two types of mantis, spearers and bashers? Seems like if you had a spearing type it wouldn't go for snails/hermits, etc.

 

And smashers I don't think eat fish. I have just removed a smashing variety mantis from my tank, and he never touched any fish, snails or hermits and he was almost 4" in length. Fed him frozen krill, which he'd go gaga for.

[olivia640]

And smashers I don't think eat fish. I have just removed a smashing variety mantis from my tank, and he never touched any fish, snails or hermits and he was almost 4" in length. Fed him frozen krill, which he'd go gaga for.

 

A smasher will eat a fish occasionally.