The Mantis Shrimp Guide Thread

[Islandoftiki]

Some people say to use market shrimp for feeding mantis. Would this be ok? Getting frozen shrimp is pretty easy at kroger compared to paying shipping on frozen foods. It's a hour and a half drive to my store. Ill check the classifieds here too. Never thought of that.

 

Just make sure it isn't cooked and rinse it good. They sometimes add some preservatives to the ice coatings they put on the shrimp when they freeze them. I've also used chopped up frozen scallops from Costco. Again, make sure to rinse them really well to get any coatings off.

[spartan1391]

Thaw, Rinse, Chop, Freeze? I heard 1/4" cubes were a good size.

[FlowerMama]

You can also look at SealifeInc (KPAquatics) for havanensis and oerstedii for $15-$30.

[Islandoftiki]

Thaw, Rinse, Chop, Freeze? I heard 1/4" cubes were a good size.

 

Depending on the size of the mantis. My 5.5" O. Scyllarus would eat more than that. My 4" G. Ternatensis would eat about that much. My 2" G. Viridis would eat about half of that.

 

I've seen my O. Scyllarus eat an entire armload of food before, so they will usually eat more if you give it to them. I don't know that there's any downside to feeding extra aside from bioload and food that might get buried and decompose.

[spartan1391]

You can also look at SealifeInc (KPAquatics) for havanensis and oerstedii for $15-$30.

 

Pretty cool I'll have to consider them as well. It's getting cold in michigan fast so I might set up the tank and run it with macros or corals and wait till spring. I'd be worried it would get stuck in a storm shipping or something.

 

 

Depending on the size of the mantis. My 5.5" O. Scyllarus would eat more than that. My 4" G. Ternatensis would eat about that much. My 2" G. Viridis would eat about half of that.

 

I've seen my O. Scyllarus eat an entire armload of food before, so they will usually eat more if you give it to them. I don't know that there's any downside to feeding extra aside from bioload and food that might get buried and decompose.

 

Yeah that makes sense. A lower bioload is always better. Less maintenance and the tank always ends up looking better.

[aviator300]

I have a brand new 2.5" G. Smithii that i added to my tank yesterday and i have a question about feeding.

As soon as i put him in the tank, he found a Nassarius snail and dragged it into his PVC den and ate it. (i know because i found the cracked shell outside his den this AM. Later in the day i gave him a small piece of raw shrimp (after thawing and rinsing it). I put it on a bamboo skewer and he came flying out of his den and voraciously ripped it off the skewer and took it into his den.

 

This morning I found the intact piece of shrimp laying on some of the rockwork as if he didn't like it and kicked it out of his den...What say you guys?

[Tamberav]

I have a brand new 2.5" G. Smithii that i added to my tank yesterday and i have a question about feeding.

As soon as i put him in the tank, he found a Nassarius snail and dragged it into his PVC den and ate it. (i know because i found the cracked shell outside his den this AM. Later in the day i gave him a small piece of raw shrimp (after thawing and rinsing it). I put it on a bamboo skewer and he came flying out of his den and voraciously ripped it off the skewer and took it into his den.

 

This morning I found the intact piece of shrimp laying on some of the rockwork as if he didn't like it and kicked it out of his den...What say you guys?

 

Once he gets hungry enough, he'll eat it. Fresh snails > frozen. I would remove the food so it doesn't foul and try again in maybe 2 days. They don't need to be fed every day and mine refuses food if I try to feed her every day.

 

He will probably always choose snails over frozen.

[FlowerMama]

I feed mine like twice a week, like to keep her hungry, she's not out looking around so it's obviously enough or she'd be out more notifying me.

[Islandoftiki]

I have a brand new 2.5" G. Smithii that i added to my tank yesterday and i have a question about feeding.

As soon as i put him in the tank, he found a Nassarius snail and dragged it into his PVC den and ate it. (i know because i found the cracked shell outside his den this AM. Later in the day i gave him a small piece of raw shrimp (after thawing and rinsing it). I put it on a bamboo skewer and he came flying out of his den and voraciously ripped it off the skewer and took it into his den.

 

This morning I found the intact piece of shrimp laying on some of the rockwork as if he didn't like it and kicked it out of his den...What say you guys?

 

Yes, this is normal. Mantis shrimp will develop a favorite food and reject anything else. My O. scyllarus would reject just about anything but krill. My G. ternatensis loved scallops until I I got my O. scyllarus who would eat nothing but krill, so I tried to switch the G. ternatensis over to krill. For the first week and a half, he rejected it. Then he got hungry enough and started eating it. Then it became his favorite food and he would reject anything else. LOL. This is normal behavior for them.

 

Check out this video from when I first got my O. scyllarus and didn't have krill yet. I tried a number of different things...

 

[FlowerMama]

Yes, this is normal. Mantis shrimp will develop a favorite food and reject anything else. My O. scyllarus would reject just about anything but krill. My G. ternatensis loved scallops until I I got my O. scyllarus who would eat nothing but krill, so I tried to switch the G. ternatensis over to krill. For the first week and a half, he rejected it. Then he got hungry enough and started eating it. Then it became his favorite food and he would reject anything else. LOL. This is normal behavior for them.

 

Check out this video from when I first got my O. scyllarus and didn't have krill yet. I tried a number of different things...

 

 

I remembered this vid, just loved it. Takin' out the garbage!

[Tamberav]

Mine will only eat roggers now. She likes to eat gourmet food.

[aviator300]

Clarence is on a re decorating binge now. I saw him dragging rocks around today and then when i checked on him a little while ago, i noticed he partially blocked off both den entrances.

 

I guess he's saying to me " Hey you. Yeah you, the big guy. Stop shining that light in my burrow so much and mind your own business!!!"

These little guys are priceless.

[Tamberav]

May be getting ready to molt

[FlowerMama]

May be getting ready to molt

I agree, sounds like it to me. Very typical when they've come into a new home recently.

[Halo_003]

Hummmmm.....

 

A few questions:

 

What could I put in a 5.5G Deep Blue? N. Wennerae?

I would make it an AIO similar to a Spec V using 3/8" black acrylic and put heater and a media rack in that AIO section.

 

 

What sort of cost would I be looking at? I have a bunch of extra rock & rubble, I would need some sand, a light, I do have a heater, filter would be built in AIO style. Maybe the biggest expense would be an ATO? Tempting for sure if so.

 

 

Regarding feeding could you just get an oversized CUC from Reefcleaners and let it hunt on it's own? Or could you get a big CUC, let it hunt and feed it shrimp bits etc?

 

 

Could I keep a damsel with it? (I know it's always a bit of a gamble).

 

 

Do they need a top? I'm leaning towards yes because the idea of something that scary jumping out and killing me is WAY too much for me.

 

 

Most important one: If you have to ever move the tank, say to a different apartment for example, how on earth do you do it without the mantis killing you/your hands?

 

 

Edit: Finally, what would be the coolest smasher I could put in an IM Fusion 10G if I went with a slightly bigger tank size?

[aviator300]

Hummmmm.....

 

A few questions:

 

What could I put in a 5.5G Deep Blue? N. Wennerae?

I would make it an AIO similar to a Spec V using 3/8" black acrylic and put heater and a media rack in that AIO section.

 

 

What sort of cost would I be looking at? I have a bunch of extra rock & rubble, I would need some sand, a light, I do have a heater, filter would be built in AIO style. Maybe the biggest expense would be an ATO? Tempting for sure if so.

 

 

Regarding feeding could you just get an oversized CUC from Reefcleaners and let it hunt on it's own? Or could you get a big CUC, let it hunt and feed it shrimp bits etc?

 

 

Could I keep a damsel with it? (I know it's always a bit of a gamble).

 

 

Do they need a top? I'm leaning towards yes because the idea of something that scary jumping out and killing me is WAY too much for me.

 

 

Most important one: If you have to ever move the tank, say to a different apartment for example, how on earth do you do it without the mantis killing you/your hands?

 

 

Edit: Finally, what would be the coolest smasher I could put in an IM Fusion 10G if I went with a slightly bigger tank size?

 

I have a 5 gal PicO Aquariums tank with a G. Smithii (purple spot) and here is the info on that breed.

 

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/species.php?name=g_smithii

 

Some folks like Peacock Mantis's because they are the biggest and most colorful but they are prone to shell rot. I think the G. Smithii is the coolest and most interactive mantis out there and the author of the info above agrees with me in his statement.

 

Also, check out my Mantis tank. "Spooky Mantis Mountain" in my signature below.

[Sunstar]

I would like to introduce Bonecrusher. I think he/she is a haptosquilla, but could someone get a better ID? Its about 2 inches long. Smasher.

[FlowerMama]

BIgger than my little girl, she's only 1.25" but when I found her she was .5" so she's grown. That was 2 yrs and 2 mos ago. I need to buy her some snails. I was kinda thinking putting a black molly pair in there and they'll have babies and she can chase 'em. But then again, no, I've always loved the baby mollies. I can't do that to them. Just thinking of a way to keep her entertained.

[Sunstar]

Well I put a skewer with some shrimp on the end, Bonecrusher hit the stick twice and pulled the offering into its lair. I think we started off to a good dialogue.

[StinkyBunny]

I'm kinda hoping I get a few mantis hitch hikers in the live rock shipment tomorrow. If I do, gonna have to start the 14g nanocube back up.

[FlowerMama]

That would be awesome. I know mine's not a fancy peacock or anything but my 2" green Gertie brings me joy.

[Thunder Goose]

This forum has been quiet for a while but I'm hoping to get some advice.

 

I got some live rock last summer from TBS (Gulf of Mexico) and pretty quickly found a mantis shrimp that I gave to a fellow reefer. Fast forward to Saturday and low and behold there's another mantis! The tank she's in also holds a snapping shrimp so I didn't question the snaps. She's red and only about 2 inches so I'm guessing she came in very small and has been growing. As far as I can tell she hasn't taken any fish or inverts (although I might be down a few snails or hermits and not notice) but I don't want to tempt fate so I'm going to try and extract her.

 

For now I'm going to have to set up a 10 gallon and see how she does. I have two options of locations - my preferred location would be in a window where I currently have a small water garden with mangroves. The mangroves would be toward the window, followed by a rock structure. The second is next to my desk and unlit. It would mean crowding my desk a bit, which I'm not too thrilled with, but she would be watched more (I have a nano on the other side of my desk so I'm be sandwiched between small tanks!).

 

If she does well I can move her to a bigger tank this summer. We're in the middle of a renovation right now and I just don't have room!

 

Any advice?

BTW no idea about species yet. I'll figure that out when I catch her.

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 minute ago, Thunder Goose said:

This forum has been quiet for a while but I'm hoping to get some advice.

 

I got some live rock last summer from TBS (Gulf of Mexico) and pretty quickly found a mantis shrimp that I gave to a fellow reefer. Fast forward to Saturday and low and behold there's another mantis! The tank she's in also holds a snapping shrimp so I didn't question the snaps. She's red and only about 2 inches so I'm guessing she came in very small and has been growing. As far as I can tell she hasn't taken any fish or inverts (although I might be down a few snails or hermits and not notice) but I don't want to tempt fate so I'm going to try and extract her.

 

For now I'm going to have to set up a 10 gallon and see how she does. I have two options of locations - my preferred location would be in a window where I currently have a small water garden with mangroves. The mangroves would be toward the window, followed by a rock structure. The second is next to my desk and unlit. It would mean crowding my desk a bit, which I'm not too thrilled with, but she would be watched more (I have a nano on the other side of my desk so I'm be sandwiched between small tanks!).

 

If she does well I can move her to a bigger tank this summer. We're in the middle of a renovation right now and I just don't have room!

 

Any advice?

Do you have any pictures? I've never seen a red mantis before - bet she looks awesome. 

Also, is she a smasher or a spearer? 

I think your tank setup idea sounds good, but bear in mind that if you're putting the tank next to a window, chances are it will be hit with sunlight, so you *might get an algae film on the glass. It's nothing a small CUC of snails or an algae scraper can't fix - but any CUC you put in might eventually become lunch. I think a 10G is fine for a 2". You can check out Roy's Stomatopod web list online to see if you can identify what type of mantis she is. Best of luck! 

[mndfreeze]

I believe Wennerae can be red.  red or green depending on the depth in which they are caught.

 

[BlennyBoi]

i have an unidentified hitchhiker mantis, and i believe he has taken a small clownfish and two hermits. hes avoided all the traps ive set. how do i get him out? im not gonna kill him, just gonna go in the sump. how would i make him comfortable in there? the mantis is like 5-7cm and i have a fuge area with a bit of chaeto.