Caught a Mantis Shrimp in 10 mins

tampaguy

tampaguy

New Member
Sorry if this has been discussed 1,000 times before, but I'm very excited about this right now. My first experience with one, and this worked QUICK (many thanks to a very knowledgable young lady at my local fish store...)
I just found the rock the little guy was hiding in, stuck it in a bucket, and waited for noises. Pulled the rock out and viola! I had my mantis... it took me under 10 mins and I sat on the couch for 8.
So do fish stores really buy these things? :D
How do I keep him alive until I can cash in???
 
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tizzo

Guest
Well let's do this in order...
First, welcome to SWF!!
Second, mega congrats on your achievement!!! It's bound to make a few people jealous!
Third. A LFS person who actually KNOWS what they are talking about?? Finding that's another big achievement!!
Fourth, yes they will buy them. The pretty colorful ones, I think they are called peacock mantis, are very interesting. Some people will set up a 10 gallon tank just to have and watch a mantis. They seem to study you as you are studying them.
If you want to "save" it til you can get to the LFS, put it in a bucket with tank water and put a rock or a piece of PVC or something for him to hide in and provide heat and circulation for him to "breath" and you should be OK.:)
 
woodymdt

woodymdt

Member
I apologize for my elementary question but I'm confused...:confused:
Is the mantis shrimp a pest? Why do you want him out of your tank if you're so excited about finding one??
:help:
 
B

big911dog

Guest
the mantis is a fairly destructive pest. the excitement is about catching one and getting him out so fast. they're smart little buggers and quick too. there's a reason we call them thumbsplitters....
 
T

tizzo

Guest
fairly destructive is an understatement!! He can wipe out your fish AND snail supply, AND remain hidden the entire time. If I had one, I would be most excited to catch it and remove it from my DT!! So far I've been lucky... But I'm sure since I said that...
 
cowfishrule

cowfishrule

Active Member

Originally posted by Tizzo
So far I've been lucky... But I'm sure since I said that...

......click click.... click click.... click click....
 
D

dholmblad

Guest
so are these things like ride alongs with your lr or sumthing? how do they appear?
 
cowfishrule

cowfishrule

Active Member
they often come as hitchikers with your live rock.
you'll either hear them clicking at night, or your livestock will slowly be disappearing with no reasoning...
they are great if you have them by themselves in a nano tank (acrylic). also, they should never ever ever ever be removed by hand (aka thumbsplitters for a reason)
 
superhero

superhero

Member

Originally posted by COWFISHRULE
they are great if you have them by themselves in a nano tank (acrylic).
do you have to use an acrylic tank???Will they scratch the glass???
-Tony
 
superhero

superhero

Member
wow they must be crazy strong i would hate to get pinched by one!!:nervous: :nervous: :nervous: :nervous: :nervous:
 
minitrucke

minitrucke

Member
Slowley dissapearing fish huh? I have lost 2 fish over the past 2 weeks and I have not found any remains and I have moved every rock in my tank looking for them. I dont ever hear any clicking noises though. I have a 15 inch eel but he isnt fat and he has never eaten one of my fist before. Could I still have a mantis even though I dont hear him? Do they move rocks around and destroy corals?
rip batty- batfish
 
brian00ss

brian00ss

Member
Hey can you take a picture of the shrimp that you caught, please? I'm so curious to see what it looks like. Congratulations!
 
mbrands

mbrands

Member

Originally posted by brian00ss
Hey can you take a picture of the shrimp that you caught, please? I'm so curious to see what it looks like. Congratulations!
This obviously isn't his mantis, but this is what one looks like (assuming my attachment works). :D
 
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