Mantis!

phil47952

phil47952

New Member
Cranberry;3155174 said:
Pics of the mantis tank? The best I have is probably the one above. I don't really take FTS..... I think I suck at them. The pic above is the right side of a custom divided tank.
Cranberry, I think your pic is very good, I like the way you have setup.
I don't have a Mantis but after reading this thread from the start I'm thinking of joining you all.
Thanks for some great reading and viewing
Phil
Click to expand...
 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
Well...............
Its dead. My first Mantis ******* died.
I dont know what the hell happened. My water was in checked.
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
PH - 8.0
Phosphate - 1.0
Alkalinity - 220ish
Calcium - 500
Salinity 1.024
I contacted *************** and am awaiting an email. I really hope they try and stick me out of a new one. This is just so unfair. It was in the tank for 7 hours before I even tried to see if it was alive. I called them and they said to give it time to acclimate which I did.
Anyone dealt with BZA before about returning items?
 
mr.clownfish

mr.clownfish

Active Member
it could have been the phosphate...
how long is the tank set up for? i usually dont add any shrimp in any of my tanks for a good 2 months until the cycling is over.
good luck.
 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
I doubt it was the phosphates. I have a clownfish, damnsel, multiple large and small hermits, many different snails, a fiddler crab and a emerald crab all in the tank and they are doing just fine with no die off at all. The tank has been cycling for a month now. I think it was the stress of shipping and handling. Another person had the exact same problem as me. It was pretty lathargic when it arrived. I had placed the net in expecting a fight at least and all it did was stand there. Pretty sad that my first one was a goner.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Originally Posted by The_Bandit
http:///forum/post/3162494
Once it calmed down, it layed in a semi-ball for about 3min before opening up and standing on its legs.
Very bad sign. As you now know, that's the "I'm very stressed/I'm about to die" position. Mine has always landed in the water and taken off to hide. A couple of seconds later they can be seen peaking out at me.
So sorry to hear this. You've really put a lot of thought and work into this tank. How big was he?
 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
A good 3.5''-4''. Ya I didnt have high hopes when that happened. When it was scooped out of the box in the net, it freaked out trying to jump out and when it was in the tank finally, it same all over the top trying to jump out of the tank
Eventually it layed rest at the bottom of the tank, all curled up......
Sad day.
Do you think it was the shipping stress? When the Fedex guy was bringing it to me, he had no problem just jerking it around.
My phosphates are actually 0. Didnt mean to write 1.
Luckily *************** emailed back and Im waiting a responce for my coupon code for a refund. Think I should buy another Mantis from them?
 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
Well my new Peacock came. He is gorgeous but only 2''. Other one was a good 4-5'' so they size difference is large. He is still very vibrant and colorful. Im not taking any pictures until its in the tank and moving. Luckily when I picked up the bag after yanking it from the Fedex man that what whipping it around like a ribbon, I looked at him and he looked back at me then did a spiral twist thing. Alot more active and alert.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Excellent. Can't wait for the updates. I like them small to begin with. It's fun to watch them grow. You're really gonna love him, they have such great personalities when they get use to you.
 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
Mine is deffinetly not lacking color. My camera wouldnt even come close to show you the vibrance of his/her's tail feathers.
I really think the last Mantis was sick to begin with. He had alot lighter green tint to his shell and his tail feathers were less than this one's.
My 3 stripe damsel is really ballsy. He keeps swimming by the Mantis and being territorial. I hope the Damsel lives. He was in a tank with a $600 Dragon Eel for a couple months before I bought him.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Damsels are pretty swift. He'll probably be fine until the mantis gets bigger. I'm not sure how long ours was together, but one day the mantis got him. They shared the same cave for at least a year.
Watch for shell rot. It will be a little black thing into/just under the shell visually. Sometimes the first sign is a little white dot.

Feed him well if you see something like this.
The problem with shell rot is it's attached to the shell and deep within the meat of their body. You want them to get rid of it while it's superficial, but it's not always easy to tell.



 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
Ouch. I feel the Mantis pain. Right now, it looks ok. Now signs of it but I will have to get a better look. He didnt curl into a ball when I put him in but he is just kinda hangin' out. He moves his eyes, appendages, whole body around a little but not too much. He has been in the tank for about an hour. Is this normal behavior?
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Originally Posted by The_Bandit
http:///forum/post/3167377
Is this normal behavior?

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3162849
Mine has always landed in the water and taken off to hide. A couple of seconds later they can be seen peaking out at me.
Perfectly normal. He's sizing you up from a protected area.
He's awesome BTW. The other one probably didn't have "sick colours". It was probably a female and now you have a male.
 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
Good to know.
I put my feeding stick in to see what he would do and he grabbed it then lets it go. Doesnt seem too interested in anything really.
Lights on/off?
 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
Well its upside down, lathargic, and when I use the net to move it, the water flow turns it upside down. It is just moving back and forth.
Now what.
 
the_bandit

the_bandit

Member
Just wow. Im so pissed and angry and frustrated and sad.
Ive got a Tomatoe clown, 3 strip damsel, 20+ snails, large and small hermits, a fiddler and Emerald crab. Calcium has always been like that. I didnt add anything except fish food for the fish.
This pic was taken 10sec before my large hermit jumped on it and tried to eat it.............
 
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