Oh, No! I've Got a Mantis Shrimp in the Tank

fish fever

fish fever

Member
Help! :mad:
How can I get it out? It hides between the rocks but I can still see its two round eyes. So mad! It is about 1.5 iches and dark green color with no claws. Is it going to break my glass tank? So worry.....please help.
 
aw2

aw2

Active Member
What size tank do you have?
The chances of it breaking the glass, especially at that time, are pretty much non-exsistant.
The worst it's gonna do is decimate your hermit and snail population, unless you get it out.
Does it ever come out into the open? If not, you can search online for traps...and, if you have luck doing that, I can tell you how to make a trap out of 16oz. Coke bottle.
 
180dude

180dude

Member
Depending on the size of the mantis try this. Get a plastic cup, add some food (piece of shrimp) and place 2 to 3 layers of plastic wrap over it with a rubber band. Make a hole about the size you think the mantis is. Closer to the sand the better. Just be patience and wait. Most likely you will catch his A**. Be careful he doesn't hit your finger! They can be NOSTY!
 
fish fever

fish fever

Member
My tank is a 24g nano cube. I will try the plastic cup method. However, will it crawl out of the hole and escape with the food? Should I wait and watch after the cup is placed on the sand? I also have a hitchhiker pistol shrimp and believe it is OK for me to keep it. Will the trap catch it, too?
Thanks again for all your advise. Sorry for the silly questions. I am new to the hobby.
 
batman1820

batman1820

Member
wow you need to tell me where you get your live rock... i want a free mantis and pistoll.... and yes pistols are safe to keep. get a coke bottle, cut the top off about one third of the way down, flip it inside out, tape it or something, put food inside. the shrimp will climb in, get food, and will get stuck. It worked for me.
 
gmoney27

gmoney27

New Member
I recently bought a used aquarium its semi stocked already has some hermits , snails and one damsel. Im just gonna reuse the full setup including water etc. My question if I replace the CC with live sand and then add the tanks water will the sand throw off the current water quality drasticly?
If so what test kits should I have and additives should I get. Im really new so please no flames.
Thanks in advance for any help.
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by Three boys
Anyone have a picture of these creatures??? Why are they so bad?

In a nutshell its a natural born killer. It will kill and eat everything crawling and eventually your fish too (unless possibly you have large fish and a large tank). I've heard its jaws (made for crushing shells) can be strong enough to break a finger. Basically if you have one and want to keep it you have to keep it by itself.
 
aw2

aw2

Active Member
Originally Posted by Stanlalee
In a nutshell its a natural born killer. It will kill and eat everything crawling and eventually your fish too (unless possibly you have large fish and a large tank). I've heard its jaws (made for crushing shells) can be strong enough to break a finger. Basically if you have one and want to keep it you have to keep it by itself.

Not entirely true.
For one things, they dont use "jaws"...they use specialized appendages that have evolved into the shape of clubs. That's why some mantis are called "smashers". These appendages are spring loaded and when released, have the same velocity of a .22 caliber bullet. They use these "smashers" to break open shells.
The other mantis are known as "spearers". These guys have large, barbed

[hr]
in place of the clubs. The "spearers" eat fish, by spearing them as they swim by.
Smashers, such as the Peacock Mantis (shown above) can be kept with some fish. I know numerous people who are keeping them with all kinds of fish and I personally have kept a 6" Peacock with Damsels, Gobys and other various species.
 
fish fever

fish fever

Member
Or, I am just dense. If I want to try the coke bottle method. Which part of the bottle should be used, the top or the bottom? Which end should be taped? If the top part of the bottle is used and the bigger end is taped, would the opening be too big? The shrimp is only as thick as a pencil. Will it escape?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top