Stupid Mantis Shrimp!!!!!

nina&noah

nina&noah

Member
My tank maintenance guy came today and gave my aquarium a good "scrub down." I was admiring my beautiful clean tank when out of a rock came a mantis shrimp!!!!
He must have been disturbed by the cleaning and was out and running around. I called my maintenance guy and told him what was going on. He told me to go to the LFS and buy a trap. If that doesn't work, he is going to try to rig a trap for me. My question for you all is...
1. How the heck has he been in my tank for 9 months and I haven't noticed?
2. What has he been eating? (I thought they ate fish and all of mine are accounted for.)
3. Do any of you have suggestions on how I can catch this thing?
He told me that the store bought traps are iffy at best, but worth a try because they are not expensive.
I HATE FLORIDA LIVE ROCK!!!!! I can't believe the problems I've had with it. I already got rid of one mantis shrimp 9 months ago when the tank was being set up.
That was when the tank was new. The guy from my previous LFS came and took the rock out and dug him out.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
They will eat whatever they can. Fish sure, but they are creatures of opportunity. Why eat fish when hermit crabs are so much easier?
That's more than likely what he's been eating. Or snails or worms in the rock... after all, if he came in the rock, other stuff probably came too that he can snack on.
 
jawdubb

jawdubb

Member
You could always keep it to add some excitement. I personally love the mantids. As you have said no fish are dead and it could truly be feeding on leftover food and get used to doing just that.
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by jawdubb
http:///forum/post/2544359
You could always keep it to add some excitement. I personally love the mantids. As you have said no fish are dead and it could truly be feeding on leftover food and get used to doing just that.
Until it gets bigger Muhahahahahaha!
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2544078
My tank maintenance guy came today and gave my aquarium a good "scrub down." I was admiring my beautiful clean tank when out of a rock came a mantis shrimp!!!!
He must have been disturbed by the cleaning and was out and running around. I called my maintenance guy and told him what was going on. He told me to go to the LFS and buy a trap. If that doesn't work, he is going to try to rig a trap for me. My question for you all is...
1. How the heck has he been in my tank for 9 months and I haven't noticed?
2. What has he been eating? (I thought they ate fish and all of mine are accounted for.)
3. Do any of you have suggestions on how I can catch this thing?
He told me that the store bought traps are iffy at best, but worth a try because they are not expensive.
I HATE FLORIDA LIVE ROCK!!!!! I can't believe the problems I've had with it. I already got rid of one mantis shrimp 9 months ago when the tank was being set up.
That was when the tank was new. The guy from my previous LFS came and took the rock out and dug him out.
If you know what rock he is in then remove that rock into something else. Many people keep mantis as pets. They are very cool to watch!! At the very least, put the rock into a tub of saltwater. Add some food, after several days, away from the rock. When the mantis comes out, remove the rock. Give him to the lfs, or a friend. Post it on here. Many people would give it a good home.
 
rtspeed

rtspeed

Member
Trust me your not the only one havibg a problem with one. i have had one that took me 3 weeks to catch and then i put him in my aggresive tank and guess what he lived to i moved him into his own 10 gallon tank. They are really fun little guys to watch work. I had a bad view of them but a SEP told me how can you blame him for doing what he was made for.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by rtspeed
http:///forum/post/2544546
Trust me your not the only one havibg a problem with one. i have had one that took me 3 weeks to catch and then i put him in my aggresive tank and guess what he lived to i moved him into his own 10 gallon tank. They are really fun little guys to watch work. I had a bad view of them but a SEP told me how can you blame him for doing what he was made for.
LOL, I remember that. I am glad that you kept the little guy! He is cool right?
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
There are different species of Mantis. Are you missing any snails, crabs, or other inverts?
Mantis are very intelligent. They are also keen ambush predators and as such hide very well.
Florida live rock is notorious for housing them.
 
rtspeed

rtspeed

Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2544578
LOL, I remember that. I am glad that you kept the little guy! He is cool right?

Yeah the way that he took the shell from his prey to close down the opening of his burrow, i even have him taking food from my hand now that i know what it feels like to get hit by him(in my other thread).
 
nina&noah

nina&noah

Member
I don't know if I'm missing any hermits. I've never understood how people can keep track of them. There are so many of them and they are everywhere, how do you keep count? I haven't noticed any crushed shells or anything. I haven't heard the famous mantis noise. I watched him for about an hour last night. He would poke his head out and then go back in the hole. Then he would dart out and move to the next hole. He is not very big. Less than 2 inches. So I am thinking that maybe the first mantis I had maybe laid eggs and this was a survivor? Although the first mantis I had was very dark, almost black. This one seems to be lighter, almost a pink/red. Its hard to see, because he is in the shadows of the rock.
I don't know what I want to do with this guy?
I don't think he can stay in my dt. Dont they get HUGE!!!????
 
shogun323

shogun323

Active Member
Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2544804
I don't know what I want to do with this guy?
I don't think he can stay in my dt. Dont they get HUGE!!!????
The adult size depends on the species. The Peacock Mantis gets quite large. Mine is around 5.5 inches and he'll get a bit bigger. As SCSI said, they are opportunistic eaters. Depending on food supply, they'll eat hermits, snails, shrimp. Once that runs out and they have no options, they'll take out a fish. Mine has taken down some huge damsels!!!!
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
There are a variety of species from the Caribbean. Some stay relatively small.
I had one in my tank for about 2 years... it finally died, I suppose from old age. It got about 2 inches long and kept me mildly busy buying Nass. snails. He was way too smart to trap, and I wasn't about to dismantle 200 Lbs of live rock for him.
I QT all rock, but he was sly enough to avoid detection...
anyway, there is hope that he won't get bigger and will die off.
 
nina&noah

nina&noah

Member
I was looking to see if I could find a picture to match the species and I ran into this info from Wikipedia.org...
"They are notoriously difficult to catch when established in a well-stocked tank [10] and have been known to destroy aquariums by cracking the glass"
Yikes!!! They can crack the glass?!? I'm assuming they would have to be farely large to do that right?
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2544848
I was looking to see if I could find a picture to match the species and I ran into this info from Wikipedia.org...
"They are notoriously difficult to catch when established in a well-stocked tank [10] and have been known to destroy aquariums by cracking the glass"
Yikes!!! They can crack the glass?!? I'm assuming they would have to be farely large to do that right?
Yes, and yes.
Apparently when burrowing to make a tunnel, when they run into the bottom of the tank the larger ones have been known to try to "pop" their way through". I believe others have cracked the glass when going after prey in the corners of tanks.
Google mantis video. you will find examples of it.
They are fascinating creatures.
 
nina&noah

nina&noah

Member
Ok, I went to my LFS today and bought a trap for my little "friend." If I manage to catch him, does anybody in the South Florida area want him? I will post in the classifieds as well, but I thought it went with the thread so I would make an offer here. If no one wants him my LFS is going to feed him to the triggers.
I really don't care where he goes as long as it is not in my tank!
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by nina&noah
http:///forum/post/2545127
Ok, I went to my LFS today and bought a trap for my little "friend." If I manage to catch him, does anybody in the South Florida area want him? I will post in the classifieds as well, but I thought it went with the thread so I would make an offer here. If no one wants him my LFS is going to feed him to the triggers.
I really don't care where he goes as long as it is not in my tank!

Hehe, you are assuming you will catch him.... Tell me, what color is the sky in the world you live in?

Seriously, good luck.... mine was waaay to smart to fall for a trap.
 
nina&noah

nina&noah

Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
http:///forum/post/2545138
Hehe, you are assuming you will catch him.... Tell me, what color is the sky in the world you live in?

Seriously, good luck.... mine was waaay to smart to fall for a trap.
Let's hope mine is not that smart. I can't even reach the bottom of the tank, so taking out the rock isn't going to happen!!!!
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
dangle a piece of meat on some forcepts and see if you can coax him out into the open.Then maybe drop meat into a bottle trap,see if he will follow.
 
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