How to catch a Mantis Shrimp

[Juster]

I am sure I have a mantis shrimp although I have not seen or heard him which is a bit strange. I used to have 80 or so hermits and 80 snails but they are slowly disappearing. I keep finding empty shells with huge holes in them. What is the best way to catch him? I have been told to buy a trap, build a pop bottle trap and even to put some bait at the end of some panty hose and hope he gets stuck trying to get back out. Please let me know your sucesses and failures so I can catch this guy.

Juster

 

[EELectric]

Take a look around at night and try and spot him before you invest anything on capturing him. HTH

 

[angelscrx]

If you find where he is hiding and have no luck getting him out, pull the rock out and either do an Iodine dip which may force him out of the rock or boil the rock with him in it. If it is one of the pretty colorful Mantis Shrimps put the rock in a separate species tank just for him. If it is one of the ugly brown ones "KILL THAT SUCKA!"

 

[Marc118]

Watch your fingers.

 

[lreilly]

I watched mine for two weeks. Then I threw his rock in a container of soda water. After he killed two fish.
Every thing I read said that he would come flying out of his hole, but mine did not. I waited and waited, then waited, ended up pretty much killing the rock. His body remained in side I am sure.
Months later and he is no where to be found, and nothing has died, not one snail.

 

[Gatorfreak]

Then I threw his rock in a container of soda water. Every thing I read said that he would come flying out of his hole, but mine did not. I waited and waited, then waited, ended up pretty much killing the rock. His body remained in side I am sure. Months later and he is no where to be found, and nothing has died, not one snail.

That may as well have been written by me. Same thing here but it's been over a year. I've read of people target feeding them and training them to accept food, only to lure them into a net eventually. If you can catch him alive, there are plenty of people who would love to have him for a species tank. You'll need to figure out where his home is before you can do much of anything.

 

[lreilly]

Alive was my first intent. Things don't always work out how we plan though. It was luck that on that day he chose the smallest rock in the tank, the one he was normally in was 40lb. I felt bad for him, but I would have felt worse about giving him a 72gal live buffet.

You just have to be patient, what ever you chose to do.