MANTIS SHRIMP

[4inchSandBed]

Its offical i have a MANTIS SHRIMP!!. I was hoping that it was a pistol shrimp but after seeing it today and comparing it to pics I found online, i realize that it is indeed a MANTIS SHRIMP.


The funny thing is that nothing in my tank has been killed or died since I started my tank (about 10 weeks ago). But today as i was feeding my fish i noticed that my bi-color angel was missing. I looked all over for him and couldnt find him. He dissappeared like a fart in the wind. My question is y wouldnt the Mantis go after something smaller like my chromis, clowns, or cleaner shrimp??

Is it possible for a Mantis (about 1.5 inch long) to capture and eat an entire dwarf angel?

Also I hae tried the bottle method to try to capture the shrimp and have come up unsuccessful. Does anyone else have any other suggestions on how to rid my tank of this pest?

thank you

 

[Fluff]

You could try the exterminator mantis trap.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...ll&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1
I doubt a mantis that size took out your dwarf angel. I may have died and been cleaned up by your snails and whatever else you have for a cleanup crew.
I read about success using a carbonated sw dip. Use unflavored carbonated water and mix it with your sw like normal. The bubbles in the carbon will irritate the shrimp and cause him to jump ship. HTH

 

[4inchSandBed]

HELP!!!!!


I tried catchin him and the damn thing is lightning fast. He zips threw the rocks and its impossible to corner him. I have a good idea which rock he hides in. Should i just remove the live rock?


ANY suggestions would be greatly appreci

 

[Fluff]

You could remove the rock and QT if you have room. Then when he leaves the rock, remove it. Or, you could try injecting the hole where you think it's residing, with fresh water. That may flush him out. Mantis are very, very smart which makes them a challenge to catch. Persistence will be your best defense against him.

 

[badfish]

yeah, just keep at it 4 inch, how are you water parameters? I dont see how a Mantis that size can take down a Dwarf Angel. If you see him go in a peice of liverock, take that peice out right away, then you can put that liverock into your Quarantine tank like fluff said. Do you have a QT? If not use a bucket. Let us know how it goes, take pics, and be careful hanling them, i heard they can take a finger off. I heard you can freeze it or sell it / give it to someone on the forum.

 

[Brad]

If you can keep a separate tank for it, he'll make a great pet. Mine lives alone in a small 5 gallon...(one of those all-in-one kits)

I doubt he took out the fish. Mostly, we see "clubbers". They can deliver quite a whack, but they aren't going to take out a fish that is bigger than they are.

 

[4inchSandBed]

MANTIS is CAUGHT!!

Well I made a trap (plastic bottle) and put a chunk of Formula ONE in it and to my surprise it worked. I caught the lil sucker. I have pics if anyone needs to see what it looks like. Its a scary, vicious lil thing with nasty hammer like claws.


Thanks badfish for the advice....


Mantis Shrimp body count:

1. Bi-Color Angel (still cant find the remains)
2. Yellow Tang (very sexy one, buried yesterday)
3. 2 Chromis (not sure if he killed them)


Real Men use a HEX

 

[badfish]

lets see em.

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

I'm gonna have to try that.. Formula one?? I'm gonna get me a bottle tomorrow and catch my little clickers.. I think I may have as many as 3...

 

[badfish]

they may not be mantis, they may be pistol shrimp, your probably be better off using a raw shrimp since formula one will break up really fast. i have a clicking to, but not yet tried to trap him, however, i am not missing any inverts or fish, so hoping it is a pistol. Nice job on catchin the Mantis 4 inch.

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

Yeah, I think that is what I am gonna do..I started to get a raw shrimp today but didn't.. prolly will tomorrow...I read about ur ich problem.... is everything ok now badfish?

 

[badfish]

not sure yet, hope so, but if not i got my QT set up, and got the medicine. I just dont want my main to be fishless for 6 weeks, thats gonna suck, but teaches me a lesson to Quarantine in the first place.

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

lol... got that right.. I don't really mind if I don't have fish in the main, I don't have any in there right now gonna wait till next week.. Haven't decided on a fish yet, I'm tryin to give this as much thought as possible..I don't want any problems..I've always been a big advocate of preventative measures. I hope u've got ur problem nipped..Good luck and hopefully enjoy from here on out...

 

[4inchSandBed]

CHECK out my Gallery for pics of the MANTIS

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

I was about to go get some raw shrimp and was wondering when I should put it in for the unidentified clicking shrimp.. is it better to drop it and leave it over night and just watch for a couple hours or what?

 

[badfish]

i would do the coke bottle trap, if you search my threads i think its in a couple of them. I showed 4 inch how to do it, the first night we caught a cleaner shrimp and couple of hermits, then he tried it again, and he got it.

 

[4inchSandBed]

First thing u wanna do is try to identify where the Mantis is. Then place the trap in that certain area. Turn off the lights in the tank. Then check on it periodically. It took me only about 2 hours to catch it. Goodluck

 

[Oceanicsublimat]

how did u rig the trap? just a coke bottle? I don't think I'm gonna try to trap it yet..just want to identify it..get it used to eating shrimp and then once I see what it is I will consider what to do next..I don't want to kill the little guy.. maybe give it away or something if it is a mantis..

 

[4inchSandBed]

I was gonna leave my mantis in my tank also.... until it started to kill all my fish. I would take care of it as soon as possible.

 

[Brad]

I kept my mantis in the main tank for quite a while...eventually he just got too aggressive. He would literally chase a new fish around the tank relentlessly.