another feeding question

[BLockamon]

Is is OK to feed a mantis live clams or mussels from the grocery store (assuming that they'll take it of course)? The clams as least would be convienient since they would live until the mantis got hungry.

 

[Diet Plain]

not sure, I've had some small Neogonodactylus Wennerae tear appart barnacles that came on LiveRock, but never tried live clams. what kind of mantis shrimp is it?

 

[Gonodactylus]

We often feed clams and mussels to O. scyllarus and Hemisquilla. Generally they are too big for large gonodactylids such as G. chiragra and G. platysoma - not because they can't open them, but because there is too much tissue inside. When the animal can't finish the meal, bivalves quickly foul a tank. Even worse, some aquarists have put several clams in a tank thinking the stomatopod will treat them like a clean-up crew of snails and hermits. Again, the bivalves are too easy to open and the stomatopod sometimes will go through several just picking out the good parts and leaving the rest to foul the system.

If you have something the size of a N. wennerae, I would suggest breaking the clam outside the tank and feeding appropriate sized pieces to the stomatopod.

Roy

 

[BLockamon]

I see what you mean. One of the clams died without me knowing. I went to pick it up, and BAM, the stench hit. That's NASTY.

I added new filters pads, Polyfilters, and some carbon to the power filter in the tank (in addition to the main filtration), so hopefully that will take care of the die-off. Thankfully I found it before it got too bad.

Anyway, Lou won't crack the clams himself. I have to crack them open and drop them back into the tank.