just wondering if anyone knows what conditions are needed for mantids to mate, namingly the peacock mantis? such as temps, lighting, any other conditions needed? i know if two are housed together there is the chance of one killing another but if you had them in the same tank with a divided would they eventually get used to eachother and mate easily? reason i ask is because if i could get the sex of my current peacock and get an opposite sex peacock and then house them in a 40B with a divided untill they wanted to mate i could do that and try and raise the babies!
Anyone know about mantis mating?
- Thread starter mattyice
- Start date
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Mating is easy. Almost any male and female over 12 cm will mate at the drop of a hat. This is a promiscuous species in which the females are almost always receptive. On the other hand, the larvae have a protracted larval planktonic period. No one has succeeded in rearing the larvae through to settlement.
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
No.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
They hatch at about 2 mm, remain with the mother in her burrow for about a week and emerge as 3 mm larvae with no remaining yolk. They will undergo several molts in the plankton (probably at least a half dozen) before they settle out as 25 mm postlarvae. We don't know how long they are in the plankton, but based on what we know for other stomatopods, probably several months.
Roy
Roy
pinobutter
New member
will there ever be captive born mantis for us to buy one day you think dr roy? is it even possible to duplicate that planktonic larval stage ?like how the japanese raise tuna
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Possible, yes, but unlikely in the near future. There are species like many of the gonodactylids that have a short 3-4 week larval planktonic period. Using enriched brine and mysids, I have reared a few. The biggest probelm is cannibalism. You have to keep them separated and that greatly adds to the labor and cost. Species like Odontodactylus and Lysiosquillina are in the plankton and get too large to make rearing them practical.
Roy
Roy
well it looks like i have alot of studying to do, this would be somethign down the road anyways, another question i have is there anyway possible to get a Lysiosquillina maculata or a Hemisquilla californiensis in the pet trade?
the reason i ask is because ive settled on all of my tanks being mantis tanks and i would love to get rare species for my tanks and especially love to study them, my sister in law is a bio teacher at a local school and wants me to come up with different extra credit assignments for her and i said that stomatopods would be the perfect hard thinker for a extra credit assignment
the reason i ask is because ive settled on all of my tanks being mantis tanks and i would love to get rare species for my tanks and especially love to study them, my sister in law is a bio teacher at a local school and wants me to come up with different extra credit assignments for her and i said that stomatopods would be the perfect hard thinker for a extra credit assignment
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Lysiosquillina are frequently available and are sold as zebra or striped mantis. They usually come in from Bali or the Philippines. They are easy to keep, particularly if given sand in which to dig a burrow. They will eat shrimp or fish - dead or alive and are very tolerant of marginal water parameters. I currently have a large pair (32 cm) that have been living in a burrow for over a year and a lone female that we have had for five years.
I do not recommend Hemisquilla. They require 15 C water (chiller) and are subject to a fungal infection. Also, in contrast to Lysiosquillina, they cannot usually construct a burrow in the aquarium. They often do not feed well and frequently have problems molting. Every March and April they often are brought up in fishing trawls in Southern California. They frequently are sold live in markets for about $10 a pound. The best places to check are Ranch 99 Markets.
Roy
I do not recommend Hemisquilla. They require 15 C water (chiller) and are subject to a fungal infection. Also, in contrast to Lysiosquillina, they cannot usually construct a burrow in the aquarium. They often do not feed well and frequently have problems molting. Every March and April they often are brought up in fishing trawls in Southern California. They frequently are sold live in markets for about $10 a pound. The best places to check are Ranch 99 Markets.
Roy
the only problem is that i do not live anywhere near cali, i actually live in NE ohio lol, but im going to try searching for a pair of Lysiosquillina or just a single one, should i just follow the requirements for them off of the website, or is there more info that i could get for their care, i want to give them the best, either if i get a single one or a pair they are most likely going to be housed in a 90G tank dedicated to them, my only problem is i have yet to find them sold as zebra or striped mantis.
if their is any more info that i could get about them could you PM it to me because like i stated i would like to give them the best
if their is any more info that i could get about them could you PM it to me because like i stated i would like to give them the best
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Somewhere in this forum I described in fair detail the tank setup I use for Lysiosquillina. You should be able to find it with the search function.
Roy
Roy
i tried searching and nothing came up for Lysiosquillina, should i just have a large tank with a 5-6" sand bed, a few large pieces of LR? as for the filtration im going to go with the same route as i did with my peacock mantis tank, close loop with a Nu-clear filter and have the pump also feeding a large fuge for holding food and more LR and LS for additional filtration
dr. roy sorry to bring this thread up again but i have a question about the mating behavior you would see befor e a mating would take place, could you PM me some info or point me in a direction where i could find out some info on peacock mantis breeding? i may have come across a male and will keep the two seperated in a tank by an acrylic wall untill i notice mating behavior, any advice?
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
There is a fair amount of courtship in O.s. The displays are very similar to those that I have described for Pseudosquilla ciliata - a distant relative. The most come things to look for is the female backing towards the male, either sex diving under the head or tail of the other animals, and what I call synch-jerks - synchronous beating of the pleopods that create a jerking motion.
Roy
Roy
aninjaatemyshoe
New member
If you live in the NE Ohio area you should check out Salty Critter in Vermillion. They get mantises in fairly regularly. Last time I went I saw what I think was a "zebra" mantis. I got my peacock from them. Best LFS in this area.
aninjaatemyshoe
New member
You could even call them up and have them ship to you. They are willing to ship livestock, just don't have it set up through their website. The only thing is that I don't think they can identify mantis shrimp, so if you want a particular one it might be difficult. Since you live so close they could ship ground and it would be relatively cheap.
