Catching A Mantis

sytanek

sytanek

New member
Ok, well I have one mantis left in my soon to be reef tank that I can not get out!!! He is a n. wennerae. I have been able to get 4 other ones out of the tank but not him. The problem is he barely ever sticks his head out of the rock hole he is in. The hole goes throughout the rock, so that doesnt help. I can hear him at night and have seen him poke his head out about twice...but he never comes out even for food.

Can anyone help??
 
have you tried different baits? like thawed crab, squid, silverside, shrimp... remember that the bottle trap can take a great deal of patience. how long have you been attempting the removal?
 
wennerae does not eat fish or large snails. They only get to be about 2.5 inches long. Why not just leave him in there? I just got one of those, I am actually thinking about putting him in the main tank. My problem is that mine is only about 1.5 inches, I am afraid something would eat him.
 
wennerae get 4" long....... learn your facts before you get a mantis. they also eat hermit crabs in thin to medium thickness shells and will attempt to eat some in thick shells if they are roaming.
 
I didn't have much choice in getting him, he was a hitchhiker, I know they eat hermit crabs, thus the reason I said I was worried about my blue legs. :)
 
i didn't mean feed live squid, silversides, etc. I meant thawed out frozens. mantids are not picky about what they eat especially when it's an easy meal.

if youwant fast results and you know for sure where the mantis' lair is, you can take out its rock and dip it repeatedly in a bucket of normal saltwater. Ive heard this works, so no need for hypo/hypersaline dips. Just hope the rock the mantis chose is one that is easily accessible.
 
Just thought i would share something that worked well for me, but it might just be my mantis...

I use a long knitting needle and put a small piece of food on the end. Twirl it in front of the mantis' lair and he will come out for it. Mine actually grabbed onto the stick, and i lifted the stick and the mantis about 12 inches up and then could easily catch him.

Worth a shot???

The mantis is a P. Ciliata
 
ha. My ciliata does that too. I use a bamboo skewer and put some food on it. He curls around the food and holds on for dear life. He only lets go if I bring it all the way to the surface. And when I first got him he didnt even attempt to remove the food from the skewer. He just leaped and ate on the stick until I scraped the food off the stick on a rock carefully. It was pretty cute....
 
Ok I was able to get him, It took some work and a turkey baster full of freshwater and some persistance. What I thought was he was hiding in the middle of the rock, but really it was just a crevice towards the bottom. So he has sucessfully been removed and traded away.

Thanks for the help!!
 
you can also try the pvc pipe method. Get about a 6-10" piece of 2" pvc and fix solid screen to one end and at the other end fix a cone shape going into the pipe. put it in your tank unbaited for a few days so that he gets used to it being in there. after a few days you can bait it with larger pieces of shrimp or other large bait and he will like. having both ends alowing water to flow through will put the scent throughout the whole tank and he WILL come looking for it. just make sure the cone opening it just large enough for him to slip through. It also may be a good idea to attach a string to one side for easier removal. I used this and it worked perfect.

Just to give credit where its due this was NOT my idea, and i read it on another thread here somewhere.

HTH,

Paul
 
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