Caught a Mantis, now what?

[rachelcb80]

My tank has been set up for a year and a half and I just today realized I had a Mantis living in it. I've heard clicking off and on and I've lost several Chromis, Damsels and a Firefish but I chalked that up to normal loss that happens. Either way, while I was feeding my Brittle star this morning something jumped out of a hole in the rock, grabbed the piece of scallop I had on my stick and scurried back in. A dip in freshwater produced a 3" Mantis of some sort. He/she is boring colored, just a patchy brown but I find the critter interesting none the less. I'd like to keep him/her if it isn't to big of a deal to set up a little system for Mantis.

What are the basic requirements for keeping a Mantis? I have an extra 29 gallon tank in my garage, but nothing that goes with it (it was my top off water container but I got a better shaped container for that job awhile back). I'm assuming a heater is a must as well as some type of filter. Will a simple hang on the back filter work? Are they bad about crawling out of an open area in the top of a tank? And I guess my last question is, since nothing is set up for this guy right now, can he hang out in my sump until I have a better home for him? I'm assuming he needs to stay out of the skimmer/heater area of my sump.

Thanks for any advice anyone can give!

 

[sardonicscorpio]

Ooo, stealthy lil mantis! I think I have one in my tank, something is eating my sand sifting star (large chunks missing from him), and I've lost a few chromis/anthias that now hang out at the top of the tank instead of in the middle in the rock, where they used to chill. I've tried traps, baiting, watching at night...found nothing so far. I can't imagine my cleaner shrimp, brittle star, or emerald crabs are ripping full legs off my 5" sand sifter...
Lots of people throw an errant mantis in their sump/fuge. One thing to consider is mantis are redecorators, and will rearrange rock/coral to their liking, which may not always be a good thing.

 

[Lil B-rent]

Do you know what kind he is? Post a pic.

I guess you can keep him in your stump, but you may find some fish dead. Since you said that you lost some fish i assume that he must be a spearer type instead of a smasher. a hang on back filter may work if you have a powerhead, but u might want a fuge. you cant keep clean up crews with them cause they will obviously kill them. you should feed him small inverts like emerald crabs, hermits, crayfish, and ocassionally turbo snails. Mantis shrimp usually choose to not jump out of their aquariums. you can keep a few corals in there if they are superglued down, if not he will most likely take them away to his burrow. You can ID what species he is according to his meral spot.

 

[Lil B-rent]

Do you know what kind he is? Post a pic.

I guess you can keep him in your stump, but you may find some fish dead. Since you said that you lost some fish i assume that he must be a spearer type instead of a smasher. a hang on back filter may work if you have a powerhead, but u might want a fuge. you cant keep clean up crews with them cause they will obviously kill them. you should feed him small inverts like emerald crabs, hermits, crayfish, and ocassionally turbo snails. Mantis shrimp usually choose to not jump out of their aquariums. you can keep a few corals in there if they are superglued down, if not he will most likely take them away to his burrow. You can ID what species he is according to his meral spot.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/ is a web that you can ID it

 

[Lil B-rent]

Woops sorry i posted two, good luck with your new mantis!

 

[Grym]

Mine was 2-3 inches and he was eating all my fish under 2 inches. They are carnivorous shrimp when they get hungry they will attack and eat anything they can. They will spear or stun the fish and its gone in the morning. See if he likes raw shrinp from the market with some vitamins like selco and or garlic. Good Luck.

 

[Lil B-rent]

if its a spearer it will kill fish, smasher wont unless it gets in its burrow....

 

[Shekki]

I've kept a mantis for about two years and it never attacks fish, only hermit crabs. It shared an AP24 with a sixline and they hung together all day long. The sixline decided it didn't like water anymore but now the mantis shares a 30 gallon with a damsel and a chromis. Not that I don't trust it, but I'm not risking a $100 fish in there!