Do you present your Mantis dinner or let it find it?

[hot4teacher]

I'm wondering if anyone else places the food (mysis, hermits, etc) in front of the montis and his lair. I have made a few observations lately. FWIW, it is a JBJ 12DX NanoCube, about 8 lbs of Live Rock, 3" sand bed, and a 3" female peacock mantis.

I placed 5 hermit crabs in her tank. I figured if she was hungry, she would go in search of food. Her are my observations. Unless the hermit actually crawled into her lair or I placed one in front of her, she would not forage for any. In fact I still have 3 of the original 5 hermit crabs 3 weeks later.

Follow up question:

How often do you feed hermits?

Dana

 

[Docbones]

I buy mine about 6 hermits and snails a month and let it eat as it wants. Figure while they are alive they are keeping the tank nice and clean. I also feed my fish Mysis shrimp once a week and throw a few in for the mantis ....but i dont feed it directly ...it finds them rather quick

 

[traveller7]

My little, but old smasher will forage for mysis, zooplankton, etc. Mostly at quiet times of the day.

 

[Ladipyg]

My mantis comes out of his cave when he sees me walk up to the tank and begs ( strike that, mantis DON'T BEG right Tim) make that DEMANDS his meal. Haven't seen him refuse anything so far. He's still in the fuge or I'd take a picture...I'm going to get him moved into his own 12 gallon Eclipse on Friday...

 

[Altpers0na-old]

i offer raw shrimp peices on a bamboo skewer, if he wants hi he takes, if not he throws it, then shuffles sand at me...

i try to keep a set of cleaners in the tank, i add more when i notice there not there

 

[dragonforce]

I bought a ton of nassarius snails off ebay a few months ago that my mantis are still enjoying at their leisure. I do feed some other foods to keep their diet more rounded than pure nassarius snails.

 

[Thurge]

For my smasher:
I buy snails and hermits by the dozen. Then when I notice that they are all gone I replenish.
I also suppliment that with krill and silversides when I am feeding other tanks and notice him out and about. I will also tap on the glass other times to see if he wants to come out for a treat. He takes food from your fingers.

L.maculata
she gets food droped to her, as I still don't trust her to take From the hand and not TAKE the hand.

 

[majestic sea life]

i feed mine frozen krill, silver sides, brine, and fresh octo from the market.

 

[mickey85]

I drop in a dozen hermits whenever I can't see them moving around anymore...

 

[gfk]

what do they do about snails on the glass? i know they can break glass, so do they go after them on the glass, or wait for them to come onto the sand

 

[30mini]

Only the big O. S's have a tendancy to break glass. They will go after whenever, and wherever they feel like getting a meal!

 

[Thurge]

My N.wennera doesn't really care where the snail is, when he decides its time to see what the snail looks like on the inside, he goes to work right then.

 

[don-n-sa]

My peacock is basically trained to come out when its hungry. I lightly tap on the front of the acrylic and he/she immmediatly comes out of its cave to investigate.

I alternate between live / frozen foods

Live foods I give snails , hermits , peppermint shrimps, ghost shrimps, large bait shrimp

Frozen I give krill, shrimp, squid, silversides all soaked in selcon

I use a very large empty snail shell, to feed the frozen foods. I just stuff it in the shell then driop it in the tank.

Its funny, the mantis used to pound the shell and crack it open for the goodies, now it seems to know that it is much easier to just pull it out. Its also very cool that when he/she is done with the shell , it very purposly brings it out if its cave and places it in the same spot at the front of the tank...as to say "re-fill please"