Dr. Roy please read me...

[lil kim]

I bought what I thought was a 1 1/2" smasher two weeks ago but it hasn't shown itself since the day I put it in the tank(5 gallon with approx. 5 pounds of live rock and some soft corals) nor has it eaten anything that I know of. I've offered krill and plankton and there are two hermits and two snails in the tank
but nothing has been touched. I've checked the water every three days and everything appears to be within exceptable levels(no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, pH at 8.0,salinity 1.023 and temp. 76F). Could I have been mistaken and purchases a spearer?(this is my first mantis)If this is the case any suggestions on getting it to feed and eventually show itself. Currently I have access to 1" damsels and could acclimize mollies but it will take awhile. Thanx

 

[lil kim]

I'm open to suggestions...

I'm open to suggestions...

For anyone else that reads this thread please feel free to reply if you have any thoughts on this little situation. Even though it's addressed to Dr. Roy(he probably spends more time with these little critters than anyone else)I'm totally open to suggestions...

 

[Gonodactylus]

Without knowing the species, it is hard to offer specific suggestions. However, it is not unusual for a small gonodactylid to disappear into LR when added to a system and remain hidden for days or even weeks. They can go without food for at least two or three weeks and given that most LR has some micro crustaceans and other edible material, they could survive much longer. On an even more pessimistic note, some species, once they find a suitable cavity, almost never come out of their cavity and can remain in the LR for literally years feeding on amphipods, etc.

The bottom line is that there is probably nothing you can do but add small amounts of appropriate food (don't over feed) and wait until the animal reveals itself. When or if that happens, you can use a feeding stick to offer very small chunks of food near the entrance to its cavity and begin to coax it out to feed. With patience, you can usually get the animal to swim out at least a few inches to grab food.

One note. When trying to train a stomatopod to leave its cavity for food, use a very thin feeding stick that won't intimidate it. I use a long, wooden dowel that is 1/8 inch diameter with fine stainless steel wire at the end. The food is stuck onto the wire. Make sure that the food will easily slide off. Many mantis shrimp initially will only try to remove food once. If they meet resistance, they immediately back off.

Hope this helps.

Roy

 

[lil kim]

Thanx...

Thanx...

Thanks for the reply. I'll continue adding small amounts of food in hopes that the mantis may one day show his little face (it's a shame not to see him, he's a gorgeous lime green) It attacked three fish in the tank it was in prior to mine so I hope it'll show some courage soon and go after one of the snails(how morbid!!!)Thanks again, I'll keep you posted, Kim