Feeding Pseudosquilla

[Fella]

I've had my pseudosquilla ciliata since saturday, and as yet, I have been unable for him to feed. the store I bought him from had him for months (I went and saw him quite a few times before I eventually picked him up) and claimed to be feeding it on cockles. they also fed it live fish, but the same fish was in the tank every time i went to see it.

The mantis I have now is currently digging a burrow. Would I be right in guessing he would do this as priority before feeding? In the tank with him are 2 hermit crabs, a turbo snail (Which he has ignored. I watched him step over the hermit earlier), and i have tried feeding him sandeels and cockles on a skewer, to no avail. With it being a spearing species I'm aware it should want fish (probably live, something I want to avoid) but are there any particular steps I can take to make this fish more interested in food?


Cheers!

 

[Gonodactylus]

After a move, animals often go off their feed for a few days or more. As a spearer, it can't eat animals with thick shells, but I have also found that P. ciliata don't take easily to chunks of dead fish. Small shrimp are probably the best food for it. If you can't get something like grass shrimp, try SMALL pieces of frozen raw shrimp.

Roy

 

[Thurge]

Sometimes in the interest of the animal you need to go against what you would like to do. If it still hasn't eaten be mid next week I would add a couple small cheap damsels.
When I had mine, I found it liked Krill and silversides.

 

[Uriel]

One of mine loves mysis shtimp, which I buy frozen in cubes. The other is more finicky, and prefers thawed scallop (Which they both love).
Of course, I live feed as well, usually ghost shrimp. I have yet to feed them damsels, and I probably won't as I rather like damsels...


-Ron

 

[Gonodactylus]

P. ciliata don't usually catch fish in the field although they will take small gobies and the like that get stranded in tidepools and die. Interestingly, one of the things that I have seen them feeding on in the field are small gonodactylids.

Roy

 

[Thurge]

That just goes to show that captive behaviors don't always follow wild behaviors. The P.cilliata I had would stalk a damsel like a cat, and pounce.

 

[Gonodactylus]

True. A P. ciliata in the field has a lot more going on for it than in a tank. The stalking behavior is not only used to sneak up on prey, but it also has to conceal them from predators. In the aquarium predator avoidance becomes less and less a problem and the animals become increasingly bold. Also, the damsels are more accessible and have fewer escape options, so attacks are more likely to be successful. THat reenforces attempts to catch them. In the field, attacks on healthy damesls are not likely to be successful and they rarely try.

Roy

 

[Fella]

Today the mantis finally ate. I put a sandeel on a skewer, and waved it around in front of his burrow. Rather than a .22 calbire bullet strike, he crawled out, and carefully peeled it off the stick.

I'd say I'm disappointed, but it was great to see him eat, and his dexterity is exceptional. I'm very pleased with my mantis, I'm considering a few more...

 

[Gonodactylus]

Spearers are generally much slower striking than smashers and P. ciliata is not particularly quick. While gonodactylid smashers are in the 1-4 msec range, P. ciliata is probably an order of magnitude slower.



Roy