finally got it

[robpiat]

I got him/her...he is dark with kinda a irridescent green to him...LFS got him in as MISC. Shrimp. he is really cool, but i have a few questions

1. what to feed him: LFS said goldfish frozen food etc.., any ideas

2. he is about 3 inches, but in some research on my part, his strike is pretty weak. Is this just an age thing or is he not showing me all hes got.

3. How cool! personality, constantly monitoring me as i sit at the desk, comes totally out of his burrow every 5 minutes to survey things


Rob

 

[moviegeek]

I kept my longest lived mantis healthy for nine months on a diet consisting exclusively of krill soaked in Selcon. I fed mine goldfish every so often for the first few months but she eventually lost interest in the live food.

People who have kept mantis in captivity successfully for longer than I have report that mantis gradually tend to lose their coloration over time. This may be due to limited diet - but who knows. My mantis eventually died mid-molt. As water quality was good, I suspect I wasn't giving my mantis a varied enough diet.

I would suggest frozen krill (not the dry freeze dried kind)soaked in a vitamin supplement as a staple food, but mix it up weekly with fresh seafood from the grocery store. You'll have to experiment to see what the mantis likes. If you can afford it you should also consider the occassional live snail (assuming your little guy is a smasher). Feeder goldfish/guppies are a guilty pleasure your mantis may enjoy.

As far as the force of the strike goes, its hard to say. My mantis rarely hit full force while feeding or being provoked by my "pokin' stick". In my experience the mantis knows when when its appropriate to use limited force.

During burrow excavations was when the mantis really let loose with some loud blows. I'd assume a 3" mantis could kill a fish quite easily, but the .22 caliber bullet comparison seems to get stretched a little far (although true in some cases, it seems to get spread as gospel truth for every mantis specimen). Some mantis are 8" or even larger and a beefier strike seems to come with a beefier body.

Have fun and get some pictures to share!