food

[jean19]

bonsoir
I'm planning on keeping a mantis , how and with what do you feed them . does it need to be live food all the time .
merci for your help

 

[justinl]

feed once every 2-3 days. only feed chunks of frozen that are a third to half the mantis' own size. frozens can vary widely. white shrimp, squid, silversides, krill, etc... many can be found in an aisle of grocery (rinse grocery bought frozens after thawing). pick 2-3 different frozens to cycle between. soak the frozens in a supplement once in a while.

youll need to supplement with live food at least once a month. thin shelled hermits/snails work fine but the best show by far is a fight with a small crab. make sure the crab is small so the mantis won't get injured.

note that this diet is for a smasher mantis (most common). spearers have a somewhat dfferent diet.

 

[Thurge]

Smashers should be fed live food on occasion to maintain their raptoral appendages. Once every other week or so is fine. As for foods Justinl covered it pretty well; most any marine animal flesh is approperate food. Just avoid cooked foods and those processed with chemicals.

 

[jean19]

merci

 

[G.SMITHII]

i feed krill on a stick, fish on a stick, and crab on a stick once a week.

i also pop in 15-20 small hermits and 5 snails every 2 weeks, or as needed

bane molts every 3-4weeks, so i assume hes fat and happy