G. Smithii is too well behaved...

[beelzebob]

so, my G. Smithii has been in the tank a week today. but he hasn't killed anything....

he likes mysis though. but i thought for sure he'd of smashed a crab, hermit, snail or a damsel by now...

sometimes, he will grab a hermit and take it back to his cave, mess with it, and drop it. doesn't even attempt to smash it.

is this normal, are these lil guys uniquely tempermental, or is bub retarded?

should i try and feed him other live foods? WHAT?

 

[dbrooks1440]

stop feeding it mysis.

 

[beelzebob]

thanx....

is that bad, or are you just suggesting that so he is forced to kill sumthin else?

 

[Hutton]

ive had problems with my smithii doing the same thing he would always smash hermits shells open when i first got him, but now he has become realy lazy.

 

[Thurge]

Not bad but they are intelligent critters and can learn where food comes from. Its much easier for it to feed on your mysis then the stuff in the tank.
Damsels are quick and should be pretty safe. I personally have never lost a damsel to a smasher mantis, unless came down with a case of the stupids and entered its lair.
I wouldn't leave any crabs with pinchers in the tank though. If it hasn't killed it by the time the mantis molts, the crab may make a premptive strike and kill the mantis while its vunerable. I lost my first mantis that way, to a small gorilla crab.

 

[beelzebob]

hmmm.

i got all these guys intending for them to be food, but now i kinda like em.

if i feed the lil guy, will he tolorate the other lil homies? (ie, postpone their demise)

it just seems like he wants to hunt, and i know he's looking for my emerald crab, but the green guys got a darn good hiding spot.

i was goung to get a bunch of ghost shrimp too.

oo oo more questions.

what vitamine enriching products should i soak his stuff in?

and being that he is a smasher, i was thinkin like grocery bought shrimp, fish and crab, anything else?

 

[Hutton]

when my lfs sold them my little guy loved to eat "volcanic shrimp" only 25cents per shrimp and he hunted them all down. is there such thing as a sw ghost shrimp that stays under 2 inches?

 

[Dirt4dinner]

I went through the same "no hunting" period when I first got Bam Bam. So after a week of zero excitment from the tank, I dropped a hermit directly into his burrow, and right into his face. SMACK SMACK SMACK!!!! So now, if I don't notice him doing any killin' for a few days, I drop something in his face and he goes to work on it. Your mantis might just be in his adjustment period into his new home. But if you see him hangin' in his favorite spot, try dropping a nice small hermit right in his face, he might just decide he is hungry afterall. Good luck! -Tyler (& Bam Bam)