Got my Mantis...cheap live food where?

[Rowdymon]

He's not really what you would call 'cute'...

Matter of fact one girl was looking at him and said he looked mean...LOL

He shall be called, Lester

Lester the Molester (I have high hopes here)

He's got a greyish body with bright blue claws...kind of interesting coloration...

I even picked him up a few snails and some small blue legged hermits as playmates :bum:

So is there a place I'll be able to pick up some other's for under the $2 price tag that's associated with snails and hermits?

 

[K9]

I don't have an exact store online where they'll be cheapest, but at most places you can get a discount if you buy snails or crabs in bulk.

 

[PSEUDOREEFER]

try www.saltwaterfish.com

 

[Reef Pinoy]

Not sure if your mantis is a big one or small one. But the cheapest live food I have used are clams. They sell them at the seafood markets. I usually buy a pound (15-20 1 inch clams) for $5 which lasts about 2 months. I just throw the clams into the tank and my peacock kills them whenever he is hungry. Sure beats buying crawfish or crabs which it will sometimes kills without eating.

 

[Agu]

I suggest you wean your mantis off live foods.

It's expensive.

It's a bother.

You don't know what pathogens you might introduce to your tank.

It's unnecessary and possibly cruel to the animals you use for food.

jmo,

Agu

 

[Reef Pinoy]

I agree with you agu, but I'm not so lucky. I wish mine would eat prepared food or frozen shrimp, but it got picky after I introduced it to live foods. It once went for two weeks without eating when I was trying to force it to eat frozen shrimp. Some holes started developing on its carapace too. So, I rather risk the pathogens than have it starve to death.

 

[white_queen]

Ghost shrimp at some LFS sell for 99 cents. And you might be able to get a dozen for $10. *shrug*

How big is he?

Angela <><

 

[tlouie]

Search ebay for those IO Nasarius snails

you can get 50 for $20, my mantis loves these.

my mantis also eats thawed, frozen shrimp.

 

[Rowdymon]

Lester is only about 2.5 inches...he got some brine the other day and had a great time popping out from his burrow to grab a couple...and he's been beating on some blue legged hermits...

I'll have to give a looksie for some ghost shrimp and nasarious snails...

 

[jjrock]

I have fed my Mantis Shrimps everything from "Freshwater Lobsters" (crayfish?) which are about $8 CDN a pice (this is when I'm into watching some action), Hermit crabs of all sizes, shapes and colors for about $1.00 - 2.00 a piece when you buy 10 or more), Feather Duster Worms (which I was hoping he wouldn't eat actuallyy --$8 blunder!), Banded Coral Shrimp ($15 dollar which was an "experiment" when I got my first Mantis). All 3 of my mantis Shrimp are happy to eat frozen Shrimp (any kind --tiger shrimp are big and I can buy about 8 big shrimp for $4 which will last months), frozen scallops (they even eat 'em frozen rigth off my stick) ....

... and lastly, one time I was real broke so I went to the grocery store and bought 8 large Periwinkles which lasted in my tank with Ghengis about 2-3 weeks (he was only eating them when the crab population hit 0 ... no crabs = time to eat snails ...). The 8 snails cost me a total of $0.46, I gave one of the Periwinkkles to a friend of mine who has had it ever since ... gobbling happily away in his reef tank.

So, if you want real cheap food, get Periwinkles, they will live in your tank until the mantis is hungr for them, they are large so you get lots of food, but yet their shells are rather thin so they are not too difficult to eat (that's really why they eat the crabs first, not that they are better tasting, just that they are easier prey!).

Hope that helps!

JJ.

 

[Fuegofish777]

i get ghost shrimp for $1 a dozen.....but i guess it depends on ur area...Liveaquaria.com has them for 79cents each if u buy at least 2 dozen...HTH

 

[majestic sea life]

i feed mine ghost shrimp that are $1 a dozen but petmart has them for 27cents and i feed him blood worms and crabs

 

[MattG]

i feed my mantis strombus snails from my main tank. The strombus snails multilply like crazy so there is always food that i can give him for FREE.

 

[smells like fish]

Someone(Blennybabe) once posted on ReefFrontiers, a good way to feed mantis shrimps, by stuffing empty snail shells(which most reefers have a quite a few), with food, i.e. shrimp, fish, etc. Then the mantis can practice it's natural behavior of smashing or spearing the shell to get to it's food, without having to continually buying live food.