got to get the guy...

Whispre

Premium Member
so tonight I plan to pull ALL my rocks out of my tank in an effort to get this mantis shrimp out... he is killing things I dont want killed. I tried the trap with the bottle method, and it would have worked, but he cant fit through the mouth of the bottle.

if I put my rock in saltwater in a tub, and squirt fresh ro/di water in the holes with a turkey baster or something, will this drive him out of the rock? or do I need to use something else?

Thanks in advance.
 
it has killed an emerald crab, a porcalin crap, and 2 mexican turbo's, not including an unknown number of smaller snails and crabs, though I do know that the population is diminishing.

it is nearly 3/4" wide and about 2.5 inches long I'd say as a rough guess
 
If you are gong to go through all the trouble of removing the rocks, then yes, some fresh water CAN drive them out at a cost of very serious stress to the shrimp and everything else.
May I make a couple of suggestions?...
#1...Find out where it lives and try spot feeding it. If its eating stuff you provide, ,it will be less likely to want to kill to eat.
This will also
A-save stress on the tank, time spent flushinig every nook and cranny and B- provide another addition to the tank that will grow on ya.
#2...if you really cant accept the thing living in your tank, then try to remove it from the rocks in a 'kind' manor. If you can keep from killing it, I would be willing to bet you can get enough money from selling it to one of the many people looking for one to off-set the cost of replenishing your clean-up crew.
I keep a mantis in a VERY mixed reef. My tank only has a few snails, ZERO hermits, pom pom crab, emerald crab, skunk shrimp, 6 line wrasse, and a maroon clown. The clown is by far the most fierce occupant of my reef. She will actually jump out of the water as your hand gets close and its an all out assult until you remove your hand. My mantis is lazy. I have spoiled it by usual feedings of frozen squid and various other stuff. Its tricky to locate the little fella sometimes. Once placed into the tank with all my other stuff, I have yet to see anything come up "MIA", but this is just my exp. I wouldnt mind if it took out a snail or two, maybe even the crabs- just so it all gets eaten. No wasting stuff around here!
 
some pics, best I could get, not a great photographer


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well, I've been trying to trap it for weeks now to no avail. It does not have any particular place that I can see, I see it move all over the tank. It's only a 54 gallon corner.

I've tried to be humane, and will try to do so when I remove the rock, but I have to get it out somehow... each rock I intend to try to just shake it and maybe poke something in the holes large enough to roust it out first...

This thing has already destroyed/eaten at least 40$ worth of cleanup crew.

I've had two possible offers to take this if I can only catch it... I wont be killing it.
 
That looks like a G. ternatensis...the eye color, as well as the pattern of the arms.

I hope that you get it out without losing too many other critters, and get it to a new home safely.
Good luck.


-Ron
 
I have been told to use the coke bottle trap with a live crab as bait. I am off to the beach to find some crabs to try to bait the little bugger I have as well.I will let you know how I go. I have tried the trap but only baited with frozen prawns and no luck as of yet.
 
Well tried the crab in the coke bottle. The bloody crab escaped pushing inbetween the funnel top and the bottom. The body of the crab was larger than the coke bottle opening. I didn't expect him to escape. We got himout and I also finally found the rock the mantis was hiding in and removed it from the aquarium. We pushed him out of the rock with a skewer as soda water and RO water didn't work to get him out. Now he is in the same tank as the crab which was put in a separate tank. So far he hasn't attacked the crab.
 
Well the crab is dead. The mantis wacked off two legs and a claw and when i came home the next day he had wacked the body and the crab was dead. He didn't proceed to eat him though. Maybe he was having some fun.
 
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