*********help********* Mantis Looking Bad

[floridajhawk]

HEY I JUST WENT A PICKED UP A MANTIS THAT A LOCAL MEMBER CAUGHT IN HIS TANK. HE SAID HE TOOK IT TO WORK WITH HIM AND I WENT THERE AS SOON AS I HEARD AND GRABBED THE LITTLE GIRL. SHE WAS STILL TRYING TO CLUTCH HER EGGS BUT SHE WAS IN A TINY LITTLE TUPPERWARE PIECE INSIDE OF HIS CAR WHILE HE HAD BEEN AT WORK. NOW I FINALLY GOT HER IN MY TANK AFTER STOPPING AT MY LFS TO PUT HER AND HER EGGS IN A BAG WITH OXYGEN. SHE IS NOW IN MY TANK AND MOVES AROUND ONLY IF I TOUCH HER BUT SHE HAS BEEN IN A ROLLED UP POSITION LOOKING AS IF SHES CLEANING HERSELF, IS THIS NORMAL WILL SHE BREAK OUT OF IT AND WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF ME REARING ANY OF HER CHILDREN. I HAVE READ A LOT ABOUT THESE LITTLE GUYS JUST NOT ON NEW MOTHERS HAHA THANX FOR ANY AND ALL HELP :rollface:

 

[Gonodactylus]

There is almost know hope of rearing the larvae. If the raptorial appendages are extended, that is a very bad sign. If they are closed, the damage may not be lethal. At this point, there is noting to do but leave her alone.

 

[floridajhawk]

SHE IS DOING MUCH BETTER NOW APPENDAGES CLOSED AND SHE RECONSTRUCTED THE HOME I BUILT FOR HER HAHA GUESS IT WAS NOT NICE ENOUGH. THANKS FOR THE INFO, WHY IS IT SO IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO BE REARED IN CAPTIVITY ?

 

[Gonodactylus]

They are highly cannibalistic, require a varied diet of zooplankton, and spend at least a month in open water. The only time I successfully reared gonodactylid larvae, I kept one per cup, fed them daily on live brine and rotifers enriched with Selco, and completely changed the water after each feeding. It took an hour or more just to change the water. I started out with 100 cups each containing one fourth stadia larvae. A month later two settled as postlarvae. It may be easier to rear them in some of the new "edgeless" rearing vats, but diet is still going to be a challenge. Once they settle as postlarvae, they are easy to rear.

Roy

 

[floridajhawk]

sounds very hard in my refugiums i have a lot of rotifers, pods, brine and I also have the plankton I guess it might be worth a shot but sounds near impossible, how long does the whole process generally take ?

 

[Gonodactylus]

It takes the eggs three weeks to hatch and the female remains with the larvae for another week. That that time - their third molt - they become photopositive and enter the plankton. That is when you would need to catch some. Actually that is the easy part since they are attracted to light so all you have to do is hold a flashlight up to the side and suck up the larvae with a turkey baster. At that point, it is another three or four weeks and four molts unil they settle as postlarvae about 9 mm long.

 

[goblinsharkman]

Are you rearing any at the moment?

 

[floridajhawk]

I a currently in the egg stage still haha but workin on rearing them I am going to do everything in my power to give at least one of them a fighting chance

 

[DaddyJax]

Any pics?I would love to see!!

 

[floridajhawk]

dont worry pics coming soon I want to give her a little more time before I start snappin away