Home made mantis trap

csufman

New member
Does anyone know how to make a trap to catch these guys. I ahve a small black mantis in my 40 gal reef tank. He is about 1" long, could this be what is killing my crabs and snail? I thought it was my serpent star. If I do get him out, does anyone want him? Let me know.
 
I have caught 3 in my tank and I have to say that traps usually don't work, at least for me. The only way I got mine was to watch to see which rock they went into then take the rock out. I left it in a bowl and the shrimp came out on their own. You can also try squirting fresh water in the rock (once it is out of your tank) to force them out of the rock.
I took one to work for my "bad boy" tank-he just died after having him there for about 2 years. Bummer. They make great, interesting pets. Mine would come out when you approached the front of the tank. Dozer even had daily visitors that would come to say HI. From what I've read, they have the most developed eyes in the animal kingdom. They can see around 100,000 colors, even into the ultraviolet spectrum. They are really cool, as long as they aren't wrecking havoc in your main reef.

Too bad we're on 2 seperate coasts (New England, here) I'd take one if I were closer.

Best of luck.
 
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