How do I remove a Mantis from my Tank?

[SKA]

I have a Mantis in my tank that's beginning to drive me crazy. He came in on my live rock about 3 years ago. He's grown about a inch or so in the last year and has started eating all of my snails, crabs, and shrimp.

At one time he was pretty small and didn't seem to bother much--so I wasn't too worried about him....

How can I get rid of him? I cannot remove the rock that he lives in because it is shared with my Bubble Tipped Anemone. Also, I read about the plastic pop bottle trap...but my tank is too small for this-- (75) gallon.

Does anyone have any other ideas? Could I buy a small trap? If so where? Do I have to worry about fish getting caught in it?

Thanks!!!
Susan

 

[hackster1]

mantis trap

mantis trap

here ya go,

Goto www.petsolutions.com they have a mantis trap called the X-Terminator for $14.49.

Hope that helps

Leo

 

[SKA]

Thanks Leo!!! Wish me luck! Do you think a pet store would take the little critter? Maybe I could put him in my sump?

He's kind of black in color with red and green on his head. He's incredibly ugly
I'd actually keep him if I had another tank. He is quite fascinating to watch.

 

[SKA]

Me Again,

Would I have to worry about my fish becoming trapped in this contraption? I would hate to have one of my fish in a trap with the Mantis!

Sorry about all of the questions...

Thanks,
Susan

 

[MDKyleZ]

I used one of these traps and had no luck with it how ever it did capture several crabs and a starfish or two. I have however heard of many people haveing good luck with them.

Good luck,
Kyle

 

[jman785]

The traps can catch fish, crabs, eels, shrimp, mantis shrimp...so just be careful I guess :eek2:

- Jared

 

[hackster1]

no problem

no problem

Here is to wishing you luck on your quest to find the beastie

And hey if you do get him, I will take the beastie from ya

Good Luck

Leo :thumbsup:

 

[lllosingit]

I have an idea for you
Feed him,and leave him in the tank.
I have 4 in a dedicated tank with crabs snails and Damsel and they don't touch anything because I feed them.
It really kind of cool how fast they learn, I started to feed them pieces of fresh shrimp on the end of a piece of clear tubing and had to practically shove it down the hole in the rock, now as soon as the lid opens all four peek out to see if its feeding time.
They will wait for there food and will swim out and grab it before I even get a chance to get it to them, you'll know when they don't like what you have to offer because they will push it away and wait for you to bring them something else.
I may even put them back in my reef tank.

 

[wthorpe]

the x-terminator didn't work for me, either. it has worked for some, though, so probably worth a shot. it has only an inch-square opening, so not many fish would probably go in the trap.

i actually had to pull out all my rock to get rid of my mantins. i has to do a 5 second dunk for each piece in a bucket filled with selzter. worked nicely. didn't hurt anything on my live rock, either. but at that point i didn't have any corals since i was just a month into the hobby.

 

[Sooner97]

I finally caught mine tonight. Man, does it feel good to know he's outta there. Here's the trap I made. I got the directions here at RC, but it does work for me. I tried 2 others with no luck, but this one did it.

Here is one i found on RC, by searching for soda bottle mantis trap

The one I made is as follows--apologies to the inventor, I hope he'll post and claim it!

1. Get a piece of 1" dia PVC, 12" or so long. Leave a bit of a burr on the inside edges on one end. Any other tube will probably also do.

2. Get a plastic soda bottle. Cut a rectangular piece out of it's side. The dimensions should be 3.25" (parallel to the bottle's axis) x 1.5" (along the bottle's circumference). The plastic rectangle will be curved; the long sides will be straight, the short sides curved.

3. Make a series of cuts starting on the straight side. The cuts should be about 1" deep and about 1/16" apart. What you will end up with is something that looks like a 3" long hair comb with 1" long teeth.

4. Cut every other tooth off.

5. Cut every other tooth that is left to about half it's length. Of every 4 teeth you started with, you now have one full length tooth and one half length tooth left.

6. Bend the spine of the comb into a circle so that all the teeth curve toward the middle. Insert this, teeth first, into the end of the PVC pipe. This makes a one-way door--the mantis can push his way through the teeth to get in, but he can't get out. The burr you left on the inside edge of the PVC will prevent the comb from being pushed back out the end of the pipe. You may want to do some further trimming on the comb to get an exact fit.

7. Cap the other end of the pipe. I jammed a left over bulkhead strainer into the end like a cork--easy to remove but allows water to flow.

8. Put a piece of bait (raw shrimp, clam, whatever) in the trap. It is probably best to orient the trap with the comb end on the downstream side, as you want the mantis to follow the scent into this end.

9. Check it daily. The bait will stink after a day, so change it daily. I think it also helps to chum the water a bit, get the mantis used to eating the bait.

 

[Madmonkey]

I finally caught mine tonight. Man, does it feel good to know he's outta there. Here's the trap I made. I got the directions here at RC, but it does work for me. I tried 2 others with no luck, but this one did it.

Here is one i found on RC, by searching for soda bottle mantis trap

The one I made is as follows--apologies to the inventor, I hope he'll post and claim it!

1. Get a piece of 1" dia PVC, 12" or so long. Leave a bit of a burr on the inside edges on one end. Any other tube will probably also do.

2. Get a plastic soda bottle. Cut a rectangular piece out of it's side. The dimensions should be 3.25" (parallel to the bottle's axis) x 1.5" (along the bottle's circumference). The plastic rectangle will be curved; the long sides will be straight, the short sides curved.

3. Make a series of cuts starting on the straight side. The cuts should be about 1" deep and about 1/16" apart. What you will end up with is something that looks like a 3" long hair comb with 1" long teeth.

4. Cut every other tooth off.

5. Cut every other tooth that is left to about half it's length. Of every 4 teeth you started with, you now have one full length tooth and one half length tooth left.

6. Bend the spine of the comb into a circle so that all the teeth curve toward the middle. Insert this, teeth first, into the end of the PVC pipe. This makes a one-way door--the mantis can push his way through the teeth to get in, but he can't get out. The burr you left on the inside edge of the PVC will prevent the comb from being pushed back out the end of the pipe. You may want to do some further trimming on the comb to get an exact fit.

7. Cap the other end of the pipe. I jammed a left over bulkhead strainer into the end like a cork--easy to remove but allows water to flow.

8. Put a piece of bait (raw shrimp, clam, whatever) in the trap. It is probably best to orient the trap with the comb end on the downstream side, as you want the mantis to follow the scent into this end.

9. Check it daily. The bait will stink after a day, so change it daily. I think it also helps to chum the water a bit, get the mantis used to eating the bait.

would you be so nice and take a picture of the trap you 've made please?? You lost me around the "teeth cutting part".

My friend just found a black looking mantis in his 125 gallon tank, we will try to trap him soon ( we hope)

buy the way, I live in Houston area and if he does not want this guy I will post the little guy on here.

Matt

 

[jedimpt]

Madmonkey, if your friend doesn't want him, I'll be glad to drive out to Houston to pick him up. I live in galvetraz and am always go over there to visit family and go clubbing.

joe

 

[Sooner97]

Here's some pics of the trap:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=8661&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=8662&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

Basically, with the plastic part, it's just a rectangular piece of plastic that you would cut into to make "teeths." Every other tooth would be 1/2 the length of the other one. It should look like a comb. You would then roll this piece together and insert it into the PVC. The basic concept is that the teeths would point into the pipe, allowing the shrimp to enter, but not exit. I hope this helps and good luck. If you need any other help, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[do6151]

MAntis Shrimp

MAntis Shrimp

I have many little critters in my tank that look like shrimp. They are translucent with no color on them. They are about a quarter inch and smaller. Could they be mantis shrimp

 

[dwarfatize]

Sounds like amphapods.