how hardy are hitchiker mantis?

[lossman]

I caught a mantis from TBS rock and am holding it in a 1 qt pitcher for someone who will not be able to get it until Tuesday. I have been doing frequent water changes to make sure it has fresh, oxygenated water. I gave it a very small piece of silverside and have the pitcher covered with a dark cloth to keep it calm. I have a small pvc piece of pipe as well as a couple of pieces of rock for it to hide in/under. Can this mantis survive that long and is there anything else I can do (short of buying him his own tank) to ensure his survival? Originally I had planned to flush this guy down the toilet but now that I have committed to finding him a good home, I am concerned with his survival....go figure.

 

[Mr.Lizard]

Put it in a small aquarium with the stuff you have it in now and a cheap circulation/filter pump and keep it! They're fascinating! And probably hardy enough to survive with what you're doing. I got mine shipped from about 250 miles away in about a cup of water overnight....in the box probably 12 hours or so....and it's been living since (@ 1 year or so). Depending on species, throw it in a cheapo 10g and it'd be fine with a HOT filter like a Penguin or Millenium (my favorite HOT filter for smaller systems) A 10g wouldn't be good for a Peacock....but for most of the more common types it won't get too large for a 10g. (Mine's in a 20g T with a few other critters & LR) Just a thought....

 

[Gonodactylus]

Don't worry about it. We keep animals in 3/4 full one pint deli containers with nothing but a loose fitting lid to cut down evaporation. We change the water every three or four days. That's it. If you feed the animall, change the water after a few hours, but you don't need to feed it before it is picked up. We keep hundreds of animals this way when in the field and mortality is minimal. They are tough! (That is not true of all species!)

Roy

 

[Limbo]

I second that your should just keep it. You can make a Mantis setup as cheaply or as expensive as you want, especially for a small TBS hitchiker.
I opted for a JBJ Nano, but a cheap 10g would do just as well.
They are cool animals to keep. I stare into my Mantis cube more that my 100g just to see what he's up to.

 

[Mr.Lizard]

Hello again, Dr. Roy!!

Hello again, Dr. Roy!!

OT- but- I recall you mentioning a new blue-spot octo species being found on one of your Stomato-Hunts....Would your avatar happen to be a pic?

 

[Gonodactylus]

The avatar is a Hapalochlaena lunulata that we collect in Indonesia, but it is not the new species that we picked up in Australia. I have posted pictures of that animal in the gallery under my member name of
"gonodactylus".

Roy

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=43336&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500