How to catch a BIG mantis shrimp ?!?

[Kharn]

G'day all

The time will soon come where I must remove Leviathan and Morgoth from there current tank and into there temporary tanks until my setup is completed (being in the final stages that its at) so I am now starting to think about HOW I should go about catching these 2 larger then life stomatopods....the aspect of just sticking my hand into the sand waiting till I feel something hard is kind of daunting and now doubt foolish (I think) because I don't really wanna be struck by one of these giants.

I'll have to do this a second time although the room they have (or are getting) in the temp tank is going to be minimal (I'm going to split the tank in half length wise via egg crate then insert another sheet of eggcrate splitting the tank in half width wise) I'l place Leviathan & Morgoth in the front compartments.

Any ideas please put them forward ?

Cheers

 

[Bluemon]

a BIG MANTIS TRAP.

lol. jk.

how about you remove sand each day until one day youll have enough gone for you too scoop him up (or pour the tank into the new tank)

 

[Kharn]

a BIG MANTIS TRAP.

lol. jk.

how about you remove sand each day until one day youll have enough gone for you too scoop him up (or pour the tank into the new tank)

Sounds difficult + I don't want the new sand and old sand mixing (since the old sand has a mix in it of coarseness) I want to keep it all Fine Aragonite.

Recon you could lift and tilt a 4 foot tank with 500kg's of substrate into another tank that is 3 foot remembering all the while that there both made of glass so the slightest slip and you can end up with 2 shattered tanks!

:lolspin:

Thanks for your input as sarcastic as I sounded it was better then nothing at all

 

[TundraGuy]

This sounds like a job for Chuck Norris. He could round house kick the house and relocate all the animals for you.

What I might try is to take a 2 lt bottle cut the bottom off of it and slide that down around the mantis into the sand bed. Then once you know the mantis is in the bottle and the bottle touches the sand dig away the sand to the sides of the bottle till you can put a plate under it to “cap” it off. To get the sand out that’s just a matter of flipping the bottle over and letting the sand fall out of the hole you’d pore the soda from.

Sounds farfetched but it just might work.

 

[Kharn]

This sounds like a job for Chuck Norris. He could round house kick the house and relocate all the animals for you.

What I might try is to take a 2 lt bottle cut the bottom off of it and slide that down around the mantis into the sand bed. Then once you know the mantis is in the bottle and the bottle touches the sand dig away the sand to the sides of the bottle till you can put a plate under it to "œcap" it off. To get the sand out that's just a matter of flipping the bottle over and letting the sand fall out of the hole you'd pore the soda from.

Sounds farfetched but it just might work.

While I like the Idea and the effort I don't see it working, they both retract to quick so any movement to there burrow sends them deeper...I almost need a way to flush them out so that I can then just net them...

Cheers anyway =D

 

[TundraGuy]

Hmm I have to image that the sand also has pockets of some nasty stuff being as deep as it is. This will be a tough one to tackle good luck bro.

 

[Jacwil]

Oh just go in there with a big net and scoop that pig outta there lol...or pm Doc Roy and ask him how he "handles" malcs!

 

[TundraGuy]

Roy is fearless he just reaches in and grabs them. That’s probly what he’ll tell us all to do.

As for me I don’t even play with my smithii for fear of a little whack.

 

[Saj]

Here's on old thread where Roy tells us he uses kevlar gloves i guess there diving gloves he uses.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293040&highlight=kevlar

I often wear Kevlar diving gloves. Leather is also good, but I would worry about contaminating a small system.

Using nets can be risky. Occasionally an animal will stab the net and get stuck in the mesh. You then have to cut it out or risk pulling off a raptorial appendage.

To sex the animal all you have to do is get it along side the glass preferably trying to climb up the side so that you can get a clear look at the base of the last walking leg. If you can see the gonopod hanging down (about a third the length of the walking leg), it is a male. If not, it is a female. Usually using a bit of food on the end of a feeding stick you can get an O. s. into position to sex it.

Roy

 

[Kharn]

I appreciate the comments specially the ones detailing how Dr. Caldwell goes about doing it. I really wanted to do it in a way where I just forced the animals to surface themselves albeit with some encouragement from me, basically if I can slide something long and slender down into the sand bed along the length of the burrow I can cut off its ability to go back into the deeper parts of its burrow if it decides to do a runner then using another similar long slender thing I can use it to invade his vertical tunnel where he sits tapping him on the butt till he cracks it and just flys out.

That is what I am THINKING along the lines of, they look so delicate that me handling one will likely result in the loss of a limb to the mantis or worse...

 

[Gonodactylus]

The largest Lysiosquillina maculata I have caught was 36 cm (almost 14 inches), but I routinely catch animals that are larger than a puny 27.5 cm. The trick is to noose them and ten pull the animal out of its burrow without damaging the thin exoskeleton or pulling of a raptorial appendage.

In the field, I use a noose made from fine wire ("twist-tie" with the plastic covering stripped off), but in the lab where I have more time (not on SCUBA), I use "twist-tie" with the covering intact because there is less risk of damaging the animal. I insert the noose into the burrow about half the length of the animal I'm trying to catch, use another piece of stiff wire to push the noose into the side of the burrow, and then use a piece of fish to lure the animal to the entrance. When I see the eyes of the stomatopod, I know that it has come up through the noose. I quickly, but gently pull the wire snugging down catching the beast. IMPORTANT! Do not continue to pull on the noose wire to pull the animal from the burrow. Keep the wire tight, but lift with a steady force using the stiff wire that is attached to the noose. In a few minutes with steady pressure, the animal will tire and you will gradually be able to pull it free from the burrow. Once it is free of the burrow, release the noose wire and scoop up the stomatopod with a net. At this time they are usually fatigued and easy to manipulate with a large net. Photos attached.

Roy

 

[Jacwil]

THAT....is AWESOME Doc!

 

[TundraGuy]

Doc when did you plan on telling us you’re a cowboy? That’s awesome!!!!!!! You got any video of this process? Please. Kharn already has a broken finger from a mantis I would hate for him to try this roping/lassoing thing and lose a finger. hehehehe

Hey Kharn with your new video skills you going to video the proccess for us? I know I will be on the edge of my seat. Like watching a scary movie....

 

[Kharn]

The largest Lysiosquillina maculata I have caught was 36 cm (almost 14 inches), but I routinely catch animals that are larger than a puny 27.5 cm. The trick is to noose them and ten pull the animal out of its burrow without damaging the thin exoskeleton or pulling of a raptorial appendage.

In the field, I use a noose made from fine wire ("twist-tie" with the plastic covering stripped off), but in the lab where I have more time (not on SCUBA), I use "twist-tie" with the covering intact because there is less risk of damaging the animal. I insert the noose into the burrow about half the length of the animal I'm trying to catch, use another piece of stiff wire to push the noose into the side of the burrow, and then use a piece of fish to lure the animal to the entrance. When I see the eyes of the stomatopod, I know that it has come up through the noose. I quickly, but gently pull the wire snugging down catching the beast. IMPORTANT! Do not continue to pull on the noose wire to pull the animal from the burrow. Keep the wire tight, but lift with a steady force using the stiff wire that is attached to the noose. In a few minutes with steady pressure, the animal will tire and you will gradually be able to pull it free from the burrow. Once it is free of the burrow, release the noose wire and scoop up the stomatopod with a net. At this time they are usually fatigued and easy to manipulate with a large net. Photos attached.

Roy

I like this idea and will definitely make something similar to it if not the same!


I've recall seeing a video on youtube of a diver using a whole squid as bait, when the large spearer struck, its claws were lodged in the flesh of the squid, so the diver put his hand around the back and grabbed it from behind.

I suppose doing this with a lot of care would work too ? Like If after the spearers, spears get lodged in the bait (as I see often during feeding with sticks) I could slowly bring the bait to it (relieving pressure on the extended claws hence making them pop off) then whilst doing that come from behind and grab it, lifting out of the burrow then yer placing it in a container or something I have prep'd in the tank to transport it to the other tank ?

Hmm at least I have your idea can't say I'm not really paranoid specially about the pulling it out of the burrow part, I foresee one thing in particular about doing this, the poor thing is going to freak and go deep or try and go deep after its "snagged"....

I just really don't wanna harm them!

P.S.

Dr. Caldwell in your professional opinion (since I DO NOT want to do this again :lolspin would you recommend I put a DSB to accommodate there full needs in the "Temp Tank" which they will be in for perhaps 1 month at tops ?

If I could get away with like a normal say depth sand bed and just place LARGE cut in half PVC pipes for them to hang out in (that way they have sand still on the bottom of the pipe rather then the PVC to help with there undersides ?

Really don't want to "bother them" too much again and a simple lift of PVC piping then capturing in net would be a lot easier on me (and them I'd imagine) compared to combating a burrow fortress but if they really need that DSB for the month well then it makes it mute.

Cheers

 

[Kharn]

Doc when did you plan on telling us you're a cowboy? That's awesome!!!!!!! You got any video of this process? Please. Kharn already has a broken finger from a mantis I would hate for him to try this roping/lassoing thing and lose a finger. hehehehe

Hey Kharn with your new video skills you going to video the proccess for us? I know I will be on the edge of my seat. Like watching a scary movie....

I'll detail and document what I can during it still nervous as hell mostly for them since this could end in .... 'a good ol' fashin wild western hangin'! YEEHAW!'.... for the spearers.

 

[TundraGuy]

"YEEHAW!" roflol!

 

[Gonodactylus]

Worst injury I ever got from a stomatopod was by trying to grab it around the middle. The uropod spines are razor sharp and the animal will jack-knife and stab you.

Go with pvc. Pairs have lived in my lab for years in 4 foot long pipes.

Roy

 

[Kharn]

Worst injury I ever got from a stomatopod was by trying to grab it around the middle. The uropod spines are razor sharp and the animal will jack-knife and stab you.

Go with pvc. Pairs have lived in my lab for years in 4 foot long pipes.

Roy

Ok. SWEET so I will only have to do this ONCE afterall!

That Jack knifing sounds painful I guess its your way or the high way HOWEVER I did plan on wearing gloves during that grabbing process something along the lines of divers gloves (the stuff that is resistant to coral abrasions etc.) I'll go with your way anyway.

 

[Kharn]

"YEEHAW!" roflol!

Well you guys are in yankyville so how does it go again ?

 

[Kharn]

I've come up with another idea that should help me in this!

Both my spearers are quite fearless (or lazy you tell me Dr. Caldwell) and they won't move a muscle until something actually touches them, thats when they quickly like lightning retreat further into there burrows.

So I'm thinking this, rite now BOTH spearers are already in "corners" within the tank Leviathan has made his tunnels ext/entrance hole in the corner of 2 grates of eggcrate, 1 splitting the whole tank in half making it 2 smaller 600mm long compartments, the other eggcrate splits Leviathans enclosure in half length wise, Live Rock in the back with Leviathan in the front portion, so he is in the Right corner as far back as he can be in his enclosure (mid of tank exactly basically).

Morgoth is similar but he is at the very back right hand side of the tank in that corner.

What I am getting at is that there underground burrows can only be going in 2 directions, the 2 free directions not already blocked by either an eggcrate wall / glass wall of tank.

My plan is to essentially slide eggcrate into the 2 areas/directions that would have the tunnel system essentially, trapping them in there corners preventing them from going deep under the sandbed since they'd be now surrounded by 4 walls each.