I need to catch a mantis. please help

[dtm]

I just noticed that I have a small mantis in my tank. maybe about 1"-1 1/4". The thing is REALLY fast, the best description I can give is, its brownish green, and from what I can tell it didnt have a tail like a peacock.

I read a few threads that said you can use a 2 liter bottle to catch it. The problem is I dont know what it eats, or when it eats (night or day)

anyone have advise on how to catch it? thanks

 

[dtm]

............oh and I've tried useing mysis as bait but nothing yet. Do they eat mysis?

 

[justinl]

most of the time we use krill in the bottle trap, but i dont see why mysids wouldnt work for a small mantis like yours. try a variety of frozens if mysids doesnt work though.

a mantis will pick outa burrow and stick to it most of the time. try to figure out where its burrow is and how many openings it has. or at least one opening that it seems to like more than the others. point the opening of the bottle trap towards the favoured opening and wait.

imo the taper of the standard 2L soda bottle is too steep. plus you shouldnt use a pop bottle anyways. use a bottle that had bottled water. i suggest one of those 500ml bottles with the more gentle slope like this...
http://www.mullinscenter.com/uploads/Dasani Image.jpg

btw it wasnt clear in your post... are you making the bottle trap correctly or just throwing in the bottle as is? you need to cut off the top of the bottle, invert, stick it back in and then bait.

btw here's a tip. bait the trap then get out of the house. im serious. leave the house for four hours or so, take a drive (or the bike) to the lfs. that way the mantis isnt bothered by anyone in the house and will be more likely to take the bait. Worked for me the very first day, but it usually takes longer. patience is the key.

edit: bait it in the early morining. most mantids are diurnal.

 

[Pea-brain]

You have to leave the bottle trap in there a while. Only take it out when it catches something or food starts to decay. Seahorse.org has a nice pic of a bottle trap in their article section.......

 

[dtm]

thanks everyone ............I'm currently using a drinking water bottle, as in the link provided by justinl. I've found out where it hangs out so I've placed the opening almost right in front of its little home. Its been there for almost 24 hours now.

I think I'm made the trap the right way...........I cut the top off and flipped it upside down back into the bottle. does that sound right?

 

[Thurge]

Sounds right.
Also from yur description it doesn't sound like it's big enough to be a serious danger to your tank inhabitants. May nick a few small snails or hermits but most fish would be fine. So you don't have to rush to get it out.

 

[dtm]

how fast do they grow?

 

[Opcn]

I say get it out before it becomes a problem, what live stock do you have in the tank?

The mantis may not yet have a taste for mysis, perhaps you should observe the tank, find out where it spends most of its time, and then spot feed that area some mysis for a while to get the mantis interested in the flavor. Then you can put the bottle in for a while (1liter might work better for such a small shrimp, I'm assuming you know how to put it together and aren't just dropping the bottle in) and add the mysis and hopefully the shrimp will smell its new favorite food and go a charging in to the trap.

 

[dtm]

my live stock

5" sohal

1-1/2" orchid dottyback

1" sixline

2. 1" clowns

5. 1" chromis

4" tomini

I would really like to ge it out asap, but have had no luck. will a mantis of that size go after small snails, or hermits?

 

[Opcn]

If your sizes are correct that sixline must be cute as the dickens.

Just keep trying.

 

[BWT]

I had success using clams on the half shell. These are very small frozen ones by H2O Life. Also, I poked several holes in the bottom of the bottle trap. These help diffuse the smell. One last thing, you may want to attach a piece of monfiliment fishing line to the bottle for quick retrieval.

Good luck,
Randy

 

[dtm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10028163#post10028163 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BWT
I had success using clams on the half shell. These are very small frozen ones by H2O Life. Also, I poked several holes in the bottom of the bottle trap. These help diffuse the smell. One last thing, you may want to attach a piece of monfiliment fishing line to the bottle for quick retrieval.

Good luck,
Randy

thanks for the ideas!!!! I'm gonna try again...........how long do you guys leave the trap in the tank?

 

[BWT]

I would only leave the trap in for a few hours at a time. It's best to see the mantis first and then place the trap in close proximity. If he doesn't go in in the first hour or so, he probably won't that day. If he never goes in try a different bait or different trap. You can build a small one out of plexiglass (box with one side open with funnelled sides). The reason you don't want to leave the trap in too long is that other creatures will go in and possibly die do to fouling conditions inside the bottle if the water becomes stagnate.