today i went to the LFS to get some live food for my mantis well i was looking and the guy there gave me 4 camel shrimp for 2 bucks a pop since i was using them as food. so anyways i gave my porcupine puffer some which he loved and i gave my mantis shrimp 2 in hopes that he would battle and eat and even get a little exercise...well anyways he obviously didnt like them in his tank but instead of attacking and killing them he abandoned his burrow and is now on the other side of the tank behind a small rock a little bigger than him..whats up with this is he protesting or is he really scared of these things?
is there something up or is my mantis just a wuss?
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majestic sea life
New member
well mine is like that to how big is yours mine is only 1/2''
majestic sea life
New member
wow a peacock ummm its a puss lol
lol...thanks...welll i just took the camels out an fed them to my puffer who now has a huge belly...lol...oh well i guess my mantis is just gonna keep on tip toeing thru the tulips
if anyone really knows whats up...right before i took out the camels he was sittin with his head like pointed down towards the substrate kinda like he was poutin or hidin his face...every time i would walk up his eyes wold move to look at me like he wanted me to do something...i took them out and he started movin back to his burrow i think he is in it now
if anyone really knows whats up...right before i took out the camels he was sittin with his head like pointed down towards the substrate kinda like he was poutin or hidin his face...every time i would walk up his eyes wold move to look at me like he wanted me to do something...i took them out and he started movin back to his burrow i think he is in it now
well he wont take it from my syringe...of course ive only tried silverslides on an end of a syringe...he just looks at it and then ill drop after a few and walk away...i come back and its gone...ill try a shrimp..this may sound like a stupid question but how do you get the frozen shrimp to stay on the end of a stick...lol...sorry...he doesnt come out after the food i have to take it to him and he just sits there looking at it...now i dont think he is sick or anything because he take a crack at an air hose when i stick it around him...he didnt like the hose from the beginning...he attacked it while i was drip acclimating him
T-T-Trigger
Premium Member
thaw it out first... 
And I think feeding a little less may make him a bit bolder.
And I think feeding a little less may make him a bit bolder.
StinkyNappy
New member
where's Density Man?? (tim)
T-T-Trigger
Premium Member
lol... :rollface:
mine does that, gets himself into his puffed up threat posture, then runs straight at the stick like a bull, and then.... is as gentle as a butterfly with his meal. Makes me laugh every time.
DensityMan
Active member
For what it's worth, Tim refuses to eat from the syringe... only the straw works when trying to entice him into eating something thawed.
I have no idea why... maybe having my hand that close by is too much. /shrug
What T-tigger said may have some merit also , have food available (clean-up crew type food - snails) if you can and feed the frozen selections only a couple times a week. Also try luring him away from the burrow to feed from the stick/straw/syringe to encourage the mantis to come out from hiding.
I have no idea why... maybe having my hand that close by is too much. /shrug
What T-tigger said may have some merit also , have food available (clean-up crew type food - snails) if you can and feed the frozen selections only a couple times a week. Also try luring him away from the burrow to feed from the stick/straw/syringe to encourage the mantis to come out from hiding.
i went and bought some snails of all the different varieties that i could find so he has a selection and let me see which ones he likes...well...he hasnt touched any of them....i thru a small blue legged hermit from one of my other tanks and he didnt touch it...maybe the hermit was too small...i dunno...ill try some long tongs or maybe even a long straw that way my fingers wont be in the water
jchough79
New member
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4018&Ne=40000&R=2689&N=2004+113166
Here is the type of tongs I use. I did not pay this much for the type I have. I think I found mine on clearance at one of the local crap petstores for like $10 and it had parts to put on for different uses but I lost most of them except the pincher ones. I have fed my mantis a couple more times and still no aggresion, my guess he already knows the piece of shrimp is dead so he does'nt have to attack. As long as he is eating I'm not concerned about his aggresion.
Here is the type of tongs I use. I did not pay this much for the type I have. I think I found mine on clearance at one of the local crap petstores for like $10 and it had parts to put on for different uses but I lost most of them except the pincher ones. I have fed my mantis a couple more times and still no aggresion, my guess he already knows the piece of shrimp is dead so he does'nt have to attack. As long as he is eating I'm not concerned about his aggresion.
thanks for the suggestion...i may go to my LFS to see if they have any...if not i think im gonna order those...well he is in his burrow and hasnt come out for a few days so i dunno whats up...i hope he just molting or something (if im lucky)...i can kinda see him and he hasnt moved at least thats what it looks like...im gonna try to feed today to see if he responds...i hope for the best but i dunno he is usually out lookin around from a little cave in the rockwork but hasnt since the camel shrimp incident...i hope he isnt dead....i dont want to bother him just in case he's molting...it may cause more trouble so ill leave him for a few more days to see what happens
T-T-Trigger
Premium Member
a 3-4" peacock hiding for a few days is almost certainly a molt.
you don't need to pay 10 bucks plus for a pair of tongs (unless you have reasons for it other than feeding), just buy a thin wood dowel from your local hardware store and sharpen the end into a point. 35 cents or something, break it in half and you get two, then it's only 17.5 cents each.
you don't need to pay 10 bucks plus for a pair of tongs (unless you have reasons for it other than feeding), just buy a thin wood dowel from your local hardware store and sharpen the end into a point. 35 cents or something, break it in half and you get two, then it's only 17.5 cents each.
well i looked thru the hole and i could see what looked like an empty shell or skin but no mantis...i dunno...one of his feather like things that are up around his front appendages was laying there stll red as can be just not attached to anything...i fear the worst anyone have any suggestions or should i just wait...how hardy are these things?
T-T-Trigger
Premium Member
You have to play detective on this one, and then decide the best course. I don't know the time frame as well as you that he has been acting odd. When you added the shrimps, did he make any striking moves at all? Has he struck anything or done any clicking since that time? If not, he probably was or is in the process of molting and unable to strike.
If he has had a bad molt there is nothing you could do anyway, so you'll probably just have to be patient. With my bigger ternatensis it will hole up for a week at a time. And last time she came out of this mini hibernation she was ravenous, and chopped away at her burrow for days and days - making it bigger.
The only reason you should try to move it is if you think it might be dead, I doubt it would die of starvation anytime soon.
If he has had a bad molt there is nothing you could do anyway, so you'll probably just have to be patient. With my bigger ternatensis it will hole up for a week at a time. And last time she came out of this mini hibernation she was ravenous, and chopped away at her burrow for days and days - making it bigger.
The only reason you should try to move it is if you think it might be dead, I doubt it would die of starvation anytime soon.
well i looked again and whether or not it is him is starting to rot away...i think im gonna try to get that and look at...he is no where to be found...when i put the shrimp in he didnt try to strike he just left his home and sat in the corner...he would flip around a bunch and then sit there again...he never showed any aggression towards the shrimp...actually one of them came up to him and he backed away...i dunno...its a 10 AGA with about 3 big pieces of LR so i think he died cause i would be able to see him or find him if he was dead...he never put any kinda door on his burrow...he just dug under the rocks on the back and front...we'll see what happens
T-T-Trigger
Premium Member
live rock breaks apart really easy, you can pretty much use your hand to break off small pieces. However you find him, good luck.
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