length of survival in captivity

sculpin

10 & Over Club
I have a 4" unidentified mantis (red-brown body, green claws, smasher) which I have kept for 1.5 - 2 yrs and which has survived multiple catastrophes and near death episodes (including being dropped 3 times in my drive way after surviving 24 hours in 1" of water in the back of my truck while I was driving from Dallas to NC). It currently lives in my "sump" (which is actually set up as a separate reef) in harmony with three escapee peppermint shrimp, strangely enough.

What is the average life expectancy of most mantis in captivity? My little guy seems to keep on keeping on above and beyond the call of duty.

On an unrelated note, my mantis periodically has a pink ball attached to each smasher claw. Is this a reproductive structure?

Thanks,

Mike
 
Sounds like a female Odontodactylus scyllarus. We have kept them in the lab for three or four years and in the field I suspect they live at least five or six years. Other species live much longer. We have one adult Lysiosquillina that is about 25 cm long. It has not grown since we got it (although it molts every three months) and it has been in the lab for 5 years.

Roy
 
It is a myth that a mantis shrimp can die -- I had mine for 475 years and it is still fine... wait, maybe it just SEEMED that long! That's right -- my little green mini Florida guy has lived at least 5 years so far... Hope he lives a lot longer now that he's living in some else's aquarium.:hmm4:
 
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