looking for crabtrap/matis trap info

[fishguyxd]

Ok I put a post out awhile back about a mantis I am trying to catch.
I was told a bottle trap may work but all i caught was a couple cleaner shrimp in my tank. How can I refine this to catch a mantis (peacock I think it is ) I seen it for about 10 sec ,but did not have time to get the camera.Do I use a special size bottle trap and what bait.

It cleaning my tank out of little snails
and moves freaken fast.

Also I have heard people using a slippery bowl with an algea in it as bait to catch some live rock /pred crabs. Any idea's??????

 

[Hutton]

most hitch hikers are not peacocks... where is the live rock from?

 

[fishguyxd]

It has a couple fiji , but mostly jakarta LR

 

[Thurge]

You are dealing with an intelligent critter, and one that may not forage every night. Since you already know that he likes your snails, I would grab up ALL of them and put them in the bottle as your bate. I say all because you don't want to give him easier access to them. Make sure of the exact number of snails and give it a few days. If in a day or so you now have less snails, the bottle trick won't work because your mantis knows how to circumvent the trap. At that point you will have to resort to more drastic measuers, such as figuring out which rock it resides in and either breaking it open and getting him out, or a hyposalinity dip, or seltzer water in his hole.
Keep in mind though tht there are people who actually set up tanks for them and would gladly pay for shipping and a little for your troubles.

 

[fishguyxd]

looking for info on traps too.

 

[rustyf88]

Do you know where his/her favorite rock is? If you can get the mantis stuck in one rock, pull that rock out and hold it over a bucket and pour soda water over it and as soon as the water hits the shrimp, it will come out quickly. If you want to keep it alive, have some saltwater ready to put it in. The soda water will burn them a little, but it will not kill it.

 

[fishguyxd]

no I do not know which rock this thing lives in. It rarely comes out I have only seen it twice ,but when I haveI got a good look.
do they come out mostly at night or what?

 

[rustyf88]

Yes, until they get used to you and who you are. They are pretty intelligent creatures and know just how to stay out of sight, but can see you. Try taking a flashlight in about 1-2 in the morning when no lights have been on for several hours and try to spot the rock it's in. Be sneaky, don't point the light straight at the tank, point it down for a minute or two and see if it's out hunting. Normally when they find a home(rock) they will stay in that same rock for a long time. Let me know when you get a good look at it and we will try to identify it.

 

[fishguyxd]

ok thanks

 

[Ms. K]

And if you can catch it alive and don't wish to keep it, PM me. I'm looking for a new mantis for my classroom.