Manits Laid Eggs

K

kirblit

New member
Yesterday I was trying to feed my mantis and it didn't want anything to do with the food so I figured it was about to molt. Well this morning when I got up I looked in to see if it molted and saw and egg sack!! I haven't been able to find much info on breeding mantis online at all but I though maybe I would try here and someone would know. I don't think that I could raise them if I tried but it would be cool to watch it all happen. I don't know if the eggs are even fertilized, but maybe. I have had her for about 3 weeks now and she came in as a hitchhiker in someones tank, so depending on gestation periods they may actually be fertile.

Here are pics

IMG_2869.jpg


IMG_2870.jpg


IMG_2871.jpg
 
From what I have read if the eggs do hatch the chances of any of the babies surviving is very very low.
 
The stomatopod is N. wennerae. The eggs will develop for three weeks and then the larvae will remain with the mother for another week. After three molts, they will become photopositive and enter the plankton. They are very strongly attracted to light so it is easy to catch them. From her size, there will probably be around 500 to a 1000. In the ocean, they would molt 4 more times and remain in the plankton for a month. At the last molt, they will be 8 mm long transparent postlarvae and will settle.

The larvae have been reared a few times, but it is a major chore. They are highly cannibalistic and must be kept separate. They only eat live food starting with prey the size of rotifers and copepods. I have also used hatched brine soaked in Selcon. The last time I tried rearing this species, I started with 100 individuals each in a 8 oz cup. They were fed and the water changed twice a day. I succeeded in rearing two to selttlement.

Roy
 
I knew it would be almost impossible to do, but I almost want to try just to say that I did, and who knows I might succeed (it will be my only shot at this, if the eggs are fertilized) . If I did decide to do it I would put them all in a 2.5 gal and put live rock rubble in it and hope that they would hopefully somewhat avoid each other until they are big enough to really distinguish, and if they ate each other that would just be a good food source, and the strong would survive. If I put a ton of pods into that tank (I have access to a lot of rotifers and pods) and kept the water "green" so rotifers and pods would multiply do you think that they would have a shot?


On the W/C front, why did you have to do so many W/C on them? I wouldn't think that there could be that much waste in there?
 
that is really exciting man!!!!! you have a good looking mantis.i think you should just give it a try...why not?? if you do decide to give it a go keep us updated with your results and just in case there is any chance that you raise any to a non-planktonic stage i call first dibs on one of em hahahahahahaha
 
By my count, I have seen over 100,000 Neogonodactylus bredini and wennerae. I see them in my sleep. There are only that many color variations and this animal is pretty typical.

To get the larvae to eat, we needed to have high concentrations of food which started to go off after a few hours. If you are going to use cups, the water has to be changed frequently.

Roy
 
One other question is it normal for them to refuse food for a couple of days after laying the eggs? I have tried to feed her for the last two days and she doesn't want anything to do with it, and has become quite docile actually. I put food right at her door and she just pushes it away. I haven't tried feeding her yet today, but hopefully she will eat.
 
She may accept some food, but usually they do not hunt away from the cavity and therefore do not eat for 4 weeks (3 weeks brooding eggs and 1 week with the larvae).

Roy
 
Well that's good to know so that I don't worry about her. I see her cruising around the tank still just not as often, and usually when I put her krill in the water she comes right up and takes it from the tongs, but she has no interest in it. I guess I will keep trying just in case she gets hungry.

Thanks,
Kirby
 
I'm pretty sure she ate the eggs yesterday as the sack was much smaller and she looked like she was eating it. I would assume that they were unfertile and she knew it and consumed them. I don't see the sack in her burrow anymore but she may have hid it in some other rock work. I will have to wait and see.
 
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