Mantis and its Blob?????????

0

05Xrunner

In Memoriam
Well this morning I look in my mantis tank. There is like this ball of Jelly lookin stuff in his cave. it was kinda flat. I was like umm ok and walk away. I just looked in tehr eagain and it was rolling it around in its mouth area. Does anyone know what this could be.
Sorry for teh REALLY crappy pic..its cave is back in there and the glass distorts the hell out of the image. and its dark.

its a big blob..probably the size of a half dollar..it keeps rolling it around in its mouth.
IMG_2457.jpg

IMG_2456.jpg

IMG_2455.jpg
 
how long have you had this mantis and has it molted yet? Sounds like your gonna be a daddy! If the mantis hasn't molted since you got it I would suggest picking some brine shrimp eggs, a hatching container, and some selcon! What kind of mantis is it?

Edit: if it is a egg case your gonna need alot of small containers to keep them in if you want to raise them. You have to feed them brine shrimp nauplii once every day, and they have to be soaked in selcon before added. then a few hours later do a 40% water change. they should leave the planktonic stage in a month if a gonodactylid. As soon as they start taking small frozen foods you could probly sell them for like 35$ a piece + shipping if you wanted. depending on species alot of people would be interested, myself included.
 
Last edited:
I have had them mantis for close to a month. its never molted before.
MAN what is up with this tank..This is the 2nd resident that had eggs. My octopus that lived in there before layed eggs..Now my mantis shrimp.
its a P. Ciliata
 
well that is good news..Cause its like the same time frame. I had the octo for 2weeks and it layed eggs. I had this mantis for like 3weeks or so and its layed an egg..Weird
 
good on ye! if you really want ot try raising these guys, prepare to lose some hair. they are NOT a walk in the park.

When the fry hatch from the eggs, they'll sit on the bottom for a while. After that they'll go up into the water column. At this point all your filters/intakes must be turned off. You then remove the larval mantids.

here's where it gets stupid: the larvae are cannibalistic. you need a small container for each larva. From there Id imagine it's kind of like raising fish larvae... except each baby is in a separate container.
 
And the larva are photo-positive. They are attracted to light. If you wanted to make an ellaborate setup where all containers are hooked up you might be able to use it to your advantage...... I was actually goin to try raising some myself this summer. I was hoping to get a G. smithii or R. komaii pair, but P. ciliata was my fall back incase I coudn't get a hold of it. I have a male P. ciliata, and have found a retailer with a female.... oh well. BTW if you do raise them you will be the first person in recorded history to raise P. ciliata in captivity! You lucky *******! We better see a detailed journal :D
 
I will do my best...I have never tried to raise any babies before.
What if I get one of those Cube things that you can put in the tank..its like 6 or 7 split up and used to raise fish. Could I use that in tank to raise the babies. I guess I would have to buy a few of them..Dont know how many babies are in the egg sac.
like if I got a few of these things
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/204191/product.web
 
You can expect quite a few. You wouldn't be able to get them all. I think it would probly be over a thousand. I couldn't immagine trying to raise more than 100. One concern with that fish breeder is that the babies could get out through the slots. They are literally planktonic. They can only eat newly hatched brine shrimp, and they won't accept non-living substitutes. Another concern is that the brine shrimp will go through the cracks also. If I'm looking at it right, the holes are on the bottom, so you might be able to use that photopositivity. You could also plug the holes up when feeding. However, because of those problems I would get a big box of canning jars, and maybe a few of those breeders. Put them all in the canning jars and a few in the breeder. if the breeder works you can get some more an use it exclusively.
 
You have to feed them every day and change the water every day 3-4 hours later. That is the biggest problem. I think that fish breeder might work, but It would be best if you either found out what micron size the net is vs. the micron size of the newborns (do a search for larvae on the mantis shrimp forum, or maybe Dr. Roy could provide us with that info) or get the jars and try an individual in the breeder, and if it woks buy more breeders. Also you might want some experience raising brine shrimp. You have 3-4 approx. 3-4 weeks before the babies will show, if I remember right.
 
well..how long does it take before the eggs hatch..my LFS sells those tubes of brine eggs. I can grab those up but dont they hatch in like 3-4days
 
brine shrimp eggs hatch in 24-36 hours. go to the fish breeding forum and look at a thread about copepods, artemia and rotifiers. It will contain a link to raising artemia, or brine shrimp, and how to make a hatching container. It takes 3-4 weeks before the mantises hatch, then they stay in the burrow for 3 molts (about a week) then they become photopositive, leave the burrow and go into the planktonic state. They will die in 2-3 days if not fed. I got this from Dr. roy when I made a thread about breeding them not too long ago.
 
ok well atleast that gives me some time to get ready....I am pretty sure she layed it just lastnight. I dont remember seeing it yesterday afternoon
 
Would a line of plastic cups work? I would just ring the inside of your display tank with clear plastic cups. That way it would be very easy to change water. just take out water and replace it with water from the display. You would just have to keep a close eye on the display's params because the lil cups would be essentially the same.

it would be cheap, easy, and I don't know why it wouldn't be effective.

did that even make sense? lol
 
According to Dr. Roy if you feed and do a water change every day all they need is 3-5 oz. So I would immgaine that would work if the cups are big enough. Thats a good idea. It would also keep the temp in the cups up.
 
Let me give you some discouraging advice. Save yourself the frustration of trying to rear gonodactyloid larvae. To my knowledge, it has only been done four times. The last time I tried, I established 100 larvae and got two through to settle as post larvae. That was after probably 50 hours of work and a fair amount of expense.

That said, the eggs will hatch 3 weeks after they were laid and they will stay with the mother for another week. The first day or two after the third stadial molt, they will be photopositive. This is the critical period. Usually they will not feed. You will have to come up with a suitable live food such as rotifers, copepods, etc. This is expensive and frustrating. If you can get them to feed, they will molt about once a week and settle as postlarvae at 4 weeks. At this point they will take food such as amphipods, but will still grow slowly. With luck, they will be 25 mm after a year. It is easier and a whole lot cheaper to buy one for $10.

Roy
 
Doc, where do I get one for $10 ??? They're a tad more expensive and harder to find here in Chicago. LOL I'm hoping to set one up soon.

Hope those eggs work out for 05Xrunner.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Kremis
Red sea 425 part out
Replies
0
Views
470
Kremis
Kremis
Mr. Brooks
FS: 389 Gallon Eurobraced Lee Mar Starphire Glass Tank and Stand
Replies
9
Views
1K
Mr. Brooks
Mr. Brooks
P
Overflow water level keeps rising and falling
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
wvned
wvned
Paul B
IMO How to set up a tank to stay healthy and immune
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
zappa
Z
D
Algae issue - and I feel like I've tried everything
2
Replies
21
Views
3K
JCOLE
JCOLE
Back
Top