Mantis Confirmation

DonavonsReef

DonavonsReef

New member
I picked this big guy up today but It wasn't till I got him home that I noticed that it has one little appendage & the other seems to be broken off. At this point it seems almost docile like a puppy it stays out in the open & has not moved much at all. His reactions are good when I put something in the tank but even then he dosn't pay it much mind. This guy appears to be a Zebra Mantis (Lysiosquillina maculata) but I'm not 100% sure. Could it be that this guy is molting would that explain his behavior? The LFS owner said that 2 came in the other had a pink stripe & someone purchased her seeing how they live in monogamous pairs could he be depressed???? I know I would be :(

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Thanks the pictures don't do it justice he's almost 5 inches long & is striped like a bumble bee with bright yellow & black.
 
Hello,

i hope you can give the animal what it needs. This mantis is a Lysiosquillina maculata and he needs a sand bed at least 1.5 times as deep as the animal is long. Without this special sand bed it is nearly impossible to keep this species. Don't try it without!
 
I apprecate your concern for the sand........that I have, what I don't have is anyones input on the behavior. The pic was taken in a holding tank. I did my reserch & looked it up on Roys list before I purchased it so please no need to point out the obvious. Does anyone else have one of these?
 
It wasn't intentionally condescending...I just thought you were some pinhead that didn't know that a mantis needs sand. I was trying to cure you of your ignorance.
 
(LOL) thanks bro. I'm not some nub who buys something & just throws it in my tank. I know where you coming from though because I hate when I see post that say I.D. please & they have no idea before the purcase....I hate that & that is ignorate.
 
Not yet just got him yesterday. His big apendage is broke as you can see in the last pic. I know it will be fine when he molts but not sure if this will inpend his feeding.
 
I have this mantis and a few tips for you.
First he should dig a burrow in the sand. This can take a few weeks. It's no problem with the broken apendages. He regenerate it in a few molts and he can take the food with the maxilipeds. Try shrimps or shells. If the animal is not eating it is possible that he is molting soon.
 
Thanks for the info I'm going to try a few things fiddler crabs & small Sargent Majors to intice him. The ocean is only a few min. away so I have no problem providing him with live food. Any other info or experiance with this will be appreciated.
 
Hey won't eat fiddlers, but any fish would be welcome. Some folks have mentioned in the past that theirs (L. maculata) didn't show any interest in food whilst stuck out in the open. I know this is a bit late (Unless you have another tank that you can convert), but Dr. Roy has posted diagrams and instructions on building tall tanks for these where you can do a cut-away, so as to watch them in the burrow.
Try a cheap damsel for food. If it shows no interest, it could be ready to molt, as Timmy mentioned. The one that I have seen at a LFS molted out in the open with no serious problems, but you might want to cover the tank with a towel (Or something else suitable), so that the mantis at least has privacy, thus minimizing stress.

Good luck.

-Uriel
 
Well I don't think privacy is going to be the problem anymore, I woke up this mourning & he dug out his burrow already. I will be adding a half dozen damsels today so unless he is molting (& I think he may be) He should be eating.
 
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