mantis hasn't molted

[ATLDrtybird7]

I have had my Gondactylus smithii (roughly 2 inches long) for close to two months now, and he has yet to molt. I am keeping him in a Marineland Eclipse system 6 with a nice liverock cave and a good amount of live sand. I am also growing some seagrasses in the tank to make it look natural and he seems to be doing well so far. He has killed and eaten countless numbers of turbo snails, eaten a few feeder fish, mamed my brittle star and is currently working on a rather large piece of fresh shrimp. There is also supposed to be a pinfish in there, but he seems to have disappeared overnight.
I have been reading other member posts and the general consensius is that they molt, on average, every month or so. I realize that there may be a lot of variables that play into that but I don't know if maybe I am not doing something correctly or if he is just taking his sweet time.
pH is 8.1, alkaliinity is 1.7, calcium is very low because it is not a reef tank. The salinity is at 1.021ppt. My question is: should I be adding anything to the water ie: magnesium, calcium, etc? I know they react poorly to sudden changes in water chemistry so I didnt want to do anything before asking someone who would know better than I, and he seems to be doing fine minus the molting part, what is everyone's opinion?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[crafty_50mitchell]

Iodine

Iodine

Just a quick reply here but Iodine will help with the molting process and make your mantis look more vibrant in his coloration, Ill leave the details of this to the next reply.
Cheers, Brian
p.s. Im not too sure about molting once a month, that seems to be far off the mark, but if you've done your research.....

 

[ATLDrtybird7]

it is entirely possible that I am wrong in assuming it is one month, but I will be sure to look for additves containing iodine.

 

[mantisshrimp]

They don't molt ever month when they are that big,my 4 inch mantis molted twice a year.

 

[Gonodactylus]

The molt interval for most adult gonodactylids is more like 4 months. This will vary with many variables including diet, reproduction, wounding,quality of cavity, etc. The only gonodactylids that molt once a month are juveniles the first two or three months after settlement.

Roy

 

[RogueCorps]

it is entirely possible that I am wrong in assuming it is one month, but I will be sure to look for additves containing iodine.

Hey Atld,

Rob Toonen mentioned that Iodine is actually a toxin to crustaceans and that they store it away from their bodies in their exoskeleton. Increased molting is actually an attempt to rid themselves of it.

-Rogue

 

[DensityMan]

Re: Iodine

Re: Iodine

Just a quick reply here but Iodine will help with the molting process and make your mantis look more vibrant in his coloration, Ill leave the details of this to the next reply.
Cheers, Brian

Becareful with Iodine. While it is sold as a supplement and it is found in natural SW, it is found in VERY low concentrations. Iodine is a poison, first and foremost, and can trigger molting prematurely. Triggering a molt prematurely can cause defects or death.

Haven't performed any of the scientific research myself, just did the reading.

As for the not molting yet: Tim's moltings have slowed considerably (even while his appetite has increased). He's just over 2" now and is going through a molt this week for the first time since late January.

 

[ATLDrtybird7]

thanks all, that helps a lot.

 

[ATLDrtybird7]

I thought that i would follow up by letting you all know that my shrimp molted today. I pulled it out before he could eat it. It is kinda cool to look at the dactyls close up and see how they work. How long should the hardening of his exoskelleton take? I know that he has to take it easy for a while so his dactyl's do not fall off, is there any precaution I can take ot prevent that or any addatives (calcium, etc) that would help it harden stronger faster? Thanks all, Mike

 

[brekurboy1]

did you put the molt back into the tank? The mantis will eat it to put the calcium back in its system. That will help it make its exoskeleton hard again.

I'm not sure how long it'll take though.

 

[RogueCorps]

Dr. Roy has mentioned that removing it is a good idea if it's got signs of shell disease. Otherwise, in the future I'd leave it in the tank to be reconsumed.

I try to feed our O.S. lots of shelled foods for calcium like pieces of prawn with the shell on, small whole crayfish and freeze dried krill soaked in zoe.

-Rogue