Mantis Mania!

[urbanthreatz]

So, after much deliberation ( about 5 minutes worth in the middle of the fish store) we decided on getting yet another mantis. The guy at the store said it was a "rainbow mantis" and we bought it for about 30 bucks. We got it home and i looked on Dr. Roy's classification site, it's listed as a Cloridopsis dubia. I'm going to set him up in a small 10 gallon, but, could anyone offer me some more insight into taking care of this little critter? Thanks in advance!

 

[Tylt33]

That is an absolutely beautiful mantis.

 

[Alesia]

Awesome find! I've always thought C. dubia was one of the most gorgeous spearers out there... Keep us posted!

 

[Gonodactylus]

They do best at cool temperatures (19-23 C). Normally they burrow in muddy sand which is difficult to provide. Try a pvc burrow. Unfortunately, I have not had much luck keeping C. dubia more than a few months. Hope you have better luck. There do seem to be a lot of them on the market right now. I was recently offered 3 "squillids" that came in from Indonesia with a shipment of O. scyllarus. They turned out to be be C. dubia that had to come from the Gulf of Mexico.

Roy

 

[urbanthreatz]

Dr. Roy, i'm actually looking for a female Lysiosquillina maculata to pair up with my male, would you know any where i could possibly find one?

 

[Gonodactylus]

I saw some L maculata on the market last February and was surprised that they included large several females. Usually females are rare as hen's teeth. These animals were purchased at a fish market in Bali. If I remember correctly, they were brought into the country by Saltwater Connection (or something sounding like that).

Roy

 

[urbanthreatz]

Thanks so much!

 

[urbanthreatz]

Do you think using something like a mixture between a very fine substrate and some refugium mud with a PVC "U" buried in it would work? I'm not as concerned about the temperature, or feeding(it has taken nicely to silversides already), just worried more about keeping a nice habitat for it.

 

[MantisO_o]

wow that pretty!