mantis molted!!!

[jsronce]

Whoop! My big female O. scyllarus successfully molted! Yay! I was so worried that I'd do something wrong, but she seems just fine. I didn't realize she'd molted until just now when I found a raptorial appendage on the floor of the tank. She's been hiding in the back for a few days, but I checked her out and she's got all her limbs, so she didn't just drop one. I fished the shed limb out. Ick, what is the goo that's oozing out of it?!! Anyways, it's going to be kept safe in a jar so I can show it off next month when the aquarium society comes to look at my pretty girls.

It is a relief to find out what's been bugging her, though. A week ago she moved ALL of the sand out from the center of the tank to the edges. Smothered half the live rock under sand! Then, even though she cleared out a huge area, she hid in the back.

Now I just need to figure out why my other peacock is trying to smask her way out of her tank....

Jennifer

 

[ADHybrid]

PLEASE PLEASE help me get my mantis to molt. I know that it really depends on when its right for them but I figured it must be right for her. I have been feeding him a ton of food (which he promply chows down so its not like I OVER feed him) but he still wont molt. He must be feeling like a 250 lb. man in a size 24 pair of Jeans. I have been dosing with Iodine to help him molt easier too but still no molting. Any suggestions??

 

[ADHybrid]

LOL...sorry for the confusion about the sex of my Mantis on that post... It's pretty late here and I'm tired. My mantis I'm pretty sure is a MALE because I have had no eggs from him since I got him which must have been like a month or 2 ago. I didn't know if the sex made a difference when they molted or not.

 

[jsronce]

I wish I could help, but I have no clue how to make a mantis to molt! It sounds like you've been doing the right things, so as long as the water quality is fine and the mantis has a comfy place to hide, I don't see why he won't do it. *shrug* Maybe someone else has an idea that would help.

Jennifer

 

[Parker Coffin]

You know why the other mantis is trying to smack the other? The probly not the same sexand will fight to the death some time dieing both. I would not keep 2 in the same tank.

 

[jsronce]

If you read the original post, I said "Now I just need to figure out why my other peacock is trying to smask her way out of her tank...." All of my mantises are in their own tanks, and the two peacocks are even in separate rooms. The mantis I was talking about has been smacking the wall of her tank for no reason that I could figure out.

Jennifer

 

[Parker Coffin]

Ohhhhhh sorry. Maybe he/she see reflections hiding places. Sorry for the mis understanding.

 

[jsronce]

No problem.

Jennifer

 

[soyu22]

pounding

pounding

Hey,
Has the mantis been pounding the glass ever since you got him/her? Or has it just started recently? My O. scyllarus pounded on his tube for 3-4 days...it was pretty constant...Kept waking me up! Eventually he molted!

-sean

 

[jsronce]

Started a little over a week ago, right after she ate her eggs. She'd dug a tunnel under the liverock in one corner and was (still is) trying to smash her way through the undergravel filter plate. She'd randomly step out of the tunnel and smash the side of the tank. A day or so later I heard the same noise and looked over to see she'd smacked the side of the tank in the middle of the front. So, she's trying various spots. After she smacks the acrylic, she'll sit for a bit looking out, then duck back in the tunnels.

Heck, maybe she's telling me off in mantis-lingo.

Jennifer