Mantis on it's back! What do I do?
- Thread starter thesus13
- Start date
About one and halfish weeks ago s/he molted. I hadn't seen it all day yesterday, and not much on Sunday either. It certianlly could have molted over the past 2 days, would this be a bad molt? The mushrooms (all 4 of them, lol) seem okay, and the hermit and snails seem okay. I'm crossing my fingers that nothing else is wrong when I get home from work.
Ken2001
New member
Well, I'm still a relative newby with Mantises, having only kept them for about 7 or 8 months, so take what I say with a grain of salt. However, I recently lost a mantis that probably had a bad molt. It spent a lot of time on its back before dying, though for several weeks I had hopes that it would pull through. Anyway, here's the link to that thread, with what Dr. Roy and others had to say:
Something wrong w/ my mantis
Good luck,
Ken
Something wrong w/ my mantis
Good luck,
Ken
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
If you have a stomatopod that leaves it cavity or burrow and is on its back, the game is probably over. Following a successful molt, a stomatopod may lie on its side or back for at most a few hours (a bit longer for large individuals of large species), but if they have not righted themselves by the next day, something is wrong. While recovery is not impossible, it is rare.
The one thing you should not do when a stomatopod is acting abnormally is feed it. They can go for a couple of weeks without food and trying to feed them is like putting a bowl of chili under your nose when you have the flu.
Roy
The one thing you should not do when a stomatopod is acting abnormally is feed it. They can go for a couple of weeks without food and trying to feed them is like putting a bowl of chili under your nose when you have the flu.
Roy
Thanks for the info about feeding, it was one of the things I was considering.
I'm really curious as to what might cause a stomatopod that was tentatively IDed as most likely being N. Wennerae to go from picking at my mushrooms to 2 days later laying out on the gravel under my 10Watt catching some rays. Assuming this is a small Wennerae (11-12mm), isn't this species supposed to be able to handle an incredible range of water conditions/quality?
Thanks again!
I'm really curious as to what might cause a stomatopod that was tentatively IDed as most likely being N. Wennerae to go from picking at my mushrooms to 2 days later laying out on the gravel under my 10Watt catching some rays. Assuming this is a small Wennerae (11-12mm), isn't this species supposed to be able to handle an incredible range of water conditions/quality?
Thanks again!
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
N. wennerae are tough when it comes to tolerating changes in salinity and temperature, but juveniles seem less able to deal with these extremes than are adults. Also, stomatopods all have more trouble dealing with changes or extremes in these parameters when they are molting.
Stomatopods are less able to deal with poor water quality if we are talking about water chemistry or pollutants. Nitrates can cause molt problems, low calcium seems to lead to cuticle disease and heavy metals are definitely bad. Worse are organic solvents. I've lost animals from small amounts of floor stripper and/or wax, "Windex", insecticide, acetone, cigarette smoke, etc. that were in the air. I have a colleague who just lost over a dozen Odontodactylus latirostris (dozens of deep dives in high currents to collect them) in a few days. We are pretty sure it was something in the ventillation system of the aquarium room, but short of a full chemical analysis of the water, we will probably never know what did them in.
Roy
Stomatopods are less able to deal with poor water quality if we are talking about water chemistry or pollutants. Nitrates can cause molt problems, low calcium seems to lead to cuticle disease and heavy metals are definitely bad. Worse are organic solvents. I've lost animals from small amounts of floor stripper and/or wax, "Windex", insecticide, acetone, cigarette smoke, etc. that were in the air. I have a colleague who just lost over a dozen Odontodactylus latirostris (dozens of deep dives in high currents to collect them) in a few days. We are pretty sure it was something in the ventillation system of the aquarium room, but short of a full chemical analysis of the water, we will probably never know what did them in.
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
For some reason the muscles of the raptorial appendage are particularly sensitive to low oxygen, chemicals, temperature, etc. We don't understand the physiology, but when an animal is stressed, the propodus (next to last segment) will spring open and the animal cannot close it. When this happens, the animal is in serious trouble. Even if it recovers, the raptorial appendage will probably never work again. At this point, the animal twists it off and starts the regeneration process. Animals that die during the molt usually do not exhibit this problem. I would say that if the rapts are "sprung", you could have a water quality issue and you might want to change it or at least try some more skimming and charcol. If the rapts are in their normal closed position, I don't know what to suggest. Sorry.
Roy
Roy
It looked as though the appendages were in fact sprung out. Hopefully the water 1gallon change I did earlier is enough to keep it alive, or at least stave it off until I get home and can do another change..
I've already done a 1gallon water change today on the 5g tank. Should I do another change if the mantis is still alive when I get home, or is that a bad idea for the rest of the system?
I've already done a 1gallon water change today on the 5g tank. Should I do another change if the mantis is still alive when I get home, or is that a bad idea for the rest of the system?
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
I've never found that major water changes were bad for the system as long as it is done without stirring things up. As long as salinity, pH and temperature are the same, a major change should not cause problems for the stomatopod.
Roy
Roy
This just in: Tony (A brownish crab with a frilly thing between its eyes) has just been sited inhabiting Bojangles' old lair! We suspect that Tony planted poison in Bojangles' lair while he was out eating my mushrooms.
For real though, I think my tank is having a mini-spike/cycle. Bojangles wasn't too happy about it, so he pooped out. As Dr. Roy points out, Mantis' are sensitive to negative changes in water quality. To tell you the truth, I think you could see it in Bojangles' eyes. They were shifty... too shifty. All that tough exterior, what, being the fastest striking creature and all... just a facade.
For real though, I think my tank is having a mini-spike/cycle. Bojangles wasn't too happy about it, so he pooped out. As Dr. Roy points out, Mantis' are sensitive to negative changes in water quality. To tell you the truth, I think you could see it in Bojangles' eyes. They were shifty... too shifty. All that tough exterior, what, being the fastest striking creature and all... just a facade.
Today I changed the whisper junior filter cartridge, and purchased some test kits.
Test Results:
PH = 8.0
Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 20
How does that look? It's 3 days after my mantis died, and I changed the filter before these results, so I'm not sure how that would have affected it.
Thanks
Test Results:
PH = 8.0
Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 20
How does that look? It's 3 days after my mantis died, and I changed the filter before these results, so I'm not sure how that would have affected it.
Thanks
rags111875
New member
thesus-
hey old friend, sorry to hear about your loss. i just received my 2nd shipment from TBS- i already got 1 mantis out, but he didnt make it either. he was pretty stunned when i poured club soda in its rock, i was able to pull him out with tweazers. he looked pretty dead, but i put him in a rubbermaid container with tank water. he began moving after about an hour, lying on its back for about 2 days.....we just checked him- no movement. shame too, he was a good 3 1/2". we spotted another one in the tank about 5 inches long, on a 25lb rock. we dont have the option of taking this rock out of the tank, but the hunt continues...
again, sorry about your loss, he was my favorite yet.
hey old friend, sorry to hear about your loss. i just received my 2nd shipment from TBS- i already got 1 mantis out, but he didnt make it either. he was pretty stunned when i poured club soda in its rock, i was able to pull him out with tweazers. he looked pretty dead, but i put him in a rubbermaid container with tank water. he began moving after about an hour, lying on its back for about 2 days.....we just checked him- no movement. shame too, he was a good 3 1/2". we spotted another one in the tank about 5 inches long, on a 25lb rock. we dont have the option of taking this rock out of the tank, but the hunt continues...
again, sorry about your loss, he was my favorite yet.
rags111875
New member
oh forgot to add- though i'm no genius, your water params mentioned look fine. 2 things though- what is your specific gravity and temp?
I almost lost my mantis a while back when I forgot to turn an airpump back on. He went 12hrs w/o any water movement. When I checked on him the next morning he was curled up in a corner, not moving at all. I turned the airpummp back on. Then monitor'd his condition over the next couple hours. After an hour he started moving again, and 2hrs after that he was up and about, fully recovered. No permanant damage, that I know of. Sorry about your loss, are you planning on getting another Mantis?
rags111875
New member
thesus, i know that i'm not supposed to mention it in this thread, but i did just catch that second mantis. he is about 3" long- looks just like the red one i had before. i'm gonna post it on the trading forum, but unless someone offers a frag for it, you've got first dibs.
