Mantis trapping Q&A

[noahm]

This topic gets brought up so often here that I wanted to dedicate a thread for experience in this department. Maybe Richard could have a sticky made of it with all of our input in one place.

Here is a trap I have had very good luck with also with gorilla crabs.
You make the one way entrance out of plastic from the smooth part of a soda bottle.

You may have to cut some of the fringe different lengths, but in general it needs to be just big enough where it seems like it takes little effort to get in, but small enough to not allow free passage out.

To get it the right diameter, just roll up the plastic and insert it in the tube and cut off the excess that overlaps

I usually take a pin and stab a piece of shrimp to the bottom through the side. The tube is 1" clear poly and the cap is from a tube of plumbers eboxy and has a hole drilled in it to allow through flow for scent.

Some other links

http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pest/catch.htm

Bottle trap:

http://www.coralcorral.com/id19.html



I have also had very good luck chasing them into a 1/2" clear poly tube with the end clamped shut. If they are in a hole with 2 exits, you can wedge the tube over one exit, then use airline and blow bubbles fiercely into the other exit and they will bolt into the 1/2" tube. Just quickly pinch the open end shut and take them out.

I do recommend feeding them off of a skewer to gain their trust and give them a taste for your bait. There tend to be a lot of barnacles etc on TBS rock that they seem content to feed on so it can be hard to get them interested in bait.

Finally, some are easy to catch and you will think you have the trick, and others are smart and wary as anything and will require constant reassurance to gain their trust for the next battle.

Good luck

Again, if we all pitch in here, maybe Richard will Sticky it and it will turn into a long term useful resource. *hint, hint*

 

[justinmcleod]

Thanks for the Q&A - my mantis is devouring my barnacles! My wife and I are enjoying watching the barnacles feed and have notice the white spots where the mantis breaks them off, soon there will be no more left! Tomorrow I am buying some fish from the store to bait my bottle trap, when (if) I catch him I will upload some pics. He looks about 2 inches long and he is red. Thanks again for the post - save the live rock!

 

[benny2554]

Looks like you have a pretty good gash in your finger - that isn't from a mantis, is it?

 

[noahm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14937347#post14937347 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by benny2554
Looks like you have a pretty good gash in your finger - that isn't from a mantis, is it?

Thats how you make 'filet of knuckle' with a utility knife. I use them all the time, so I should know better... was cutting the fitting off an air compressor hose...4 stitches healing pretty fast.

 

[tektite]

Has anyone ever used a "bait rock" of sorts? Like a small rock that you put pieces of food in to attract the mantis to go in and then remove the rock to get them out. How willing are they to change their home tunnel?

 

[noahm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14938684#post14938684 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tektite
Has anyone ever used a "bait rock" of sorts? Like a small rock that you put pieces of food in to attract the mantis to go in and then remove the rock to get them out. How willing are they to change their home tunnel?

I saw one where a guy bored out a rock so that it had two entrances. One on top and the other coming in from the back making an 'L'. He inserted a longish pipe into the back and put bait in from the top tied to a fish line. The top hole had a pvc cap with a hole for the fish line. I think the principle was that he could see it tug the line and knew that it had to be all the way in the long pipe so there was time to pull it all out. ???? I guess it worked. They will move to different tunnels pretty freely IME.

You could probably make a rock around a pvc 'L' tunnel with a few pieces of rock and some plumbers epoxy. Worth a try.

another problem with trapping them in a TBS tank is you will almost always get a serpent star in on the action as well. They must be tough because I have seen them get repeatedly whacked by the mantis when they get near the trap entrance he is interested in.

 

[noahm]

'The Claw' was mentioned in another thread. It can be picked up at any auto parts store as a 'dropped parts grabber' 'parts grabber' 'screw grabber' etc. anything that describes a long pronged tool used for picking up dropped parts in tight places. They will know what you are talking about. Get one with 3 or 4 prongs. It generally comes in short and long flexible types and can fit in a 1/2" hole easily.

This is a very handy tool in that it can be operated with one hand to pick up dropped frags small rocks etc and, in a less humane way, anything else including a holed up gorilla crab or mantis. It requires being able to corner the mantis and some proper timing, but is effecitive.

 

[tektite]

Has anyone ever used a "bait rock" of sorts? Like a small rock that you put pieces of food in to attract the mantis to go in and then remove the rock to get them out. How willing are they to change their home tunnel?

 

[noahm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14942676#post14942676 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tektite
Has anyone ever used a "bait rock" of sorts? Like a small rock that you put pieces of food in to attract the mantis to go in and then remove the rock to get them out. How willing are they to change their home tunnel?

I think that would probably work. They are pretty willing to change tunnels, but you would have to catch it in the act and wave something at the entrance, or cover it with a net to keep him intimidated and in there while you took it out. It would still take some time of him getting used to the rock. You might try leaving it near his hole for a few days unbaited just for him to explore.

 

[birdz]

this is some timely info, ive been trying to capture 3 of these guys for a few days

 

[prositter]

Noahm

I really like the tube fringe trap you posted about. I have heard good things about simialr traps and would like to try it. However, and I apologize I do not fully understand how to make one. If there is anyway you could go into a little more detail about the parts and set up I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[noahm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14956856#post14956856 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prositter
Noahm

I really like the tube fringe trap you posted about. I have heard good things about simialr traps and would like to try it. However, and I apologize I do not fully understand how to make one. If there is anyway you could go into a little more detail about the parts and set up I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Basically, you need to cut the belly (smooth) section out of a soda bottle so you wind up with a strip of plastic about 2 or 2 1/2" wide. It will want to curl up, so now you need to fit it to the tube.

Roll it up and stick it inside the end of the tube so you can see how much it overlaps. You will want to cut it to that length. IT should wind up about 3" long so that when you insert it into the tube, the ends just touch making a snug fit.

Now you need to make the fringe. I have found that 1/8" or less strips seem to work pretty well. Just use scissors and cut about 2/3 of the way across. You may have to slightly fold the fringe to get it to make a cone when it is rolled up, or it may do it on its own. You will notice that the ends are too bunched up at this point and nothing could get through.

Trim the fringe pieces to allow for easier access through the entrance. See the end-on picture. I usually start by cutting every other one about halfway. Then I usually have to cut the longer ones back a bit until the opening left after rolling it into the tube is about big enough for a pencil to go through w/o pushing the fringe. This will vary depending on the mantis you need to catch.

Now, cap the opposite end of the tube however you can. On some I have used PVC cap, but it is loose, so I put a rubber band on the tube first and pushed the cap over the rubber band to snug it up. Now, take a piece of bait (shrimp, squid, fish etc) and drop it into the tube far enough to get the mantis all the way in. Poking a pin through the side into the bait will hold it in place from floating around.

Insert the fringed cone and place near the entrance hole. The mantis may be wary and have to rebait the trap for several days, or it may go right in after a few minutes. I have had both happen. It is also great to throw in in the evening and pick out random gorilla crabs the next mornig. Of course you will also trap hermits, serpent stars etc, but they all seem to be fine together until morning.

Hope that wasn't too wordy. Good luck. If you didn't quite understand an aspect of it just ask me a specific question.

Noah

 

[birdz]

My problem is that the mantis shrimp WILL NOT go into the trap. Do you just lay the trap in and sit nearby so you can yank it as soon as the mantis goes in or do you lay the trap and come back a few hours later to find him stuck?

I'm getting annoyed by these guys and I'd really like to get them out

 

[noahm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14995920#post14995920 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by birdz
My problem is that the mantis shrimp WILL NOT go into the trap. Do you just lay the trap in and sit nearby so you can yank it as soon as the mantis goes in or do you lay the trap and come back a few hours later to find him stuck?

I'm getting annoyed by these guys and I'd really like to get them out

They are wiley and very cautious. Given time, they can get out of most any trap, but the tube is pretty tough to escape even if left in. Bottle traps require you to watch them and then swoop in to retrieve. It may take a week of leaving the trap in every evening before they will try it, or they may NEVER try it.

My strategy is to go on a trapping mission for about a week. Then if I fail, or catch a few gorilla crabs, I concede defeat for a while and go back to feeding the shrimp off of a skewer. I think I had 7 or 8 in my 125 and I am down to one large one 2 1/2" and one about 1 1/4" long. I haven't trapped in about a month, but soon...

I found that if I get frustrated, it is time to give up for a while and feed them instead. They are really pretty harmless for the most part.

 

[Yogre]

I agree that if you get tired of trying to trap them for a while, you need to keep them fed. I had a mantis this weekend swim into open water to attack a fish! I was amazed! I haven't been specifically feeding them recently, I figured there's plenty in a TBS tank for them to eat. May need to readjust my thinking, as ultimately I do want a tank well stocked with fish.

 

[Yogre]

Vacuuming up mantis

Vacuuming up mantis

I thought I should add this in a separate post in case Richard does decide this thread should be stickied...

I felt the mantis that I saw attack my fish needed to go, so I tried a trick I read about on another website. I had a spare Mag Drive 7 pump (submersible, 700 gph) laying around, so I put a 3" length of 5/8" tubing on the intake, and placed the end of the tubing over one of the 2 openings in the mantis' lair. After about 3 hours of letting the pump run, no joy, so at my wife's suggestion I moved the pump to the other opening in the rock. I could see the mantis struggling with the current through the clear tubing, and after about 20 minutes he was sucked into the tubing. I took the pump out and shook him into a bucket, he was clearly unharmed. I felt like whacking his butt after he attacked my fish, but he's now in my refugium waiting for his trip to the LFS.

Just another trick for y'alls arsenal.

 

[noahm]

I have heard that called the 'prairie dog' method after how they vacuum out prairie dogs in the midwest. Good to know it works. I have thought of trying that a few times, just haven't had a convenient hole to hit.

 

[noahm]

bump for the new guys.

 

[lionbacker54]

nice noah. i am not clear on the tube bit though. i thought we were making the tube out of the rolled up belly portion of the soda bottle. your instructions say to take this belly section, however, and fit it into a tube. can you clarify?

 

[noahm]

The tube is just a piece of 1" vinyl clear tubing like in the first pic of the thread with a cap on one end. I drillled a hole in the cap for scent to flow through. The plastic from the soda bottle is used to make the fringe that you can see in the first pic in this thread with my fingers on it. My hand is holding it spread open, but once it is rolled up and fit in the tube, it will make a cone of fringed plastic that is basically a one way entrance for the mantis. The soda bottle plastic is just convenient as it is already rolled somewhat. You just need about a 2" wide portion from the smooth part of a bottle. Just make it long enough so that it fits exactly in the end of the tube without overlapping. Cut little strips different lengths like in the picture part way through. This has to be tweaked so that the mantis can get in fairly easily, but not back out. You can see in the second picture what it looks like rolled up and stuck in the end of the tube.

Just be aware that it is a waiting game and it is best to feed them for a while to get them used to food/bait. If you fail for a week or so, just give up for a bit and try again in a month or so or you will go crazy. I have caught 8 of 10 in my tank, but really haven't done much trapping in months. 1 or 2 are pretty much harmless of this species. N. wennerae. Too many just makes a big dent in the barnacle and porcelain crab population.

Good luck. Hope that clears up some things.