I have a peacock mantis that is about 7"or 8" long, and have had him for about 5 months. I keep him in a 30 gallon tank and feed him goldfish and frozen shrimp every few days. Recently, he has been acting very strange. He will no longer eat the goldfish. Before, he would hunt them down and spear them with a few minutes, but now he is no longer interested in them. He finally ate today, after a week or more of not eating. I had to give him some frozen shrimp with chopsticks. He has not been as active lately, and is starting to get a small, brown spot on his back. I'm thinking he might have shell disease, but am also curious as to why he has not molted yet. I've read that they usually molt every few months, but I've had him for almost 6 months and he has not molted yet. Just curious at to what I should do. I'm going to go pick up some selcon soon and see if that helps, also just did a water change yesterday. If anyone else has any ideas as to what is happening or if not molting for that long please let me know.
Molting, disease or both?
- Thread starter mikey c
- Start date
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
The brown spot definitely sounds like shell disease, but if it is just starting, that would not explain the change in behavior. If this animal is actually seven inches, that places it at the absolute maximum size for this species. It is probably preparing to molt, but in an animal this old, the process takes weeks and - prepare yourself - is often unsuccessful.
Roy
Roy
