I received my mantis last Friday. He(she?) seems to be doing great, except he hasn't eaten yet. I threw two snails and one hermit in there, but so far they haven't been touched. I offered him a small piece of shrimp on a stick, and he picked at it for a second, and then gave up. I tried tossing it into his burrow a couple of times, but he just keeps throwing it back out. I read some posts where Dr. Roy said it can take a while, but is there anything else I can try and offer him? BTW, these things are the most amazing creatures, I'm wondering if my reef tank will ever be as interesting as this thing is?
New mantis not eating
- Thread starter PENNYWISE
- Start date
pisces77
New member
Take a trip to the lfs. Buy 4 or 5 ghost shrimp and a nutritional suppliment like cyclopese. Open the top of the bag and put in a tiny bit of cyclopese. Then when you get home, add the shrimp to the tank (they are FW so the don't live too long in SW. Sometimes the hunt is what they are looking for. Mantis shrimp can go weeks without eating (I believe) so it's not time to panic yet, just try different stuff. The reason I recommended ghost shrimp is that if the mantis just molted and its shell is not quite hardened, the shrimp will still be easy for it to eat.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
The time it takes an O.s to start eating after being placed in a new home is variable and depends on a host of factors. Worst case - it was collected with the use of cyanide and will never eat again. Best case - it eats within minutes Most animals will take a day or two, but it is not uncommon for a large O.s not to eat for a week to 10 days. THey can easily go a couple of weeks without eating, so there is no reason to panic. If a molt is involved, the animal will not eat for at least a week and the larger the O.s. the longer the interval. From my experinece, it is best not to push the food. Offer something every day or two and eventually it will eat.
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
The Lurker's Guide has the best gallery around.
Roy
Roy
My O.S. ate within 5 minutes of getting dropped into his/her new home.
Well, started bashing on a hermit, then a snail, then the hermit again, then the snail...it was pretty funny to watch the little monster go back and forth, like some kid at a buffet, unsure whether they want the spaghetti or the fried chicken.
He(she?) ate again this morning, frozen lobster&shrimp.
My G. Platy took a few days to eat once I got him home, though, so don't despair. as Dr. Roy stated, they can go days without food.
-Ron
Well, started bashing on a hermit, then a snail, then the hermit again, then the snail...it was pretty funny to watch the little monster go back and forth, like some kid at a buffet, unsure whether they want the spaghetti or the fried chicken.
He(she?) ate again this morning, frozen lobster&shrimp.
My G. Platy took a few days to eat once I got him home, though, so don't despair. as Dr. Roy stated, they can go days without food.
-Ron
Thanks guys, he's eating!!! I got some really small astreas and he grabbed one and spend the next half-hour whacking it. The lfs didn't have any ghost shrimp, but I picked up some silversides, so I'm going to try that too. I've been feeding my eel and anemone all the stuff that he's been rejecting, so they're both benefiting from this. Thanks again.
