Nine years ago I thought I killed him then there he is big as life how do I get of it

B

Boxfish

Member
Man I have a mantis in my tank I remember when I first started my tank I had a little on in this rock and I thought I killed it but i Guess not. I quess the pile of shells around the rock was a dead give away but I didnt even imagine it. I am always looking closely at nano stuff in my tank etc. and have never seen him. well last night im looking at this rock that Im triing to get some star polyps to grow on and right below it in a 3/4 in hole are these freaky translucent eyes and Im like what is that. Then I see these blue eldoes and antenaes or what ever they are and its a freakin mantis.
First of all how big is this guy I havent seen him out his eyes are about 2/8 of an inch that smoth shell behind his eyes is about3/4 inch long.
His joints on his claws are bright blue as far as I can see.
How do I get ride of this thing. will the soda water thing work pouring it in the holes?
Let me know.
Also when I went to look at him in the morning he'd completely camoflauged the while I could hardly tell there was supose to be a whole in the rock.
HELP!!

Any body have a pic of what this one looks like.
Anyone want it if I can catch it?
Help a guy out
 
some one on here would gladly take him! maybe pay for him and shipping. try cutting the top part of the soda bottle out, them put it upside down in the bottle(so it looks like a funnel. put a piece of raw shrimp in it and keep checking on it.
 
I would gladly take him if I could decipher what you are talking about! Is that the best that public education in Utah can generate?
 
use the trap method.... easiest way to catch em i think without destroying your tank catching him. if you want to ship, lemme know, got some great tips on shipping and will gladly take him off your hands for a small price
 
How long can a Mantis live? This guy is at least 9 years old! I would take him off your hands if my Mantis tank was ready.
 
Sorry guys about the sloppy post I was sick in bed typing on my laptop and did not preview it. It's amazing how we just judge people and slam them because they make a mistake. Well mister brooks I wont lower myself to your level and give you my first impression of you.
Anyway, some questions I have about this thing(mantis) does anyone have an idea how big he is? the shell behind his head is about 3/4s of an inch.
As far as being 9 years old I'm quessing. I did have a small mantis in this same rock when I started the tank(3/4 inch long)
I thought I killed it.
I have no idea on life span of these creatures or what size they get. I watched the video of Lord muncher or whatever that guy calls his cool mantis and mine is not that big.
I will try the bottle catching method and post my results. If I can catch it I will get some pics of it and ship it to anyone who wants it.
Thanks for you input.
 
From looking over the various species of mantis, the vast majority have a max size of 2-4 inches. So chances are that he's in that range.
 
ya, the soda thing should work, just have something for him ready to put him in when he comes shooting out! haha, and if you plan to ship him out let me know
 
I have been trying to catch a mantis for weeks now with the bottle trick.... I think it is because he recently snacked on one of my cardinals, and a diamondback goby, and a solar wrasse, and some scarlet hermits, and some astrea snails, and some cleaner shrimp, and some peppermint shrimp, and some left handed hermit crabs, and some blue legged hermit crabs, and a twin spot goby, oh and few chunks of purple firefish (he escaped and is healing nicely now). Seriously, if I catch him, I will be half-tempted to throw him in the blender and feed him back to the tank.

The only thing he hasn't munched on yet is the one thing I would like him to munch on..... a 3" wide 1 clawed (I got the other one trying to catch him) gorilla crab.

Meh... I am not tearing apart my tank to get rid of that bastard... but if he eats another fish... I might be tempted to relocate everything and bake the tank until I get a well done mantis.

Slavearm
 
Most hitchhiking mantis rarely go after fish. In fact, I've often kept fish in my mantis tank.

If you have a 3" crab, that is really what is likely doing the majority of the damage in your tank.
 
Well I think Im going to do the soda water trick Im lucky theis mantis is housed in a rock on top close to the surface. I'm changing out my lights in a few weeks so Ill have alot of room to move around. Thats when I'm going to make the attempt to get him out of the tank. Wish me luck. Do these things bite? I can just see myself up on a chair pulling out a 20lb rock and this thing crawling up my hand for a goodbye whack with the claws.
 
they dont bite nessicarily, but if provoked enough they will "thwack" you with their appendages. Most likely however though, it will try to run and hide, as it is not usual behavior to try fighting over flight.
 
Boxfish,

After 9 years he has obviously not done a lot of damage (killing your fish etc) as you would have noticed it otherwise.

Why don't you just keep him?
 
He has eaten just about every snail and crab and as far as I know maybe my small green chromis. I dont think Ill keep him because Ive had him 9 years and havent seen him only the remains of his wrath. If he was a major contibutor to the eco system of my tank maybe. So when and if I get him out Ill be posting for interested mantis lovers. You think he'll be big enough to grill up;-)
 
LOL, he might be big enough to grill up. You have fed him well for 9 years. Mantis cocktail shrimp.

When and if you get him out, I'm sure there are plenty takers on this forum.
 
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