seeing wild Mantis in their habitat

[Kara]

My boyfriend and I went on a collecting trip in the Keys (Florida) this weekend. We were collecting in depths of 1' - 3', in sandy areas that were rife with condy anemones, flower anemones, sponges, gorgonians, urchins, zoos and macroalgae. Just a few minutes after we entered the water, I saw my first Mantis Shrimp! It was green and pretty small (probably 2") but living in a tunnel under a large vase sponge. It came out to see what we were up to and would dart back into it's home if we moved to quickly. If I saw one pop into it's hole, I would take the butt of my knife and tap it on the rock and the mantis' would always come out. One mantis kept coming over to where my boyfriend was collecting zoanthids then would dart back into his burrow (over 1' away!) then run back out and stare at Chris.

I was amazed at the incredible amount of Mantis Shrimp we saw. Their color variations went from black to sand colored. I saw a thick bodied, black mantis that fled to a tunnel under 2 long-spined urchins. My boyfriend observed a dark blue mantis. I saw several dark red mantis and some green mantis that had 2 lateral lines of yellow dots on their backs. We both observed lots of juvenile mantis shrimp (1" or less). I had no idea we had so many shapes, sizes and color of stomatopods here in South Florida.

The opportunity to observe these amazing creatures in their native habitat was incredible (my favorite part of the trip! I could watch them all day!). The mantis' were never aggressive toward us (we kept our hands well away from the mantis and their homes). They seemed almost as interested in us as we were in them. We got to observe them tending their burrows, hunting, interacting with other mantis' and with other reef inhabitants. Next time, I promise to bring my camera!

 

[Meisen]

Thats awesome! I love getting down to the Keys to collect a few things and observe as well. There are huge populations of mantis and pistol shrimp right around mile 38 or so (@ parking lot by some restaurant), ocean side. I spent like 2-3 hours in 2' water just snorkeling around looking at them all!!! I am certain the locals thought I was a wacko. I counted at least 30 mantis and probably saw 100+ pistol shrimp holes. You could hear pistol "pops" every 2-3 seconds coming from every direction. This spot also has octopus, lots of damsels and gobies, emerald crabs and tons of other fish. Whereabouts were the ones you saw located? I can never find the good spots easily.....and I am always looking for new stuff to see!!!!

 

[RogueCorps]

Wow! that's awesome Kara and Meisen. I'd love to see that. What's legal to collect down there? Permits needed?

-Rogue

 

[Meisen]

Well, as far as I have read and gotten from off this site, you need only have a valid Florida Saltwater fishing permit. A few things are off-limits. I think basically longspine urchins (Diadema), live (or dead) rock, sea fans, hard corals and queen conchs are the major no-nos. All major conservation issues with those species so I am sure you dont want anyway. There are a few size mins/maxes for reef fish...if you ever manage to catch one!!! Stuff like blue leg hermits, snails of all types, emerald crabs, briarium, flower anemones, condys, brittle stars, etc are plentiful and probably dont make a major impact in the quantities individual collector's can take. You are limited to 20 individual invert organisms per day and 1 gallon of marine "plants" aka macroalgaes. There are some obvious areas that are off limits: anything in the sanctuaries, national or state parks. Most of the offshore dive/snorkel sites fit into this category but many shore areas seem to be ok. Get a detailed map, you can print from Florida's DEP/Keys website. I was never hassled by DEP even though I have collected in their proximity several times. Honestly, I would never willingly or knowingly break the rules even if I was sure I wouldnt get caught.

 

[...Stoked!]

where were you collecting at?? Mile marker...

I love the keys so much, its so nice to just snorkel around forever! WHen I went down I saw a ton of mantis' aswell, lots of them living in huge porites colonies. Gorgeous!

 

[Kara]

We put in at a bunch of different spots where there was parking at places along US-1. When tide is low you can just walk along the tide pools and grass flats and pick stuff up, without having to put your gear on.

The Gulf side and the Atlantic offer different kinds of ecosystems, so it depends on what you want to see or collect. If it is something you are interested in doing, I would suggest just going down to the keys and trying a few different spots. Don't expect to see much at first. Until your eyes adjust to what you are looking for, it will look like a fairly barren sandy or grassy area.

HERE are the collecting regulations of Florida. You need a Saltwater Fishing License. Be careful of what you collect because there are LOTS of hitchhikers like: spaghetti worms, bristleworms, fireworms, snails, crabs (of ALL kinds), flower anemones, corkscrew anemones, condy anemones, aptasia, brittle/serpent stars, chiton.... I can't list all the critters we removed from the stuff we collected. We did return all of the critters we didn't want to the area it came from, but just be aware your stuff WILL have hitchhikers!

 

[Dan87]

I got my LR for my 72g from TBS personally, and Let me tell you, There is LOTS od Flower anemones. Also, you said you saw a sandy colored Mantis with some black? That's the one I saw at the keys . Except I caught it and brought it back home and it died, I feel really sorry for that . Were you near Hawk's Cay Resort? It's on Duck Key, I think. Great place to go on vacation, we go every year about 2 times. I'm going this month soon, I hope. I'm going to catch some stuff to put in my tank. Btw, I didn't see Mantis Shrimp on the collecting regulations.