shy? or is something wrong.

T

twocoloreyes

New member
i got my small spearer on saturday but the store owner couldnt get him out of the rock he put in the tank, so he sold me the rock with him at wholesale, so i got a cheap rock and mantis! yay! anyways, since acclimating him to my tank i have only seen a glimpse of his eyes poking out of his hole once. i havent seen him since. i watch that hole all day and he dosnt show up. i even watched it at night with the lights turned off, but still no sign of him.

how long should i wait to see him before getting worried that something is not right?
 
I've read that people have dipped the rock in freshwater for a quick sec, that usually draws out the mantis. Or maybe throw in a small hermit or something to use as bait to draw the mantis out.

-Dan

BTW, I sent you a PM.
 
I don't know if I would fresh water dip the rock with the mantis because there are so many factors involved when doing so. The temperature needs to be as close as possible to the tank temp. Second, the ph needs to be the same as the tank and the water has to be primed or declorinated. But most of all it can cause more harm then good if it were me and you have a feeding stick or pair of tongs I would try putting a piece of food in front of the hole you saw him in some sort of meaty food item. Good luck.

MantisLover
 
After reading the forum for awhile you'll see many stories of how peoples mantis' at first were very shy but soon got more comfortable in their surroundings and started to come out more. Since this is a spearer however I wouldnt expect it to be as active as most smashers but still extremely interesting to keep. Please dont freshwater dip this poor guy, that should be reserved for getting a mantis out of a rock permanately, because you want to remove it from your system, not just so you can see him jump out of a rock (keep in mind the transit its been through lately, that equales more stress etc.), to me it is very irresponsible to even suggest this just because the mantis is new in a tank and not that visable does not mean you treat an animal becuase it is becoming familiar with it's new environment. Also, to tempt out a spearer you should be using some food on a stick (silverside fish etc.) not a hermit, smashers would be thrilled to attack a hermit, but for spearers a way to go would be some floating food over thier residance. Hope that helps and please ask plenty of questions of this forum, their are some very knowledgable folks in here.
Cheers, Brian
 
A spearer would prefer live fish not hermits, like crafty said, and that is the bait you should use. A couple small damsels should do the trick, as long as it won't make you feel guilty that is. ;)
 
thanks for all the great ideas, i recently brought home a small goldfish for him and used chopsticks to hold it in front of his hole, nothing happend, the goldfish quickly died so i kinda stuffed it partway into the opening of his cave, i watched it for about a minut or so and just when i was about to leave i saw it wiggle and it got pulled all the way in! i think thats proof that hes ok. but im still kinda worried that hes not coming out, i have acclimated to black mollies to salt so that i would have a livebearer to produce a constant food source for him, then i realized he might eat the parents instead, but since i put him in, he hasnt even noticed them.

is it a problem that i have to practically shove food down his thoat, so to speak?
 
ok, five days later and still no sign, whats up, molting? death? extreme shyness? are spearers particularly shy or something? i have two other mantises, a peacock and a small green smasher, there perfectly fine with having me watch them do there daily routine, i eaven hand feed the small one. whats the deal? i thought maybe the black mollies are badgering him so i removed them, but still no sign, at what point do i start to worry? a week? two weeks? a month?

is it a bad idea to break apart the rock hes in?
im not gonna resort to fresh water, but im really worried that something has happend to him, hes even stopped taking the food i put out for him in front of his cave.

someone please help, i know i ask a lot of questions, so im sorry. but im desperate to know how hes doing. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Patience.

Yes it is a bad idea to break the rock he is in. Check the water parameters.

Not knowing the environment it is in, you might want to try and cover three sides of the tank in newspaper to hide distractions. Not knowing the size of the tank, if it is big enough, I would put a mollie or two back in.

It is not unusual for a mantis to disappear a few days or a week at a time.

Good luck and btw: did I mention patience?
 
eaze down man....... your mantis is probably fine. also, i wouldent use goldfish anymore. i hear there toxic to any other species of fish or invert besides themselves. hes probably molting or something, or mabye moved to a new hole. it can take months for mantises to become active, and some never even do.


~Matt~
 
also, FW dips are used for removal, but also to weaken the mantis so you can catch it, and remove it. they are not for luring them out of the holes so you can see him. it will probably hurt him. technicallly it would be like yoiur neighbor taking out all the oxygen from your house so you would come outside.


~Matt~
 
FWIW I have had some experience with atlantic mantis Nasarius ? I received several with my LR from Tampa Bay. It is my observation that immature Mantis will stay in the rock and will rarely be seen.

As they mature and get larger they get bolder and start wandering around the tank. I also observed that some are red and some are green. I had one of each in my 10 gallon and they soon had babies (which didn't survive more than a day or two).

My little ones were almost never seen, but the adults were quickly wandering about the tank. This is fortunate as I have noticed the little ones do little damage, but the adults will start working on any shellfish you have. The babies are almost impossible to catch but the more adventurous adults are easier to catch in a bottle trap. But even the adults are cautious and quick to dart back into a hole.

Mine love raw shrimp. I purchase frozen uncooked shrimp from the grocery store and a little piece will almost always draw the shrimp to their door. They will even take food from my hand.

BTW I had a small glass heater in the mantis tank and after several weeks I heard a POP and the glass was broken on the heater and one of my Mantis was shocked and soon died, I am assuming the mantis broke the glass, so titanium heaters or heater guards are recommended.

My LFS had a Peacock Mantis and he seemed much bolder. A tap on the glass quickly brought him out of his hole and he spent a lot of time out in the open.
 
Hey man, Dont worry about it. it will come around eventually... trust me, its a new environment... you'd try to hide if somone shipped you of to columbia.... At least you HAVE a mantis shrimp... my rents dont want me to get one :(
 
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