so what do ya all feed your mantis???

[Jack04]

I was talkin to a friend the other day and he had a mantis and he fed it gold fish and other live animals, and i was wondering what every one feeds thier mantis,

i dont have one but might be interested in gettin one in a year or so but why not learn now?

i read once on this forum that one must feed thier mantis Salt water snails, hermits and so on,

correct me if i am wrong but isnt that A LOT OF $$$$
(1.15 or more for a hermit and $1-2 for a snail)

and would Salt water Mollies be okay, or ghost shrimp (i can get ghost shrimp for $0.15 a pop and my brittle star loves them!!

any and all info is welcome

thanks

 

[Isaari]

Diet varies depending on the type of mantis you have. Read through some of the older posts and you'll find a lot of discussion about what type of feeding owners suggest.

 

[dc]

I feed my guy just about anything. PE Mysis, shrimp pellets, ghost shrimp, Mollies, snails, and occasionally hermits.

 

[Ken2001]

Is a steady diet of SW snails OK for a Caribean smasher? Lots of periwinkles around here for the picking.

 

[biomekanic]

sounds like the best diet available, the same one it would eat in the wild.

 

[mx250]

As much as I like my mantids, I don't purposely feed them live food (sometimes they do kill and eat the "large" crabs I house them with). One is very picky about getting chunks of shrimp or crab, but doesn't like scallops. Another will eat just about any sea-meat. None of them like flakes or pellets, or any mix ground up with algea.

 

[Ken2001]

Just refining my earlier question. Can a Neogonodactylus wennerae, about three inches long, break hard snail shells? I've given him several periwinkles, and he's smacked hell out of them, but I haven't actually seen any broken. I'm just wondering if he's just playing with them, or if he's actually really hungry and just can't open them up. I've also given him several small mussles, but so far he's showing no interest in them. Also, frozen krill, nada - he just throws them out of his den. He certainly likes to play with all the shells and such though, so if nothing else, they're making useful toys.

Thanks, Ken

 

[Agu]

Check this thread for Dr Caldwell suggestion,

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=44422&highlight=diet

Agu

 

[Ken2001]

Agu,

Thanks for the link. I think that answers my questions.

BTW, the little guy is pretty cool. The tank sits here on my desk and he's been popping in and out of the rocks all day. He seems especially interested when I'm typing on the keyboard, so I guess that's one way to increase my productivity . Now, how am I going to find time to pay attention to my bigger tanks when I've got this little critter to watch?

Ken

 

[Ken2001]

BTW, yes, Neogonodactylus wennerae likes periwinkles. The hard shell does appear to be too much for it, so instead, he just flips them over and punches through the snail's door/foot. This means I've got a steady supply of live food, year round, now. So far the critter has eaten perwinckles, mussles, a hermit crab, and a glass shrimp - about one creature per day. Absolutely no interest in frozen krill, but then, why would he with all of this live food available.
Ken

 

[Forestal]

I hand feed mine pieces of brine shrimp, and he loves salmon as a treat. Its pretty cool hand feeding my crabs and mantid, don't worry I am careful. I will try to take a photo later.