Both of my Mantis' have done the same thing. Perfect the first few days, then they start to be wierd and shoot acrosd the tank and stuff. Could he be sensative to something that I don't know of yet? What kinda things are they sensative to? I don't want to lose this mantis... if I do I'm turning to thank into a Goby tank. PLEASE DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!!!!
Why Me?
- Thread starter Dan87
- Start date
DONT GIVE UP
DONT GIVE UP
The same thing happened to my first mantis. It started flippin all around the tank and was just actin wierd. I didnt know what to do so i left it alone.... it died. I got another one 2 weeks ago, put it in the same tank and it was fine for the first couple of days , but then it started doing the same thing. I had a couple of fish in the tank w/ it and they were fine. I immediately took the shrimp out and through it into a different tank, amazingly the "convultions" stopped after a few hours and it was fine. His previous tank didnt have any chemicals in it that I could see, but the proof was there. After doing some research i discovered that Manti are EXTREMELY sensitive to chemicals. Fumes in the air that settle in your water will kill your mantis. Try to keep your tank away from any chemical activity, also I am super sure that there are no chemicals on my hands if I ABSOUTLY have to put them in them in the water and I try to keep my room as chem- free as possible. If there arent any other inhabitants, I would recomend a complete chem-free scrub down of the tank... new gravel... the works. Its a pain in the but, but thats all the advise i have. Let me know how it goes.
:mixed:
DONT GIVE UP
The same thing happened to my first mantis. It started flippin all around the tank and was just actin wierd. I didnt know what to do so i left it alone.... it died. I got another one 2 weeks ago, put it in the same tank and it was fine for the first couple of days , but then it started doing the same thing. I had a couple of fish in the tank w/ it and they were fine. I immediately took the shrimp out and through it into a different tank, amazingly the "convultions" stopped after a few hours and it was fine. His previous tank didnt have any chemicals in it that I could see, but the proof was there. After doing some research i discovered that Manti are EXTREMELY sensitive to chemicals. Fumes in the air that settle in your water will kill your mantis. Try to keep your tank away from any chemical activity, also I am super sure that there are no chemicals on my hands if I ABSOUTLY have to put them in them in the water and I try to keep my room as chem- free as possible. If there arent any other inhabitants, I would recomend a complete chem-free scrub down of the tank... new gravel... the works. Its a pain in the but, but thats all the advise i have. Let me know how it goes.
:mixed:
RogueCorps
New member
Hey Dan,
If you do suspect you might have a contamination problem there really isn't time to wait and see. You should run some activated carbon in the tank as soon as possible. It wouldn't be bad to do this as a precaution anyways.
Best of luck with it.
-Rogue
If you do suspect you might have a contamination problem there really isn't time to wait and see. You should run some activated carbon in the tank as soon as possible. It wouldn't be bad to do this as a precaution anyways.
Best of luck with it.
-Rogue
RogueCorps
New member
Dan,
Any LFS should carry it. GAC or Granulated Activated Carbon should just be rinsed in RO water to remove dust before placing it in an area of flow. You can buy jars of loose carbon that needs to be placed in a net bag or something, or you might be able to buy it in a cloth or net bag. In any case it's a good precaution and many aquarists run it regularly.
How are your tank parameters? Is anything out of the ordinary?
-Rogue
Any LFS should carry it. GAC or Granulated Activated Carbon should just be rinsed in RO water to remove dust before placing it in an area of flow. You can buy jars of loose carbon that needs to be placed in a net bag or something, or you might be able to buy it in a cloth or net bag. In any case it's a good precaution and many aquarists run it regularly.
How are your tank parameters? Is anything out of the ordinary?
-Rogue
Right now I am setting up my 2g Hex for my mantis with some Live Argonite from my 72g and a few lbs of base rock. I'm making new salt and doing a water change on the 20g. He will stay in the 2g for a while and I'll see how things do.I can't go out and get stuff because I don't have my license yet and I just went to the LFS yesterday. My mom probably won't take me. 
RogueCorps
New member
Oh I hear ya dude... sucks with no wheels...
You know something that you might want to do... If you know that your large reeftank is stable you could put your mantis in there in a critter-keeper box (I call them "jail"). But anyways those plastic boxes are pretty common and are about $3-5.
When I purchased ours it was in a critter box, then I moved it to one in my reef as it's new tank was cycling.
Goodluck again...
-R
You know something that you might want to do... If you know that your large reeftank is stable you could put your mantis in there in a critter-keeper box (I call them "jail"). But anyways those plastic boxes are pretty common and are about $3-5.
When I purchased ours it was in a critter box, then I moved it to one in my reef as it's new tank was cycling.
Goodluck again...
-R
Sheesh! I've heard so many stories of people trying to kill mantis shrimp- but they can't! I've heard stories of mantis living in freshwater for 3 days!!! What's up Dan!? Either those Mantis don't like you or you're a terrible fish keeper!!! Haha Im just kidding- so will there be better luck next time? Or are you going for that Goby tank??
Haha Im just kidding- so will there be better luck next time? Or are you going for that Goby tank??
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
I have had trouble with stomatopods and organic solvents. In fact, several times I have had most of my animals killed. Here is a partial list.
Acetone poured down a drain. Fumes came out my drain. 300 animals dead.
WD0-40 used in large room that also contained about 200 stomatopods - all dead.
Custondian waxed my lab floor. 400 animals dead. I don't know if it was the wax or a stripping agent.
Air Force sprayed island (Enewetok) with insecticide. All animals dead.
Maid used Raid in hotel room where I was staying while transporting back to Berkeleya about 50 animals. All that had lids open died.
Student working with Formalin in lab. Aquaria withing about 20 feet toxic.
Windows of lab cleaned with Windex. Several animals dead.
Aquaria in same room with heavy smoker. Several animals dead.
I hope you see the problem. Stomatopods are tought. Some species that are intertidal can handle, heat, cold, low oxygen, extreme salinity, etc. However, they do not handle organic solvents, insecticides, etc very well. In fact, this is one reason that we have been using them as bioindicators of reef health for several years.
Roy
Acetone poured down a drain. Fumes came out my drain. 300 animals dead.
WD0-40 used in large room that also contained about 200 stomatopods - all dead.
Custondian waxed my lab floor. 400 animals dead. I don't know if it was the wax or a stripping agent.
Air Force sprayed island (Enewetok) with insecticide. All animals dead.
Maid used Raid in hotel room where I was staying while transporting back to Berkeleya about 50 animals. All that had lids open died.
Student working with Formalin in lab. Aquaria withing about 20 feet toxic.
Windows of lab cleaned with Windex. Several animals dead.
Aquaria in same room with heavy smoker. Several animals dead.
I hope you see the problem. Stomatopods are tought. Some species that are intertidal can handle, heat, cold, low oxygen, extreme salinity, etc. However, they do not handle organic solvents, insecticides, etc very well. In fact, this is one reason that we have been using them as bioindicators of reef health for several years.
Roy
WIth a marine aquarium I'd keep all cleaners away from anything that touches the tank. I clean my tank with RO water with a towel that is it. When you make your water use only distilled or RO water and don't use anything in or to clean that tank that is not specifically for use with the tank only. In your case since your tanks are fairly small I'd go to any supermarket and buy distilled water (mush less of a hassle compared with buying special containers and bring them to a LFS).
I'd start with doing a complete change out of the water in the tank prior to buying another Mantis. After doing this make sure that your tank has completely cycled by checking for Ammonia and Nitrite. Once they read 0 you are in good shape.
I'd start with doing a complete change out of the water in the tank prior to buying another Mantis. After doing this make sure that your tank has completely cycled by checking for Ammonia and Nitrite. Once they read 0 you are in good shape.
KorbinDallas
New member
Gonodactylus: That's really interesting, I've never heard of that before. Were these animals that died in these situations all stomatopods? Or were they various other reef animals?
I'm concerned because I had a tank that I could NOT keep any snails or crabs alive in. Now I'm wondering if it is because I spray painted the back of the tank (outside glass). I masked off the tank fairly well, but do you think spray paint residue could have sailed into the tank and eventually killed my inverts?
(BTW- I painted it before putting anything in the tank)
I'm concerned because I had a tank that I could NOT keep any snails or crabs alive in. Now I'm wondering if it is because I spray painted the back of the tank (outside glass). I masked off the tank fairly well, but do you think spray paint residue could have sailed into the tank and eventually killed my inverts?
(BTW- I painted it before putting anything in the tank)
Last edited:
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
I only keep octopus and stomatopods in my lab and both are quite sensitive to organic solvents. Also, many of our smaller animals are kept in contains of standing water that we change three times a week. Obviously, such conditions are vulnerable to airborn pollutants.
That said, I know from experience that many spray paints can be toxic to stomatopods and we don't use them anywhere near our aquarium rooms.
It is not just the solvents that you have to worry about, but also the pigments. Some paint colors use toxic metal pigments - copper, chromium, arsnic and other compounds that can be deadly to marine invertebrates. A few years ago we renovated our buidling and constructed on the roof 8, 10,000 gal ponds. I specified in the contract that the concrete ponds be coated with non-toxic epoxy coatings. Instead, the contractor applied a paint commonly used to for commercial floors. I tried several times to keep crayfish in these ponds and they always died after a few days to weeks. Eventually we analyzed the paint and found that it was not what was specified and was toxic to invertebrates.
Roy
That said, I know from experience that many spray paints can be toxic to stomatopods and we don't use them anywhere near our aquarium rooms.
It is not just the solvents that you have to worry about, but also the pigments. Some paint colors use toxic metal pigments - copper, chromium, arsnic and other compounds that can be deadly to marine invertebrates. A few years ago we renovated our buidling and constructed on the roof 8, 10,000 gal ponds. I specified in the contract that the concrete ponds be coated with non-toxic epoxy coatings. Instead, the contractor applied a paint commonly used to for commercial floors. I tried several times to keep crayfish in these ponds and they always died after a few days to weeks. Eventually we analyzed the paint and found that it was not what was specified and was toxic to invertebrates.
Roy
