Best non-live bait for small mantis of unknown species?

[Tired]

EDIT: caught him! Boy was I wrong about the color. He's roughly an inch long, and I think he's a smasher? Would love a species ID. I'll likely be looking to find him a home, if anyone is interested. I'm in Texas, or would consider shipping (after the holidays) if you'd cover at least some of the cost.
New question: what do I feed him? I don't have any suitable snails, though he's been eating something in this rock I've had for over a year, so he must not only need snails and other smashable live animals. I've fed the crab algae pellets, which he's likely gotten at, but I assume he wants meat.

I have a little side tank that contains about 10lbs Gulf live rock and one very large gorilla crab. I've been hearing clicking from in there and assumed it was a pistol shrimp, but I just got a look at what I assume is the source of the noise, and it is definitely not a pistol shrimp! Cute little mantis, about an inch long, looked like a dark green/black from the glimpse I got of it.
I want to catch it out before the crab finds and eats it. I have one of those little maze-style bristleworm traps- shall I give that a shot? If so, what bait should I use? I have some terrifically stinky dried krill I use as cat treats, some freeze-dried mysis, and maybe some frozen mysis somewhere. Most of the foods I give my fish are too small to really stay in the trap properly.

 

[dwest]

A while back, I had one in a piece of rock. I pulled the rock out and poured a bit of diet coke in his hole. He came right out.

 

[Tired]

I don't wanna hurt the guy. Also, update: I caught him! Lifted up the rocks just in case, and he was hiding underneath one. Photos to be appended to first post shortly, if I can.

 

[Tired]

Photos appended!

 

[StatelineReefer]

She's a beauty. Havanensis by the look, better picture of the meral spot color would aid in ID. If you hadn't caught her already, or for future generations, a small bit of clam or shrimp baits a trap for these nicely, as will fresh mackarel or haddock, anything fatty and strongly scented.

If you're not keeping her, let me know. I have a tank available that would be suitable for a second mantis, and I don't have a havanensis, and wouldn't mind one.

 

[Tired]

Ah, I knew I was gonna miss something. I tried for a few different angles, since I don't know what portions of the mantis are useful for ID, but between her size + speed and my phone camera it didn't work so well.

I'm not keeping her, as she's lovely but I have nowhere for her to live, so I'll DM you.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Gorgeous mantis! Glad you were able to catch it, if Stateline doesn’t end up grabbing it I’m very interested! Just up north in okc so shipping shouldn’t be too bad.

I feed mine frozen foods like mysis/lrs and tdo pellets. Will toss in live crabs/snails a couple times a month.

 

[OrchidMiss]

Hooray for Murderbugs!

 

[nuxx]

Must have been a great feeling lol

 

[Tired]

Gorgeous mantis! Glad you were able to catch it, if Stateline doesn’t end up grabbing it I’m very interested! Just up north in okc so shipping shouldn’t be too bad.

I feed mine frozen foods like mysis/lrs and tdo pellets. Will toss in live crabs/snails a couple times a month.

Ah, they will take pellets! Good to know. That must be what she's been eating in there.

Stateline's got first dibs, but if shipping's too pricy for them, I'll let you know. She's not going anywhere until at least January to let holiday shipping die down, and maybe not even until March, considering temperature concerns.

I've set her up in a nice large breeder box with some shell bit substrate to dig in and a couple rocks to hide under. I'm glad I was able to catch her too; that crab would eat her if it got the chance, I'm sure. Its carapace is as wide as she is long. It hasn't gotten her yet, but I didn't want to risk it.

Must have been a great feeling lol

Oh, she's made my week. I turned the light on and saw something weird crawling under a frag plug, and thought for a second that she was an utterly massive amphipod before she stuck her head out and I saw the eyes. Yelled "a mantis!" to no one in particular, and then immediately came here to find out how to catch her, before I realized I could probably just remove the rocks to get her out. There's not really any sand in there.
I'm just glad she wasn't hiding up inside a rock burrow, because I don't know if I could successfully use any sort of trap in here. The crab would probably upend it trying to get the food out, and reasonably so.

 

[StatelineReefer]

Keep in mind, that mantis will absolutely go through a gorilla crab. I would worry more about the crabby-buddy than her.

 

[Tired]

I'd be shocked. The crab is about 3" across, she's maybe 1" long. Both its claws, individually, massively outweigh her. I'm sure she'd be able to take it on at full size, but I can't imagine she could do much to it unless she got it in the eye, and I know it could kill her if it managed to grab on.

 

[Tired]

Check her out! Apologies for quality; my phone camera doesn't like either water or blue light.
She has three sections of silicone drinking straw she can hide in, as she's too small for PVC pipe, or she can go under that rock. Looks like she's trying to decide where she wants to hide.
Absolutely fascinating animal. Too bad I have nowhere for another setup, I'd love to keep her. If she was going to stay that size, I'd be real tempted to try and set her up in the larger breeder box I have, which is about 5" by 10" and seems like reasonable enough housing for one of those little 1" species. Since she's going to get too big for that, she can stay in this smaller box for a bit, then she gets shipped off to live in a nice big tank.

 

[StatelineReefer]

Aww, she is a sweetie for sure! If it's a havanensis max size is about 4 to 5 inches. A typical 15 gallon houses them nicely. I have a 29 gallon full of rock and sand/shell that will be perfect for her.

 

[Tired]

Anyone have any thoughts on some ways to entertain her? If she were larger, I'd try a plastic cat ball toy or little puzzle feeder, but I don't know that cat toys are good for animals smaller than the toy. Maybe I'll put a few Lego bricks in there once she's had a few days to settle, so she can come and investigate something strange.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Anyone have any thoughts on some ways to entertain her? If she were larger, I'd try a plastic cat ball toy or little puzzle feeder, but I don't know that cat toys are good for animals smaller than the toy. Maybe I'll put a few Lego bricks in there once she's had a few days to settle, so she can come and investigate something strange.

My lfs sells small hermits 12 for $10. I’ll toss in a dozen of those and a few snails twice a month for entertainment. Keeps it busy for about a week.

I’ve read that people put colored dice in the tank as well, I’ll have to give those a shot.

 

[Stomatopods17]

Its N. wennerae.

Won't get any larger than pinky length, great in a little desktop tank just avoid any cheaply made plastic or thin glass betta tanks (aim for fluvals instead.)

O. havanensis doesn't hitchhike, and the odds of one actually surviving to hitchhike is really bad, they cannot tolerate oxygen or ammonia fluctuations at all, to the point some have killed theirs by lightly stirring up the sandbed. N. wennerae is about as hardy and beginner friendly as you can get.

n_wennerae

Do note their coloration changes with molts based on their surroundings, so not all N. wennerae look the same. The primary things to look for is the white meral and pink clubs.

 

[Tired]

Ah, if O. havanensis can't tolerate nonsense, this definitely isn't one. For long and complicated reasons, this rock spent nearly a month sitting in a bin with nothing but some indirect sunlight and an airstone, and not even the airstone for a couple weeks.
(I didn't know there was a mantis shrimp on it at the time.)

@StatelineReefer you still want 'er? I don't have room for anything that needs a separate tank, period, so she's up for grabs regardless of species. No hard feelings if not, I'm sure someone's looking for N. wennerae.

 

[StatelineReefer]

Ah, if O. havanensis can't tolerate nonsense, this definitely isn't one. For long and complicated reasons, this rock spent nearly a month sitting in a bin with nothing but some indirect sunlight and an airstone, and not even the airstone for a couple weeks.
(I didn't know there was a mantis shrimp on it at the time.)

@StatelineReefer you still want 'er? I don't have room for anything that needs a separate tank, period, so she's up for grabs regardless of species. No hard feelings if not, I'm sure someone's looking for N. wennerae.

I have a N. Wennerae that's just a wee speck, but I'm never going to say no to another. I'll take her.

 

[Hadla]

I’ll take it if you don’t!