Need Mantis Trap Suggestions

[Chiquitita]

While I should have 100% foreseen this, I got luckier than expected and have received at least one mantis from my KP Aquatics live rock. Exciting, minus the fact that I seem to have a serial snurderer (snail murderer) on my hands. Attempts to spot feed it have been made but clearly cerith snails are preferred. $.99 snails are an expensive shrimp dinner.


Any trapping suggestions? I'm familiar with bottle traps but I'm suspicious this is a relatively tiny N Wennerae who could easily escape one. I have yet to see it, but it certainly sounds just like my much more well behaved (and spoiled) N Wennerae Dr. Mantis Toboggan.

 

[Fish Fan]

If you have an N wennerae and can trap him, I'd pay for you to ship it to me

The bottle traps can work on these guys. I had one I kept intentionally, and mine would come out for food on tongs. I believe you may be able to put a net in the tank, then bait him out with some kind of food, and then quickly raise the net when he's over it.

Good luck!

 

[Chiquitita]

I very well may take you up on that. I have never shipped fish, but I've received enough fish shipments over the years that I should be able to do it safely. This one's a crafty booger though. I hear him clicking menacingly but no other signs, not even when I have dropped tempting clam chunks near where I suspect he lives. Well no other signs beyond the corpses....


I am fairly confident I have a pistol shrimp and a mantis actually. There is a louder popper in the tank that is suspiciously pistol-like in sound. But the snails have suspicious club-shaped shell chips so Igor (as I am calling him) is taking the fall for the snurders.

 

[Fish Fan]

I would give him some time, I think as it becomes more confident you'll see him come out more.

 

[Hadla]

Haha I was going to offer the same for the mantis, hope you have luck catching it!

 

[Chiquitita]

Haha I was going to offer the same for the mantis, hope you have luck catching it!

Well if I find multiple mantises, I'll keep you in mind.

It seems the mantis was framed in the end. I caught a massive leopard flatworm in the act of murder yesterday in the drawing room with a lead pipe. It has been.... dealt with. I choose to believe the exactly one article I read that suggests it's very unlikely to have more than one, maybe 2 in a tank.

 

[Hadla]

Just wondered why you don’t want to keep him :) the most harm he will do is eat hermits and small snails, they are fascinating things and quickly learn that human hands mean food!

 

[Chiquitita]

Just wondered why you don’t want to keep him :) the most harm he will do is eat hermits and small snails, they are fascinating things and quickly learn that human hands mean food!

Purely because I already have a pico mantis tank courtesy of a TBS mantis box. I didn't think I'd get lucky, and I don't think Dr. Mantis Toboggan wants to share his house with a friend.

I don't have a build thread for his house though. He and I disagree on aesthetics and he keeps moving my rocks.


Edit: that said, I'm not in a particular rush to evict any mantis now that it has been acquitted of serial snurder. I'm more concerned with ensuring it gets enough to eat without regularly making my CUC dinner. Well behaved mantises who accept frozen and don't harass future blennies are welcome to stay.

 

[Hadla]

Haha, yeah he will happily eat frozen! At least all the species I’ve ever had did! Can you post pics of your pico setup and mantis? Would love to see it!

I am definitely going to order premium rocks from tbs in a few months and hope for a hitchhiker mantis! Or other interesting creatures, I love watching live rock!

 

[BryanM]

While I should have 100% foreseen this, I got luckier than expected and have received at least one mantis from my KP Aquatics live rock. Exciting, minus the fact that I seem to have a serial snurderer (snail murderer) on my hands. Attempts to spot feed it have been made but clearly cerith snails are preferred. $.99 snails are an expensive shrimp dinner.


Any trapping suggestions? I'm familiar with bottle traps but I'm suspicious this is a relatively tiny N Wennerae who could easily escape one. I have yet to see it, but it certainly sounds just like my much more well behaved (and spoiled) N Wennerae Dr. Mantis Toboggan.

Bottle traps have worked for me on 3 out of 4 of my mantis hitchhikers.

i have one stubborn one left.

I had far more success when I poked a bunch of small holes in the bottle trap. put some mysis in it, and the holes let the smells out, and the mantis wants it.

I usually have to harvest 3-4 snails to put back in the tank.

 

[Hadla]

:0 can I get him from you when you catch him? Looks like you’re in the Bay Area? I’m in Sacramento :)

 

[Chiquitita]

Haha, yeah he will happily eat frozen! At least all the species I’ve ever had did! Can you post pics of your pico setup and mantis? Would love to see it!

I am definitely going to order premium rocks from tbs in a few months and hope for a hitchhiker mantis! Or other interesting creatures, I love watching live rock!

I truly only have terrible pictures of him/his tank. This is best I've gotten and he has knocked over rocks since my last FTS. He is definitely getting bolder but he is a shy, elusive creature. 90% of the time it's a box of clicking rocks.

He is in a Waterbox mini 6 with probably 9lbs of rock and a DIY magnetic mesh lid to keep the snails in. I have an old AC30 with an AC50 impeller and 3D printed surface skimmer for flow and to keep the tiny heater out of his reach. Truly most anything in the 5-6 gallon range that has decent floorspace works great for them. Light is a Fluval nano planted 2.0 since I wanted to keep him with macroalgae but most anything will work. They work equally fine in a FOWLR or with coral (I've heard) since they are a shallow water species. I wouldn't keep them with a nem of any size though.


If you do go the treasure chest route through TBS, I highly recommend either supplementing the rock with cycled rock/locally acquired live rock (what I did) or add a mantis to an 8lb rock box. The mantis kits don't really have enough for an obligate rock dweller and pre-cycled rock kept me from ammonia spikes.

 

[Hadla]

I’m not doing the treasure chest, I only get my mantises in person unless there’s someone willing to ship me one for that cost what I want to get is the “box of rox” of premium rock

 

[DylanE]

I got a one with my gulf live rock, I just spot feed him when I feed my eel. He’s started popping out of his rock as soon as feeding time starts. Cool little guys. I just use reefcleaners crew since there’s hundreds of tiny snails included. Well worth another interesting resident.