Mantis babies? Help!!

[Guygettnby]

ok so i come home from work today and sit down on my computer, then i just happen to glance at my mantis tank when i see hundreds of little mantis shrimp swimming on the surface of my tank!!

at first i didnt think thats what it was but after hours of trying to search for info on the larve stage and trying to identify them. this tank has never had anything but the following in it since it has been set up.

2 mantis shrimp...wich are still doing great together after about 4-5 months

a few hermit crabs, some nassarus snails, turbo snails and some hitch hiking crabs i bought from my LFS.

but these little things look exactly like a mantis minus the color. they are almost transparent in a way and they all have what seem to be like 2 little clubs or spears and eyes that catch the light and shine. now i guess my question now is what do i do with them? has anybody been lucky enough to have there mantis hatch eggs in there tanks? half of them are now gone from either the filter, the anenomes or my mantis shrimp picking them off 1 by 1...... so how do i keep the others alive without affecting my tank life?

any help would be grateful (DR. Roy!)

my camera is not letting me take good enough pictures of them to post either.

[Guygettnby]

oh yea, and for some reason they always are swimming to the top of the tank. i also just feed them some Rotifers.

[DanInSD]

Your odds are not good -- They will be highly cannibalistic, and their feeding requirements while planktonic are not well-understood.

Good luck!
Dan

[siren]

I'd say just let them go. If you have 2 mantises that are doing well together, my guess is that there will be more. Or you can take them out and try to raise them the same way that peppermints are raised.

Good luck

[Guygettnby]

well, i dont know how to raise peppermints either so i guess they are all gonna die.....i just wish i knew what i was doing so i could keep them alive or at least a few of them. that would be very exciting if i could raise some mantis shrimp in captivity.

i will try different foods and try to do what i can. thanks for the replys

[Pea-brain]

Wait, are these the O. havenensis? Not only is feeding mantis babies nearly impossible, they are prone to infection and highly cannabalistic. If they are O. havenensis Odontodactylids can take up to 4 months to settle out of the planktonic. Nearly impossible w/o being prepared, but you can try again I suppose if you want.

Dan

[justinl]

Id agree with Dan... there really isnt much point in trying. it CAN be done in lab (or damn near) conditions and LOTS of dedication (that means quitting your job). it is very much unlike raising peps which are true shrimp.

i dont mean to be a downer... just trying to save you from wasting your time. if anything at least you know yo're doing something right to have a mantis hatch! :)

[G.SMITHII]

just get like a 10 gallon tank and divide into really amall sections with that reptile terrarium divider stuff (its like white plastic with lil holes in it)

try to feed baby brine, cyclopeese marine snow? you could try to keep a few alive i guess.

if your mommy and daddy mantids are frisky, at the very least you can learn from this experience for next time

[Guygettnby]

well, i just got home and there are only about 20 or so left in my tank. so i suppose trying to do anything now would be a waste of time.

[Guygettnby]

they are N. Wennerae


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10761448#post10761448 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pea-brain
Wait, are these the O. havenensis? Not only is feeding mantis babies nearly impossible, they are prone to infection and highly cannabalistic. If they are O. havenensis Odontodactylids can take up to 4 months to settle out of the planktonic. Nearly impossible w/o being prepared, but you can try again I suppose if you want.

Dan

[Jambi]

wheres roy when you need him?

I have a breeder net i would put baby guppies in when they were born, the holes should be small enough to keep your mantis's in and others out. Ide be happy to give it to you for free, i live near DC. if you raise some i can come pick one up from you :D

[Guygettnby]

i have managed to keep about 15 alive and kicking for the time being and i have been feeding them rotifers. hopefully this will keep them alive until i can figure out more about them and how to keep them alive.

if anybody else has any info that would help me in this i would be grateful.

[Pea-brain]

one of the biggest hurdles is getting themto eat. what type of containers are they being kept in? how are they separated? Anyways if you have gotten them eating you *might* have a chance. Keep them on nutritious foods and keep us updated :)

Dan

[Aqua_expert19]

post pictures if you can please! and good luck

[Guygettnby]

sorry, i could not take any pictures that were worth keeping. my camera doesnt like taking cloe up pictures thru the tank or water. they always come out blured or the flash reflects of the glass or water.

on another not i am down too only 3 left and i dont think they will make it. i am not experienced in this kinda thing and had no clue what i was doing. the three i have now are seperated into there own small tanks that i made outa plexy glass and are living off of rotifers and some meaty frozen food i picked up.

any other help i can get for the last remaining 3 or for the future if i get lucky enough would be helpfull and i would be very grateful for it.

[Pea-brain]

If you can get even one to survive you'd be doing something scientists had great trouble doing under lab conditions. If they are eating frozens (And you can confirm that they are) I'd be very interested. Just keep them fed and daily water changes about 4 hours after you feed them and hope for the best....

Dan

[Jambi]

so whats the news on the 3 remaining babies?

[Guygettnby]

well, i still have 2 and they are starting to get bigger. i am really hopping they survive beacuse for some reason both my other mantis died a few days ago..... i came home from work and checked on the tanks to find that both them were dead. i really dont understand what happened.

i will continue to try and keep the babies alive and maybe i will be lucky. i am going out this weekend to buy myself some more mantis. i also finally got a bigger tank so i am thinking about getting a peacock now. if they stay alive another week i think i will be able to get some decent photos.

[bump321]

Sorry to here you lost the mom & dad. Are the two babies still alive ?

[thor32766]

mantis are canibols for sure

[Guygettnby]

i have lost all the babies. i just dont think i was ready for something like this to happen. this was by far alot of work to even keep the 2 alive as long as i did. i think i could have kept more alive if i was more informed as to what i needed to do, but there is no info out there. hopefully i will get another chance at it in the future and i think i will be able to keep a few alive next time.....