poorly peacock matis

[tracey1]

hiya guys i wondered if someone could give me some advice.
boris our peacock mantis molted about 2 weeks ago & hes been very quiet sinse then.
he will eat prawns & lance fish but spends most of his time hidden in his den & now he spends most of his time curled up.

i've just been looking at him again now & hes all curled up under the filter, am i right in thinking things are not looking good for him ??

also is there anything at all i could do for him.

i will be gutted if i lose him now

thanks in advance

[kookerson]

If he is eating, I would think that he is in good health, how are your params? Does your salinity swing alot? Maybe he is recovering from something that happened during the molt? I have read that they are really sensitive during their motling period.........just my 2 cents.

[kookerson]

Also, I see under your signature that you have a practically brand new nano.....is this the case?

[TrappedMetal]

hi trace
like i said on the other forum i dont think there is anything you can do apart from turn the lights off and hope.
unfortunatly i think he will be a gonna real soon.
best of luck.
James
edit: its not a new nano afaik

[tracey1]

thanks guys
kookerson that new nano was from when i joined here so thats not boris's tank.
i've had him for 5 months now & this is his second molt.
i've had marines now for about 10months now.
its just really weird how hes acting keeping my fingers crossed as he is still eating

[Guygettnby]

usualy when they curl up into a ball it is not a good sign, he may of had a bad molt...is he missing any limbs? 1 of my peacocks had a faild molt and lost some limbs but stayed alive acting really wierd for a few months before she finally died. best thing you can do is turn the lights off for awhile and leave the mantis alone.

but if he is still eating then maybe he will make it.

[tracey1]

no no missing limbs.
but was talking to trappedmetal last night & we are wondering if its something to do with his eyes.
hes not seeing me how he usually does if that makes sense, and the black line that normally runs down his eyes isn't there now.
hes still got both eyes thou.
so that would explain the way hes acting. if he can't see its gona freak him out
i'm got everything crossed that this is something that will be sorted when he next molts

[justinl]

yeah not a whole lot to do unfortunately. lights out, feed every other day, soaking all frozens in a supplement. try not to check up on it too much... the idea is to give it the most stress free environment possible.

The black you see in the eye is called a pseudopupil. you only see it when the facets in the eye line up (he's lookin at you). They are a sort of optical illusion and are not always visible.

when you say curled up, does he ever uncurl, or only curls when someone is near the tank?

[tracey1]

yeah he does uncurl, sometimes hes on his side or back then othertimes hes upright more like normal.

i took this pic the other day

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/trace1_/2008_0705houseles0001.jpg

and these i took this morning, althou he looks more normal on it, he seems twitchy & jumpy
from the front

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/trace1_/2008_0706houseles0002.jpg

from the side

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/trace1_/2008_0706houseles0003.jpg

from the top
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/trace1_/2008_0706houseles0004.jpg

they not brill pics cos of where he was sat

because it seems he can't see, we now gently tap the glass with the feeding tongues so we don't startle him & that seems to be working

[BlackwaterFL]

Man I am so sorry to see that. Looks to me like a serious issue. You said your water params are all in check? How are the nitrate lvls?

[Guygettnby]

agreed, it does not look too good. just keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best. what have you been feeding him? do you use any suplements?