Met Crush my new peacock mantis

[saveafish]

We went yesterday and picked up my peacock mantis. He is beautiful and full of colors. He is about 5 - 6 inches long. Right now I have him in my husbands sump. He seems happy there for now. Last night he had his first meal, a decorator crab. My husband got him a few weeks ago and it keep eating him mushrooms so he donated him for Crush's first meal. So about 5 am we heard him pounding the crab and when we got in there he was in one corner and the crab was gone. I will post pictures later today!

I have a question about feeding him that I forgot to ask, How often do I feed him? Everyday with live food twice a week?

Saveafish's wife

[T-T-Trigger]

live food is unnecessary, I feed every other day - more or less.


congratulations!

[saveafish]

numnumnumnum yummy crab!

here are some pics as I promised and a couple of short videos


<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/?action=view&current=crush2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/crush2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/?action=view&current=crush3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/crush3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/?action=view&current=crush4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/crush4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[saveafish]

<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/?action=view&current=crush4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/crush4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/?action=view&current=crush5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/crush5.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/?action=view&current=crush-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/crush-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[saveafish]

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/?action=view&current=crush2-1.flv


http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm167/saveafish/?action=view&current=crush-2.flv


here are the video

[TrappedMetal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13212517#post13212517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by T-T-Trigger
live food is unnecessary, I feed every other day - more or less.


I disagree; livefoods provide mental stimulation and valuable physical exercise which reduces the likelihood of mantis losing or damaging their raptorial appendages.

I would say that feeding solely live is unnecessary.

[saveafish]

ok so feed everyother day and livefoods once a week should keep Crush happy.

He has taken my husband algae thats in the sump and decorated his home.

[T-T-Trigger]

FYI, I do feed live food, but physical exercise and mental stimulation? I doubt once a week live snail or crab will matter much. Their burrowing and home building activities alone do much more than that. Plus I usually make them work for their food to some degree or other...

[cobaltplasma]

I think there's merit in the thought of giving the mantis a bit of mental and physical flexing through live prey pursuits :) I mean the analysis of a target, the chase, the execution of a rapt strike all are things that for the most part won't arise while just moving about the aquarium and digging holes.

I watch my P.ciliata dig and move sand and it's mostly maxillipeds and scooting about the aquarium floor. I toss in a fish I caught that day and 'bam!' she's in full hunting mode, creeping about rocks to close in on her prey, and finally giving a lethal strike that she just doesn't exert over when I put in a dead shrimp.

I'm not sure to what extent she would need to do it to be very stimulating, but I do know that she's a very different beast when she pursues her prey rather than just has to pry it off of a stick. Well, just my 2¥ :)

[sharkdude]

'enrichment' is a common theme in 'new' apporaches to captive animal keeping in zoos and aquariums.
As intelligent as matis seem to be, I would think their psyche would certainly benefit from enrichment via live food, or even stuffing a shell with dead/frozen food.

now if I can only complete the mantis training to get her to slam dunk the empty hermit shell through the basketball hoop I've setup... LOL!

[T-T-Trigger]

I am in agreement with you guys - i buy natural food (at great expense sometimes) for ALL my fishes - not just mantis (titans love lonspine urchin btw, spend hours trying to get that meal).

I was simply trying to suggest that "Everyday with live food twice a week" was unnecessary and that their smashers won't fall off if they dont get to hit a crab!!!!!!!!!!!!

[J2FcM]

I cut out color pictures of mantis shrimps and Motoko can get a pretty good rap workout smacking the glass in front of the cut out. The 8 inch Peacock Mantis cutout really gets her angry!

[saveafish]

thanks so much