my smithii has eggs! need info!

[neb123]

so i came home from work today and noticed my female smithii clutching this odd green blob in her arms and upon closer inspection realized its a pretty large neon green ball of eggs! Ive been doing some research and cant really find what im looking for so i thought id leave a message here and see if anyone (Dr. Roy? eh? eh? :D ) could give me some info.

So when a mantis is ready to copulate, are the eggs fertalized internally or does she make this little glob first and then have the male fertilize them?

If internal, how long does she typically wait before making this little clutch? (Ive had her about 2 weeks now? shes been pretty shy for the most part but i just thought she was just taking her time getting used to the tank, maybe she was just preparing for today?)
Once she has the eggs how long does it take before they hatch?

I guess this is more of a general question but can mantises reproduce asexually? I know there are a bunch of fish species that reproduce asexually but my invert knowledge isnt that sharp, so is it possible that my little smithii has a small army of clones growing in her arms?

Whats the best way to raise the fry?

umm i guess thats all i can think of atm, ill just add more later if i think of any :D

also tank params if interested: 10gal, temp is 77-78, 0 amonia, 0 nitrites, low nitrates

unfortunately i dont have a digi cam so i cant show you guys pics :(

[sunce_22]

Thats so exciting! Too bad you can't get pic's though.

From what I have heard it is basically impossible to raise the fry. They usually end up floating in the water and either die from being pushed around from powerheads or from lack of available food?

Regardless that is really exciting! Congrats!

[neb123]

aww thats a bit dissapointing, i would love to attempt to raise them if its at all possible, ive bred multiple species of fish so inverts would be a fun adventure =D

[Gonodactylus]

Not a lot of time tonight, so I will answer as quickly as possible.

Fertilization is internal.

Sperm can be stored for at least 4 months, but not across a molt.

The eggs take three weeks to hatch and another week as larvae with the mother. During the early larval period they live off of yolk. At the third stadial molt, they have exhausted their yolk reserves and will become photopositive and swim up into the water column at first light. They will not have proper nutrition and will starve to death in three days.

It is not impossible to rear the larvae. I have done it for N. wennerae and G. chiragra. The larvae have to be isolated when they become free swimming because they are cannibalistic. Diet consists of small zooplankton such as rotifers and copepods (not brine). Water has to be changed at least once a day and new food supplied. They will mate four more times, grow to about 7 mm, and settle after about a month.

Good luck.

Roy

[neb123]

great thanks very much for the info! So ive bred bettas before...and the rearing was similar as the fry are cannibalistic and have to be separated very soon after they become freeswimming, SO i put them in quart sized glass jars and then fandangled this system to make sure the water temp stayed constant, so im assuming the same idea could be used for the mantis,...THUS
if conditions are right can i keep a single fry to a quart jar, is this enough space once they get to 7mm and settle down and how long can i keep them there for?
ugh so many jars....maybe i can sneak some into our lab at work :rollface:

[Gonodactylus]

I used 250 ml plastic cups with no aeration. You have to be pretty brutal about it. The early larvae once free swimming are transparent, so you can see if they eat. Don't waste your time on guys who don't eat right away. Concentrate on those that do.. Last time I started with a 100 cups and ended up with a handful. I vowed I would never do it again. I was putting in an hour a day feeding and changing water.

ROy

[neb123]

ahhh plastic cups...genius

alright this sounds like a huge pain in the *** and very little pay out for such hard work but....
i have nothing else to do?

incoming 200 plastic cups....

[micstarz]

neb123, good luck, man! Since you breed bettas, you should have the freshwater copepods that Dr. Roy suggested as food items...

Dr. Roy, how do you keep your stomatopods? Do all the tanks share a central plumbing system or is each one separate? (Not including the cups)

[Thurge]

If your going to do it, do it with a LOT of pictures. :D Every couple of months someone asks the same question, so this would make an excelent sticky thread if you go through with it.
Plus it would be totally cool to be able to say you have done it, and have a captive raised mantis.

I would take two fry if you do raise them.

[sunce_22]

If I lived in the US I would totally take one too! That would be quite an accomplishment! I hope this works out!

Definitely post pics if you can!

[neb123]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14644277#post14644277 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Thurge
If your going to do it, do it with a LOT of pictures. :D Every couple of months someone asks the same question, so this would make an excelent sticky thread if you go through with it.
Plus it would be totally cool to be able to say you have done it, and have a captive raised mantis.

I would take two fry if you do raise them.

hmmm yea youre right that would probably be a good idea eh?
ill have to steal my gfs camera and figure something out...

Dr Roy if you happen to read this, how often should i be feeding the lovely lady at this stage?


on a random side note.....i USED to raise bettas..till my gf got fed up with 100 cups/jars/baby brine shrimp hatcherys all over the apartment :( Sooo haha i have been cracked by the whip to limit my obsession to a small (50gal) fish only tank and, after some convincing, my smithii tank. I dont know what category a hundred 250ml cups falls under.....
ahah shes gonna kill me when she finds my stash :lol:

[nikesb4l]

Awesome! im very interested in what happens keep posting im excited for you hope you can pull it off

[micstarz]

Dump that girl!
Girl that doesn't support your hobby<Girl that is an aquarist but wants you to scale down the collection<No girl

[Gonodactylus]

Brooding females often do not eat. Offer SMALL amounts of food only every few days. If she doesn't take it immediately, remove it..

[nikesb4l]

take some pictures!

[sunce_22]

I would love to see some pics too! I support the camera stealing! haha

[neb123]

ahah my gf brought her camera over but unfortunately my smithii has been hiding in her cave since thursday :( im still trying but it doesnt look like i can get a decent shot of her

[nikesb4l]

I was going to try to hatch eggs also since my marine bio teacher had one with eggs, she was going let me have it, but it feel through she was a orange n. wennerae. only like 2inches.

Anyluck? Still very intersted on the outcome

[neb123]

oh thats too bad!

shes still brooding atm, according to Dr Roy she has another week and a half or so before they hatch, but ill keep you guys updated as she progresses