Keeping Mantis with other inhabitants successfully

[avel]

I currently have a Gonodactylaceus graphurus in a 40-gallon tank that I have kept it from killing and eating the snails and other inhabitants. What I do is I feed it twice a day. I am on week four with no deaths yet, so hopefully this works.

[Mentat]

I currently have a Gonodactylaceus graphurus in a 40-gallon tank that I have kept it from killing and eating the snails and other inhabitants. What I do is I feed it twice a day. I am on week four with no deaths yet, so hopefully this works.
If what you are feeding is soft and Mantis does not exercise raptors, one of nature laws can go into effect: Use it or loose it :spin1:!

[Cymaster007]

I had a peacock mantis that found out its easier to wait for food than to hammer through the hermits shell... but he still tested them out, I had about 4-5 hermits with chipped/dented shells roaming about the tank. Although he never lost his raptors. I made him beat up the feeding claw a bit before I let him have the silverside.

[NH81]

Cymaster007 are they your slugs? if so they are very cool. what do they feed on?

[avel]

I don't mind if it does lose its raptors. I just remember reading somewhere to only feed them every other day or every three days. Well I have found out that feeding twice a day keeps the mantis from killing and eating other things. Yes he still beats up on anything that moves near his cave, but at night when it goes to sleep they have a chance to move off.

[Thurge]

At the risk of sounding overly snippy, you should worry about your mantis loosing its hammers. You could sort of equate it to a dog that is so fat, over fed, and out of shape that it is out of breath and exhausted from going potty.

[chefjamesscott]

shoot part of the fun of having a mantis is watching it beat the everliving life out of its food at least for me that is. I am trying to make sure mine has a recreation of natural environment

[Lewis Smart]

Mine has been living in a 30L tank for about 4 months with a medium sized hermit crab. The mantis never touches the crab, though whenever I give the crab a piece of frozen prawn the mantis tends to come out and steal it. The mantis is about 5cm long and of the smasher variety, not sure what species.
Recently I added a pink damsel to test whether the mantis would allow tank mates. The first day I added the fish the mantis got really agitated, I guess it hadn't seen any fish in a while and was used to being somewhat alone.. anyway, it attacked the damsel once, causing some damage to its tail area. Just a little bit of blood, the fish didn't seem particularly bothered.. it kept swimming around and eventually it healed up.
Two weeks later and the damsel is fine.. it likes to hide in cracks in the rocks and in tunnels where I've seen the mantis sneak around in the past.. I'm suprised it's still alive, but it is, and quite happy.

[Koshmar]

The only thing that hasn't been slaughtered by my guys has been a star fish. Everything else is eaten, unless you count corals as tank mates...

[avel]

I've actually tried to spear the mantis with bamboo skewers. I don't want it anymore. Already tried giving it away for free, than transferred it to the 40 gallon. Although now that I don't want it, taking all the rock out is not something I want to do. So I bring sacrifices to the "god" of the tank twice a day, so that my CUC stays alive.

[chilyb56]

I kept Frank, my N. Wenn, with a brittle star, Lenny - the lawnmower blenny and a clownfish. He crushed most of the snails and hermits over time, but I was able to keep a jumbo turbo snail in with him. He never went after the fish, but did smack down the brittle star pretty often. Brittle stars never learn.

I am planning a similar combination with Lou, the G Smithii, that I got a couple weeks ago from Blue Zoo. He already went through his first molt in the tank and he was already taking down one of the astrea snails last night. Not a big deal, but I would prefer if he took out Sirus, the evil gorilla hitchhiker crab.

[Thurge]

Avel if you want to get rid of your mantis and are willing to ship I would be HAPPY to pay for shipping. You have my facorite species and would love to have one again.
Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

[avel]

Thurge

If I ever catch it in the bottle trap I will contact you first thing.

[Thurge]

I'm rooting for you!!

does the mantis catching dance
dance dance dance
"shhhhh be vewy vewy quiet, Avel hunting mantisis", "huh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh".
dance dance dance