g.chiragra wont eat nothing but crabs!

[smaug1]

Red thai crabs to be exact,that and fiddlers. Exactly the kind of things I can't readily get at a reasonable price. The small redlegs I stocked the tank with he won't even look at anymore and forget about cerith snails,they aren't good enough for him either. He won't eat silversides or frozen krill either,nor pellets or canned shrimp. He is very active and inquisitive but I can't help but think he isn't long for this world if he won't eat the simple easy stuff. Will he eventually get hungry enough to eat frozen stuff I wander?

[Johnny Tang]

When is the last time he molted? He might be getting ready to molt or you might be over feeding him. They will eventually lose the will to hunt if you are constantly presenting them with food.

[Gonodactylus]

If it can get all the food it needs eating relatively inexpensive crabs, why go for prey in hard shells that cost a lot more to process?' Such selectivity is common in smashers. If you don't give it crabs, it will eventually take snails and hermits.

Roy

[smaug1]

I am obviously a newbie with sw not to mention mantis shrimp. I am so worried that it will suffer starvation that I'm throwing food at it left and right. When I think of it,I suppose the 3 crabs it has eaten in 8 days is pretty good eating. What I really want to happen with this fella is to get him eating mostly frozen foods,how do I go about this? To answer an earlier question, don't know when it last molted.I can't even tell what sp it is!

[Gonodactylus]

Gonodactylids can go for two or three weeks without eating. If it gets hungry enough, it will take frozen krill off of a feeding stick.

Roy

[smaug1]

Thanks Roy.

[nirvanaandtool]

If it can get all the food it needs eating relatively inexpensive crabs, why go for prey in hard shells that cost a lot more to process?' Such selectivity is common in smashers. If you don't give it crabs, it will eventually take snails and hermits.

Roy

Interesting. Seeing similar behavior in my G. Viridis. He will take gut-loaded live shrimp but generally ignores snails and hermit crabs. He has a few empty snail shells in his burrow but I dont know whether he made the kill or if the snail previously died and he just took the empty shell after the hermits cleaned up the carcass. Luckily he will take frozen krill and shrimp off a feeding stick for everyday meals. I know for a fact that he was fed soft foods in the LFS I got him from so he is probably just accustomed to that now.
Good to know. Thanks Dr. Roy!

[Fartin'Gary]

I don't think this is unusual for any animal to behave like this. They are mostly all opportunists. Just like bears will go for trash and human food because it takes much less effort to get than catching salmon. I don't feed my fish every day and when I do they will eat what ever I put in there. The puffer is a bit stubborn but he likes the live food more. It's just natural to go for what takes less effort.

[smaug1]

I don't think this is unusual for any animal to behave like this. They are mostly all opportunists. Just like bears will go for trash and human food because it takes much less effort to get than catching salmon. I don't feed my fish every day and when I do they will eat what ever I put in there. The puffer is a bit stubborn but he likes the live food more. It's just natural to go for what takes less effort.

Might ring true for bears but my mantis would rather work fork for his supper by killing crabs them simply accepting a nice easy piece of shrimp from a stick!

[DanInSD]

Stop feeding crabs. Wait a week. Offer some other food (krill, silversides, etc) with a feeding stick. If rejected, wait another day or two and try again. Repeat.

Dan

[smaug1]

That's the plan. He ate the last crab in there last night.

[JothamTheSlayer]

If you live on the costal area of the north east (Parts of NY, CT, RI and MA), you can just go to the beach and grab some asian shore crabs (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). They're an invasive species that have pretty much blanketed the cost line. They can easily tolerate temperate temperatures (woo alliteration!). They've been the favorite snacks of mine and my friends mantises for the past few years. You could QT them before you add them to your tank if your are concerned about parasites and pollutants from the water, but I've never had a problem with them in the 3 years I've used em.

Might not be relavent to you, but I like to let people know about this cheap, eviromentally benifical (since those little bastards are invasive...) and yummy alternative to buying stuff from the store.

[nirvanaandtool]

If you live on the costal area of the north east (Parts of NY, CT, RI and MA), you can just go to the beach and grab some asian shore crabs (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). They're an invasive species that have pretty much blanketed the cost line. They can easily tolerate temperate temperatures (woo alliteration!). They've been the favorite snacks of mine and my friends mantises for the past few years. You could QT them before you add them to your tank if your are concerned about parasites and pollutants from the water, but I've never had a problem with them in the 3 years I've used em.

Might not be relavent to you, but I like to let people know about this cheap, eviromentally benifical (since those little bastards are invasive...) and yummy alternative to buying stuff from the store.

Are they as far down as Southern NJ? Might be a fun food option to consider in the summer when I'm already there fishing or crabbing.

[JothamTheSlayer]

Are they as far down as Southern NJ? Might be a fun food option to consider in the summer when I'm already there fishing or crabbing.

http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Nonindigenous_Species/Asian_shore_crab/asian_shore_crab.html

Looks like you're in luck! Just got to a rocky shore and start flipping rocks. The more you take out the better!

They're out there all year long, but they're much easier to find during the spring and summer.

[nirvanaandtool]

http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Nonindigenous_Species/Asian_shore_crab/asian_shore_crab.html

Looks like you're in luck! Just got to a rocky shore and start flipping rocks. The more you take out the better!

They're out there all year long, but they're much easier to find during the spring and summer.

Awesome! I'll try to get down there and catch some. I'll have to pass it along to locals in my reef club too. Thanks :thumbsup:

[Gonodactylus]

Hemigrapsis is an excellent food for smashers like O. scyllarus and G. chiragra. The only caveat is that crabs taken from polluted habitats can contain a variety of toxins including heavy metals and organic phosphates. These build up in the food chain through bio-accumulation and can poison stomatopods if they are fed a steady diet of these crabs for a long time.

[JothamTheSlayer]

I completely agree with you Roy. I usually only collect from public beaches or similar areas.

They're great for small species as well. Just gather size-appropriate specimens.

I usually will spice things up by feeding snails and hermits on occasion, just so they get some variety in their diets.