How often should I actually see my mantis?

[LukFox]

I knew I had a shy species (probably G. falcatus) but this seems a bit extreme? Most of the time it won't even come out for food. I have to put the stick into the cave and then it will take it off the stick. I never see the mantis.

I have seen the mantis 3 times in 3 weeks. I probably haven't seen it at all in the last 2 weeks, but I know it is alive. It is in a 2g so it doesn't even have much space to hide, but it manages to very, very well. Should I give it more time to get used to its surroundings? It just seems odd to never even see it. Would a wennerae behave similarly and this is just part of keeping a mantis, or is it just the species?

I'm contemplating putting it in my FOWLR and getting a more outgoing species for this jar or just taking it down, but I'm not sure what kind of nitrates the mantis can handle. I don't really track them in that tank. I have no idea what they are, but I do not suspect them to be low.

[peasofme]

well, i had 3 oerstedii and they're supposed to be out going. they are closely related to wennerae. 2 of them hid 24/7. 1 was really out going. had them for about a year. peacocks may be the only one's that are almost always out going.

i recommend blennies over mantis. they have much the same behavior but are much more out going and friendly towards other animals. u dont have to deal with molts but u do have to deal with ich. many blennies also will only eat live algae growing in the tank. some exceptions are bicolor, tailspot, midas

[Gonodactylus]

If the food comes to it, why would the stomatopod want to come out and expose itself to predation. If there are no alternative food sources, most stomatopods can be "trained" to come out and take food. Start by not feeding for a week or so, then attach SMALL pices of food to a feeding stick and hold it a couple of body lengths from the entrance to the animal's cavity. Don't move it abound much - a few short waves - and if the animal doesn't take it in a couple of minutes, remove the food and try again in a day or two.Usually after a few trials the stomatopod will come to the food. Then each trial hold the food further away until food is being offered near the front wall. Most animals will then approach the front of the tank when you approach.

However, stomatopods seem to forget a lot of what they learn when they molt. That coupled with increased caution when they molt and you will probably have to repeat the process after each molt. Don't give in and the animal at its burrow entrance immediately after a molt. This doesn't happen in the field and it shouldn't in the tank. When the animal is ready to feed, it will come and get it.

Roy

[LukFox]

All right good to know. I actually did wait a week on the last feeding, trying to make it take the food. What happened was:

No food for a week.
Put food in near entrance of cave, make it dance, doesn't work, leave it on the stick for 30 minutes, nothing happened.
Wait another day.
Put food near entrance, make it seem alive with 0 results, waited 45 minutes, nothing.
I put the stick in the cave entrance and left for an hour. When I got back, the food was cut in half and clearly taken.

That is all the interaction there has been lately. He was more willing to come out for food in the beginning... I will keep trying! That is very interesting how their memory resets a bit with a molt.

[LukFox]

Apparently I just needed to wait a bit more because this guy is super active now. He is hard at work re-doing his tank and pulling my macros into the shade to die. I tried moving it back, but I just watched him pull it back into the shade. At least he is out in the open now. Doesn't seem to be so afraid of me anymore!

He is actually having a fit with that particular macro currently. He keeps snapping it. Poor blue scroll algae... It was doing so nicely. He also ripped up my gracilaria and scattered it around the tank. He has been busy the last 2-3 days.

[peasofme]

lucky. you got a good one.

[LukFox]

lucky. you got a good one.

I'm so glad. :D I was worried when I read this was a shy species. This morning he is awake and hauling substrate here and there, making a tunnel to his liking. He's more active than I could have hoped, and incredibly cute.