What do you guys feed?

nonpareilpearl · 12/18/2014, 11:19 AM

I have a ~4 inch smasher mantis that I've had for almost a year now. So far, I've been feeding him krill and putting in occasional hermits and snails for him to hunt and destroy. He definitely prefers the hermit crabs and will kill every one he can find, typically, before touching any of the snails.

Should I be doing anything to expand his diet?

Kharn · 12/18/2014, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonpareilpearl

I have a ~4 inch smasher mantis that I've had for almost a year now. So far, I've been feeding him krill and putting in occasional hermits and snails for him to hunt and destroy. He definitely prefers the hermit crabs and will kill every one he can find, typically, before touching any of the snails.

Should I be doing anything to expand his diet?

You "should" be doing everything to expand its diet

I try to always offer my individuals something different as often as I can (and its NEVER always live food only 10% of the time maybe 2-3x a month is it live food, because live food either requires a bit of effort on my own half OR a bit of coin on my own half)...

But dead/prepared/premade food is far easier and so much more diverse, it's a simple logical approach as well...

Have you got any sort of seafood market near you because within that store is the answer to your diet diversity question!

They have countless things on the table and so long as its raw (uncooked) and plain (unflavored) then its good for mantis to eat, this can range from a huge mix of mussels scallops sand crab mud crab various fillets of fish (mine LOVE mullet, it sends them into a frenzy).

The diversity within a seafood store is literally endless and its going to be 10x cheaper then anything from a pet store....for example.

A fillet of mullet bigger then much bigger then my hand will feed all my individuals for a good week + (that's if I gave it to them everyday) and yet it costs me $2 for the fillet

90% of what we buy in the pet store is the brand, 10% of the cost is that which is within it...

Look for the bag of natural 'Marinara Mix' and is a buffet of various seafoods all raw all unflavored!

nmotz · 12/19/2014, 04:07 AM

You know, for a bit of fun there are few things more entertaining than watching a mantis chase ghost shrimp around the tank. My O. Scyllarus went especially wild for them. He'd stick his head out of his burrow as soon as they they broke the surface of the water and he would not stop chasing them until he had killed every single one. In fact, he would often carry around the dead bodies of the shrimp he'd already killed while chasing after the live ones. Very entertaining and good exercise for the mantis too. Little pricey though, so definitely not an everyday kind of thing.

There are tons of frozen foods out there that are really cheap in the long run. They have just about every type of bait food you can imagine at either the LFS or a seafood store like Kharn mentioned, and that stuff really helps diversify the mantis' diet. Also, never hurts to soak frozen food in Selcon to add a bit more nutrition.

Hope that helps!

Gonodactylus · 12/19/2014, 09:51 AM

Some species of Gonodactylids prefer hermits over snails with the same size shell because they get more calories per time and/or effort breaking them open. There typically is more meat in a snail than in a hermit living in the same size shell, but the hermits are easier to get out and require fewer strikes.

Roy

nonpareilpearl · 12/21/2014, 03:47 PM

Thank you so much for the suggestions

@Kharn - that's a great idea! I hadn't thought of checking the supermarket. I was worried about quality of the seafood. Have you ever had a problem introducing contaminants into the tank using seafood from the store?

@Gonodactylus - that makes a lot of sense, thank you!

Betta132 · 01/09/2015, 09:33 PM

Ghost shrimp are pricy? My LFS has those for like 15 cents each, so that's a mantis buffet for $1.50. Probably a bit more than a similar amount of dead food, but I wouldn't call it pricy.
You shouldn't have a problem with seafood contaminants. If it's people-food-safe, it's generally critter-food-safe. I'd stay away from big fish (mercury), but aside from that, you should be fine. I give seafood treats to my fish now and then.
If it was me, I'd get maybe an eighth of a pound each of several things, freeze them, and alternate.

Mustang Boy · 01/10/2015, 01:33 AM

I keep a variety of inverts ready for live meals. I have a 20g long frag tank that I keep an assortment of snails and hermits, once I see the population of hermits or snails dwindling in my mantis tank I'll toss a couple in, and once a week(usually longer) I'll go to my LFS and pick up 10-12 ghost shrimp and I'll have the fish store toss a couple pellets in the bag for the ghosties to munch on. I'll let the shrimp gutload for a little while in the bag and then let them loose in the tank. I usually don't add ghost shrimp very often because 10 will last 10 days if not more usually.

ATLL765 · 01/27/2015, 09:30 PM

Seafood sections at the grocery store is where I get all my mantis food, especially if I'm at the asian food market. A couple shrimp, squid, octopus, basically keep it to invertebrates since that seems to be closer to their natural diet. I can get a year's worth of food for <$5. I go with the fresh seafood though, no pre-packaged stuff that will contain preservatives.

Pro tip: If you can, cut up into portions to be used 1 per feeding then freeze on a plate or other tray to keep them separated while freezing. After that bag it up. Otherwise you end up with a big frozen hunk of seafood that's hard to cut into small pieces.

EI Gringo · 01/29/2015, 04:38 PM

I give chopped frozen octopus, whole cockle, lance fish (not so keen in my experiences), whole muscle (again not so keen), blocks of mysis (Osiris my o.scyllarus loves mysis and robs it when I'm feeding my other fish :3). I tend to buy something new whenever I pass my fish monger, I've tried oysters before as a treat but wasn't interested, squid, mackerel and various other bits. That's all the frozen foods I've tried, cost effective at the fish mongers but dicing an octopus is pretty grim if I'm honest :L

3FordFamily · 01/29/2015, 04:48 PM

I mix frozen mysis, fortified mysis, spyrulina brine, brine, squid, blood worms, emerald entre, formula two, formula one, and a couple others I see attractive. I microwave them, drain them, add garlic and feed with spoon or turkey baster.

I also supplement formula one and two flakes, formula one pellets, and lots of nori. Red fish nori and regular nori from the grocer.

12/18/2014, 11:19 AM	#1
nonpareilpearl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 22	What do you guys feed? I have a ~4 inch smasher mantis that I've had for almost a year now. So far, I've been feeding him krill and putting in occasional hermits and snails for him to hunt and destroy. He definitely prefers the hermit crabs and will kill every one he can find, typically, before touching any of the snails. Should I be doing anything to expand his diet?

12/19/2014, 04:07 AM	#3
nmotz Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: FL, USA Posts: 1,433	You know, for a bit of fun there are few things more entertaining than watching a mantis chase ghost shrimp around the tank. My O. Scyllarus went especially wild for them. He'd stick his head out of his burrow as soon as they they broke the surface of the water and he would not stop chasing them until he had killed every single one. In fact, he would often carry around the dead bodies of the shrimp he'd already killed while chasing after the live ones. Very entertaining and good exercise for the mantis too. Little pricey though, so definitely not an everyday kind of thing. There are tons of frozen foods out there that are really cheap in the long run. They have just about every type of bait food you can imagine at either the LFS or a seafood store like Kharn mentioned, and that stuff really helps diversify the mantis' diet. Also, never hurts to soak frozen food in Selcon to add a bit more nutrition. Hope that helps! __________________ Mantis shrimp are the best! Current Tank Info: 20L Peacock mantis shrimp tank

01/09/2015, 09:33 PM	#6
Betta132 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 2,239	Ghost shrimp are pricy? My LFS has those for like 15 cents each, so that's a mantis buffet for $1.50. Probably a bit more than a similar amount of dead food, but I wouldn't call it pricy. You shouldn't have a problem with seafood contaminants. If it's people-food-safe, it's generally critter-food-safe. I'd stay away from big fish (mercury), but aside from that, you should be fine. I give seafood treats to my fish now and then. If it was me, I'd get maybe an eighth of a pound each of several things, freeze them, and alternate. __________________ When you put an animal of any kind in a situation where it can no longer fend for itself, such as an aquarium, it's your job to care for it to the best of your ability. It's that simple.

12/19/2014, 09:51 AM	#4
Gonodactylus Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Berkeley, CA, USA Posts: 5,024	Some species of Gonodactylids prefer hermits over snails with the same size shell because they get more calories per time and/or effort breaking them open. There typically is more meat in a snail than in a hermit living in the same size shell, but the hermits are easier to get out and require fewer strikes. Roy

12/21/2014, 03:47 PM	#5
nonpareilpearl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 22	Thank you so much for the suggestions @Kharn - that's a great idea! I hadn't thought of checking the supermarket. I was worried about quality of the seafood. Have you ever had a problem introducing contaminants into the tank using seafood from the store? @Gonodactylus - that makes a lot of sense, thank you!

01/10/2015, 01:33 AM	#7
Mustang Boy Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 1,088	I keep a variety of inverts ready for live meals. I have a 20g long frag tank that I keep an assortment of snails and hermits, once I see the population of hermits or snails dwindling in my mantis tank I'll toss a couple in, and once a week(usually longer) I'll go to my LFS and pick up 10-12 ghost shrimp and I'll have the fish store toss a couple pellets in the bag for the ghosties to munch on. I'll let the shrimp gutload for a little while in the bag and then let them loose in the tank. I usually don't add ghost shrimp very often because 10 will last 10 days if not more usually.

01/27/2015, 09:30 PM	#8
ATLL765 Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 53	Seafood sections at the grocery store is where I get all my mantis food, especially if I'm at the asian food market. A couple shrimp, squid, octopus, basically keep it to invertebrates since that seems to be closer to their natural diet. I can get a year's worth of food for <$5. I go with the fresh seafood though, no pre-packaged stuff that will contain preservatives. Pro tip: If you can, cut up into portions to be used 1 per feeding then freeze on a plate or other tray to keep them separated while freezing. After that bag it up. Otherwise you end up with a big frozen hunk of seafood that's hard to cut into small pieces.

01/29/2015, 04:38 PM	#9
EI Gringo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Derbyshire, England Posts: 525	I give chopped frozen octopus, whole cockle, lance fish (not so keen in my experiences), whole muscle (again not so keen), blocks of mysis (Osiris my o.scyllarus loves mysis and robs it when I'm feeding my other fish :3). I tend to buy something new whenever I pass my fish monger, I've tried oysters before as a treat but wasn't interested, squid, mackerel and various other bits. That's all the frozen foods I've tried, cost effective at the fish mongers but dicing an octopus is pretty grim if I'm honest :L

01/29/2015, 04:48 PM	#10
3FordFamily Registered Member. Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Fishers, Indiana (Indianapolis suburb) Posts: 488	I mix frozen mysis, fortified mysis, spyrulina brine, brine, squid, blood worms, emerald entre, formula two, formula one, and a couple others I see attractive. I microwave them, drain them, add garlic and feed with spoon or turkey baster. I also supplement formula one and two flakes, formula one pellets, and lots of nori. Red fish nori and regular nori from the grocer.