Mantis vs. Trap: you snooze you lose...

Yogre · 02/18/2009, 05:32 PM

So I'm using the inverted pop bottle trap to whittle down my mantis shrimp population. I caught a small one yesterday, and took him to my LFS to be rehomed. Today, I set the trap again, right up against a rock where I know one of them was hiding.

I went away for about 30 minutes, only to come back and find the bait (and the mantis) gone. I just have a vision of this varmint taking off with a big piece of shrimp, his figurative middle finger in the air, yelling "Take that, sucka!"

Clever creatures, they are.

Thanks for reading!

noahm · 02/18/2009, 08:42 PM

I have caught the two so far with a series of poking utensils and a clear tube over the exit hole. It only works if you have a back/side door you can poke into to scare him up the tube. I have had no luck with them wanting to even look at the raw shrimp I put in the trap, so I started feeding the last one w/shrimp on a stick. I think there is so much natural food that they just aren't conditioned to look at cubed shrimp.

I will outlast though. Just when he gets comfortable....

Best o luck

02/18/2009, 05:32 PM	#1
Yogre Cheesehead Reefer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Madison, Wisconsin Posts: 1,351	Mantis vs. Trap: you snooze you lose... So I'm using the inverted pop bottle trap to whittle down my mantis shrimp population. I caught a small one yesterday, and took him to my LFS to be rehomed. Today, I set the trap again, right up against a rock where I know one of them was hiding. I went away for about 30 minutes, only to come back and find the bait (and the mantis) gone. I just have a vision of this varmint taking off with a big piece of shrimp, his figurative middle finger in the air, yelling "Take that, sucka!" Clever creatures, they are. Thanks for reading!

02/18/2009, 08:42 PM	#2
noahm Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 2,736	I have caught the two so far with a series of poking utensils and a clear tube over the exit hole. It only works if you have a back/side door you can poke into to scare him up the tube. I have had no luck with them wanting to even look at the raw shrimp I put in the trap, so I started feeding the last one w/shrimp on a stick. I think there is so much natural food that they just aren't conditioned to look at cubed shrimp. I will outlast though. Just when he gets comfortable.... Best o luck