nano reef boy13

heys guys, what do you feed your mantis shrimp and
how often do you feed them??? will smashers eat snails??? my smasher never touches them..if you feed your mantis mysid or any frozen foods or pellet foods, then you dont get to see them smash away on live foods??? well thats my opinion... but thanks for the input....

englishgramma

We have a spearer (pseudosquilla ciliata. We feed hil frozen dillie fish, cockel and live river shrimp.

Tend to feed him when everything is eaten - the river shrimp go in 5 at a time and tend to last over a week.

Can't see how you do this scientifically but I will be facinated to read.

All the best Richard

justinl

a well fed mantis is one that doesn't need to hunt. if you feed it frozens regularly, it probably won't bother hunting down a meal. Try starving the mantis a few days. if it gets hungry enough it will hunt.

nano reef boy13

thanks englishgramma and justinl for the reply so if
i dont feed the mantis for a couple days it should hunt down any live food i give it??
and what other live food can i give it besides 2$ hermits and snails??? anything cheaper???
thanks-alex

nano reef boy13

another question....how should i feed it frozen food??
my turkey baster or what other method..thanks all of this really helps me a lot gracias...

-alex

rwhhunt

Normally scallops, but recently I found live clams at Publix, and despite being thick shelled and hardy, they were obliterated by Baraka in minutes

englishgramma

Hi Alex,

first thing make sure for frozen food is 'fresh' (not left out too long) but thoroughly thawed. I've had both smasher and spearer and must say I am far more weary of the spearer when it comes to gatting near the water. He got excited once - shot to the top of the tank and got a glancing blow on my finger.

I think one of the best things with mantis is the interaction - these are smart creatures and both of the ones we have seem to know their owner and look forward to being fed.

I use a pair of tongues and feed him directly - with the river shrimp I just put them in live (make sure you get a trustworthy source though you don't want infections).

regards

Richard

Wildinside

I have been feeding my peacock blue crab that I cllect locally from the beach. He tears em up. usually he steals their claws first and eats them before finishing them off. pretty fun to watch no less. otherwise little hermits and snails.

__________________
"Wyrd bi∂ ful aræd"
"Fate is inexorable"
-Uhtred Ragnarson

Current Tank Info: 24g reef tank.

ck1

I have been feeding my g. ternatensis- shrimp, squid (purchased frozen from grocery store) silverside chunks and krill (from pet store).

I chop the food into pieces and put into a secure sealing container in the freezer. I thaw a couple of pieces at a time and feed to the mantis and the 2 anemones that I have.

I will definitely not buy the silversides again- they are very messy and kinda smelly. The other foods are not bad at all.

I rubberbanded a pair of bamboo skewers together so I can use the blunt end like "chopsticks". I pick up the piece of thawed seafood between the blunt ends and wave it slowly thru the water to mimic swimming. My Mantis will come out and smack the bamboo to release the food- his smacking does not really release the food- I have to do that by moving the skewers apart. But it is good exercise for his clubs and is very cool to see.

I stock blue leg hermits and some assorted snails in there- and he only occassionally hunts them. So if I am going out of town for a long weekend- I usually do not have the petsitter feed so that he will hunt.

I typically feed every 2-3 days- but the hermits and snails are always in there and restocked as they disappear.

kdblove_99

I fed mine silversides and snails. snails once a week

garc19

I have a peacock. We feed it a few krill twice a week. I have taken to putting it in a shell so it seems like he is at least hunting something more natural to it.

supateddy

We usually just thaw a piece of frozen food (silversides, krill, mussel, other seafoods) and shove it into the end of some stiff aquarium tubing. If we just want to feed him, we don't shove it in too far. If we want to watch him for a while or show him to visitors, we shove the food in a little tighter. He has no hesitations smacking the tubing if it doesn't give up the food.

We also usually have about a dozen blue-leg hermits and snails in the tank to clean up as long as they survive.

KhawMengLee

Hmmnnnn...fiddler crabs or whatever cheap land crabs I find at my fish shop. Live clams from the supermarket. Whatever cleaner, camel, saron shrimps I dump in the tank who are too slow. Snails, etc