Bought a $20 Zoa and got a Mantis shrimp

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

The other day I got a cheap zoa frag from my local fish store. Got A BUNCH of junk from it but also got a baby mantis shrimp. Hard to tell from the picture but his body is a blue/turquoise color. Anyone out there ever have a baby mantis? Any suggestions? What should i feed him? He is still tiny, maybe a quarter inch or slightly bigger

35ppt · Apr 22, 2020

Looks like an amphipod, they can come in different colors.

Copingwithpods · Apr 22, 2020

When it comes to Itty baby mantis shrimp I'll summarize with this

That is unless you want to keep it and raise it and feed it your cuc and then when it gets bigger your fish and thumb nails (I had a bad experience)

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

35ppt said:
Looks like an amphipod, they can come in different colors.

Well crap. Im still hopeful lol

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

Copingwithpods said:
When it comes to Itty baby mantis shrimp I'll summarize with this

That is unless you want to keep it and raise it and feed it your cuc and then when it gets bigger your fish and thumb nails (I had a bad experience)

I plan on keeping it

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

35ppt said:
Looks like an amphipod, they can come in different colors.

It took me 3 days to get him to come out of a rock. And only came out after i cut the rock open. I lowered a piece of cooked chicken in on Monday and it poked his head out and that was it. Watching it crawl through the rock it definitely reminded me of a Mantis shrimp. Is that similar behavior for a amphipod?

35ppt · Apr 22, 2020

dtm2420 said:
It took me 3 days to get him to come out of a rock. And only came out after i cut the rock open. I lowered a piece of cooked chicken in on Monday and it poked his head out and that was it. Watching it crawl through the rock it definitely reminded me of a Mantis shrimp. Is that similar behavior for a amphipod?

How big is this thing? And clearer photos?

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

It is probably a 1/4-1/2 inch. Blue outside shell

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

This is the clearest one I have. I will see if i can get better ones. I have to zoom in and it gets blurry.

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

35ppt said:
How big is this thing? And clearer photos?

vetteguy53081 · Apr 22, 2020

How does it compare to a dime in size ? ( take pic next to a dime)

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
How does it compare to a dime in size ? ( take pic next to a dime)

He is curled up and i cant get a good picture. I put it in this net because if it is a mantis (hoping) i dont want it in my main tank. I will set up a different one

jsvand5 · Apr 22, 2020

It’s an amphipod.

dtm2420 · Apr 22, 2020

jsvand5 said:
It’s an amphipod.

Now i feel like an idiot lol

35ppt · Apr 22, 2020

dtm2420 said:
He is curled up and i cant get a good picture. I put it in this net because if it is a mantis (hoping) i dont want it in my main tank. I will set up a different one

Amphipod

bsn_rn_cen · Apr 22, 2020

Don't feel like an idiot.

the mantis lover · Mar 22, 2021

pretty sure that's an amphipod, I raised mine from 2mm and he is still alive in my nano reef today. I fed live baby brine at first then worked to the smallest of the small of baby stone crabs, then worked my way up till he could eat krill. Now, I just shake peace of krill on a toothpick and he eats it. if you want a mantis shrimp you would have to get a 6-inch one because I could never find the really small ones online that I have.