Peacock Mantis Shrimp

[sweat044]

So I recently got my first peacock mantis shrimp. Right now he is in a 29 Gallon Biocube while I finish the 40 Breeder for him. My question is what is the best substrate for him? Also on the biocube it has CFL lighting. Can I run the lights 1-2 hours a day while I am feeding him and cleaning the glass?

 

[sweat044]

Okay. I bought cooked frozen seafood mix. I've tried calamari, shrimp, mussels, and octopus. He will grab it and then brings it to the front of the tank and spits it out. HELP!!

 

[Davesgt]

I love Mantis and have had extremely good luck with them. As for substrate they will do ok with any substrate but they love sand because they love to tunnel and burry food. The light should be fine for him, maybe unplug one of them so its not too much light. I like buying the real cheap led fixtures online because they don't put off an insane amount of light so it keeps algae at bay and the spectrum of the ones I buy bring out the color on the peacocks amazingly, if youd like the sire pm for info. Food wise ive always been lucky feeding mine freeze dried krill with a feeding stick, it allows me to move it around and stimulate their interest. Live food really helps keep them on their toes so id supplement with feeder crabs or some cheap hermits.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Cooked seafood isn't what you should be giving him.

 

[sweat044]

Cooked seafood isn't what you should be giving him.

Okay. Raw seafood? I am up for any suggestions

 

[Davesgt]

yes raw shrimp would be best. When you cook it the nutritional factors are cooked out. plus in the wild they don't eat anything cooked lol

 

[sweat044]

True. That was my first thought. I didn't realize it was cooked until I got home. There are snails and hermits to hold him over for a bit

 

[Davesgt]

when you feed the mantis you might also want to consider chopping up the shrimp or whatever seafood you decide to feed him, cause they tend to bury excess food so that can actually fowl up your tank

 

[Davesgt]

Get some pictures of this bad boy, it always makes me happy to see someone else keeping these awesome animals.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

True. That was my first thought. I didn't realize it was cooked until I got home. There are snails and hermits to hold him over for a bit

Is it all cooked? A lot of brands around here have cooked components, like the mussels, while leaving the rest uncooked. Double check just to make sure that everything in the bag is cooked. If there are things that aren't, save those for feeding in the future.

I've always tucked seafood into empty shells, for them to beat out.

 

[sweat044]

Okay. I've tried raw shrimp, raw scallops but he just takes it and spits it out. I've added some snails and he loves them but that's expensive. Help. I'm at wits end!!

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Can you get fresh fish?

 

[sweat044]

Like damsels or something?

 

[Clayalaleona]

At work we feed ours hitchhiker crabs, the occasional emerald, cubes of frozen mysis, and even peppermints if we have thousands in stock and a couple are looking dinky. If you ask your LFS for hitch hiker crabs chances are they'll have some.
You can also ask for "fake emeralds" none reputable distributors will send these out as emeralds and they're just crabs that get huge from the atlantic so the stores wills sometimes give them away.
If all else fails, tell them you need to feed a mantis and that you need a sweet deal on crabs.
Since you're in colorado springs you should hit up Jonathan Bush if you haven't already and I'm sure he can help get you some live food at a good price for the mantis.
Tell him Claudia sent you, he'll help you out(although, I'm about 75% sure you got this guy from him)

 

[sweat044]

At work we feed ours hitchhiker crabs, the occasional emerald, cubes of frozen mysis, and even peppermints if we have thousands in stock and a couple are looking dinky. If you ask your LFS for hitch hiker crabs chances are they'll have some.
You can also ask for "fake emeralds" none reputable distributors will send these out as emeralds and they're just crabs that get huge from the atlantic so the stores wills sometimes give them away.
If all else fails, tell them you need to feed a mantis and that you need a sweet deal on crabs.
Since you're in colorado springs you should hit up Jonathan Bush if you haven't already and I'm sure he can help get you some live food at a good price for the mantis.
Tell him Claudia sent you, he'll help you out(although, I'm about 75% sure you got this guy from him)

Yes I did get it from him. I'm just trying to get the thing to start eating raw. Cheaper on the wallet. I'll ask Jonathan and see what he can do. Thanks..

 

[Clayalaleona]

Yes I did get it from him. I'm just trying to get the thing to start eating raw. Cheaper on the wallet. I'll ask Jonathan and see what he can do. Thanks..

Glad to hear from an end consumer(I'm one of his suppliers), we really love having those mantis at the shop. They get their own massive mantis "jars"(actually a massive container so that they dont escape and plot to kill the invert guys) and sometimes even full tanks depending on how full the shop is.
Tongs and a cube of mysis is usually how I feed them frozen.
How big are the chunks you're feeding? If its too big they will sometimes refuse it.
Also, make sure to act like prey when feeding. They're extremely smart.

 

[martini5788]

How often are you attempting to feed? Has the mantis molted yet? They will commonly refuse
Food before a molt. What does the burrow look like? Use small chunks, they can't eat large quantities and will store it. Mine would eat about every other day, sometimes everyday but only small amounts. That was before a tank sitter crashed the tank and she died as a result. If you are determined to get them off of live food, then consider removing the cuc for a few days( about 5) and then attempt to feed frozen once a day and see if that works.

 

[sweat044]

No molt yet. He has built caves in the small rock work. I have given about the size of a quarter piece of scallop the last two days. He takes it but then spits it out. No cuc is left as he has eaten it all. Do I need to run the lights more? They run 2 hours per day

 

[martini5788]

No molt yet. He has built caves in the small rock work. I have given about the size of a quarter piece of scallop the last two days. He takes it but then spits it out. No cuc is left as he has eaten it all. Do I need to run the lights more? They run 2 hours per day

Put a PVC pipe in there. Make sure there is various sizes of sand, crushed coral, and rubble pieces. The burrow needs to be completely blacked out and sealed off during a molt. How big is the mantis? Are you certain it is a peacock?

 

[Coralfornialiving]

yes raw shrimp would be best. When you cook it the nutritional factors are cooked out. plus in the wild they don't eat anything cooked lol

Bonapettie lol