how to catch???

Achilles1882 · #1 02/22/2007, 08:34 PM

Ok here is the situation.... 240 gallon display... 300 total system... I have a mantis shrimp... i have never seen nor do I want him... but he is in there... at night about an hour after the last lights turn off I can hear the little monster in there attacking and pinging and banging ... oncec a flash light goes on he stops... also all of the smaller snails are slowly disappearing and there are literally piles of shells with holes in them. HOW DO I CATCH HIM?!?! Not to kill but to just remove and take back to the LFS. ANy pointers and advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much,

Sully

Msby12 · #2 02/22/2007, 08:54 PM

take a soda bottle, cut off the top and invert it, now seal that together, and put bait inside, and place in the tank.

or you could supply him with food so he doesn't kill as many snails, and leave him in there if it's small, might even eat other hitchhikers for you, like gorilla crabs!

Pea-brain · #3 02/22/2007, 08:57 PM

take a 2 liter bottle. Cut it around the top so you can remove the top and turn it around and seal it (making a funnel into the bottle) cut the hole at the top about the size you think the mantis might be. Use aquarium sealant to attach the top to the bottle. bait with shrimp or krill. Wait. Some people might want your mantis on the forum btw.

Achilles1882 · #4 02/22/2007, 09:14 PM

yeah i thought about that too, once i catch the lil bastard I will offer him up!

Achilles1882 · #5 02/22/2007, 09:15 PM

but i gotta catch him first....

mderise · #6 02/25/2007, 11:00 PM

Check this out I just caught one that hitchhiked on some coral from Jakarta. He was about 2".
how to do it from Dr. Roy:
Take a standard straight sided spring water bottle (do not use any plastic bottle that has contained something other than water) and cut it straight across at a point a fraction of an inch before the bottle cylinder starts to taper down to the neck. This gives you a funnel-shaped piece. Flip it around and push it neck first into the bottom part of the bottle. In some cases the fit will be so tight, you won't have to fasten it. I usually poke five or size holes through the edge of the joint and fasten it with twist-tie. Others use glue such as silicon aquarium sealant. The idea is to create a funnel that allows the stomatopod to easily walk into the trap, but be unable to locate the narrow opening which is up off the substrate. For a two inch stomatopod, a half liter bottle works well.

I put some silverside inside of a piece of pantyhose and placed it inside of the bottle. I tried just putting tablet and my fish would go inside and eat it. After I did the pantyhose the mantis was caught within a couple of hours.

mine happened to ride in on a porieties and is a G. smithii. Be careful when you catch him. He may look like he is almost dead, but he will snap very quickly all of a sudden.

Good Luck!