mantis in distress

[jmasterdiver]

Hello all. I have a G. glabrous that seems to be in distress with a molt. I have had him since late May of this year, having rescued him from certain death at a fish store. He moved cross-country with me and has been doing well. He lives in a 20L with lots of live rock rubble and some hair algea and a couple of snails. He is very sociable, often coming out of his burrow to check out my dogs when they bark and he eats really well from a feeding stick or tongs. I feed him every other day, or occasionally every third day and he gets a variety of krill, mysis, clam, squid, and silversides. I tried to give him a live crab, but he holds out for the frozen from the stick.

Last week, my apartment complex repaved and repainted our parking lot. They worked overnight on Friday night and by Saturday morning, the whole valley I live in was misty with paint and tar fumes. I am extremely concerned that this has malaffected my little pet.

His tank:

20 long
temp 76F
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5 or less
pH 8.2
SG 1.024

He has a HOB power filter where I house carbon and purigen, and Aqua-C Remora skimmer, and another internal HOB power filter full of live rock rubble. Lighting is a simple fluorescent fixture. The substrate is a mix of sand and coral gravel and he has a pretty well refined lair that is constantly being renovated until...

Saturday morning (8/25) he was out of his burrow and laying on his side. I immediately executed a water change and replaced the carbon, fearing the fumes from paving were killing him. Since then, I have noticed he is showing signs of needing to molt. A dark line has developed down his back and his eyes are cloudy, which I have seen when he molted before. However, he hunkered down in his burrow for previous molts and he has not been in his burrow since Saturday that I have seen.

Since this has been going on, he is getting daily water changes and fresh carbon daily, as well. He has taken a bit of food, but would not feed today. There is no algea growing on him. In fact, but for the line down his back, he looks really good. His behavior makes me think he is struggling to split his shell and just can't seem to do it. He alternates between laying on his side curled up and either resting or spinning in circles and sitting upright with his tail a bit curled under and resting on his raptorial appendages. I don't think he is lacking iodine since I do weekly water changes. I have darkened his tank in hopes of easing his stress.

Does anyone have any suggestions for helping this guy? I have grown really fond of him and don't want to lose him.

Thanks

[DanInSD]

From Dr. Roy's previous commentaries regarding failed molts, the line down the back is indicative of an inability to release the molt skin. It is invariably fatal. I'm sorry

Dan

[jmasterdiver]

Oh god, I hate hearing that but appreciate you telling me the truth. Could this have been brought on by the fumes from the paving? He was just fine before that or might the paving just have been a poorly timed coincidence?

I know this will be hard to answer, but is he suffering? I hate seeing him like this, so would it be best to euthanize him?

Thanks

[MAGDRL Mom]

I'm so sorry

[DanInSD]

I lack the experience / knowledge to give any answer with respect to the paving. I certainly didn't "help".

Dan

[lillurker]

I know this sounds crazy probably even a little dumb, but, what are the possiblities of taking the molt off the mantis manually. I mean couldn't they be caught and put under and then have the molt removed? I know its probably stupid, but hey if its possible, then why not ask.

[Pea-brain]

You'd first have to identify where the problem is. What parts of the molt are stuck and such. Dr. Roy might be able to help with this, as he has probly done autopsies on cases like this. Then you would need to very carefully take the mantis out of the tank, secure it and slowly cut the attached part off. This would be incredibly risky and you would probably lose mutliple limbs in the process, and I can almost guarentee the mantis won't survive no matter how good you cut it. It is just too streesful. I was thinking of suggesting it but it is just too futile. If I had the same problem I might give it a try, grasping at that faint hoep, but I know it wouldn't work. Is the mantis still alive? I am very sorry for your loss. It always hurts to lose a good pet.

Dan

[jmasterdiver]

The mantis is still alive. I did correspond with Dr. Caldwell about this and he said that in rare cases, the animal could shed the cuticle on its own, but it is not likely. He knows of no way to reverse this condition either. My critter has not been able to eat for the last couple of feedings, but I suspect it was because I was offering him too large food stuffs. Today, I hand fed him shredded krill and he was able to take a bit. My feeling is that if he is to recover, it is going to take a long time and lots of TLC. His RA's are now stuck in the extended position and this is not due to a lack of oxygenation of the water, which is why I hand fed him, because I know he cannot strike.

The only place I can see where the cuticle is seperated is on the eyestalks. His cuticle just seems unwilling to seperate and according to Dr. Caldwell, my critter is unable to generate the necessary hydrostatic pressure to seperate the cuticle and complete the molt. I will not take any measures to remove the cuticle myself as my feeling is that it would cause more harm to the animal. I know he is miserable but I am loathe to euthanize him because he is fighting really hard and expending much energy to try and shed the molt. I am maintaining excellent parameters in his tank and trying to keep his strength up with small frequent feedings, but I am not hopeful for his recovery.

Just for posterity's sake, I will say that this is about the most interactive mantis I have ever hear of. He is frequently out and about, always waiting to be fed until this happened. I lovingly call him my guard mantis because when someone wanders past my back yard and my dogs bark, he immediately runs out of his burrow as if he would run to the door and bark too. He is very curious and inquisitive, even in his weakened state.

Even though I have only had this guy a short time, I completely understand the fascination with these critters. It is unfortunate that mine was compromised, which I believe is the result of a poorly timed chemical exposure. I also believe that he may be old as I got him for free from my LFS after they had pulled him from a customer's tank where he had been unscrupulously destroying LPS coral heads for building materials for some time. If/when he passes, I will wait for another to come my way because they are great little pets and fascinating critters to watch. Thanks for all the input here, and I will keep this thread updated with our progress.

[jmasterdiver]

Well, my mantis passed last night. I'm gonna miss that little dude...

[Thurge]

Sorry to hear that.

[helipilot]

So sorry for your loss. It sounds like you were really on top of this and did all you could possibly do. Good luck.