How To Get a Mantis Shrimp out of rock alive?

JenDub · #1 12/08/2007, 02:49 PM

Hello to all,

Last night I was taking pictures of some new wild colonies and I got the scare of a lifetime from a hitchhiker. As I picked up the rock I heard a loud pop and felt a sharp pain in my thumb like getting hit with a hammer. Upon closer inspection I found a tiny little Aussie mantis living in a tube on the backside of the rock!

It didn't hurt me luckily because it is so small but I want to extract it from the coral colony without damaging the mantis or the colony. I was thinking hyposalinity dip but that migt hurt the coral....any other ideas?

bergzy · #2 12/08/2007, 02:53 PM

get the rock you know he is inside...

get a bucket of fw the same temp as the tank water...

plunk the rock in there and the bugger will shoot out faster than a piece of food from a choking rosie o'donnel getting a heimlich!!!

get the shrimp back into some tank water you have in a separate container. do as you like with it. i played with my shrimp for a few hours with a pencil...before donating to a lfs!

if you dont want to damage the coral (what kind is it?), get the rock out and have a turkey baster with fw and squirt it in the nook that he is hiding in!!! he should still shoot out pretty quick!!! like a crazed mother trying to get the last nintendo wii for their savant genius child!!!

careful with the fingers...again!!!

photobret · #3 12/08/2007, 04:00 PM

I would try pouring a little soda water in the hole, but yeah watch those fingers.

gemini aquarius(t) · #4 12/08/2007, 04:34 PM

agreed, on the soda water and the freshwater both should work but the soda water would probably gett him out safe with out hurting the corals

coast2coast7390 · #5 12/08/2007, 04:37 PM

i would put the rock into a separate container with some tank water from a water change and put a little food in...maybe a small fish or a ghost shrimp... when he comes out of the rock simply take the rock out

JenDub · #6 12/08/2007, 05:06 PM

It's on the backside of a lord colony so it would probably handle the fw dip decently. I'm going to try coast2coast's technique first and see if I can tempt him out with a piece if krill; he's got to be hungry since these have been in a barebottom holding system for 2 months now!

I really don't want to hurt him, he's tiny & cute. I tried to get a pic but you could only see his beady little eyes peering out of the hole. I'm almost tempted to seal him in the hole and frag that portion of the rock off of the colony so he can keep his home....

Do these usually prefer live foods or will he take frozen?

coast2coast7390 · #7 12/08/2007, 05:10 PM

try both

coast2coast7390 · #8 12/08/2007, 05:13 PM

live is prolly preferred

sbcaes · #9 12/08/2007, 05:34 PM

can i take him off your hands if you get him out alive? O_o

photobret · #10 12/08/2007, 05:37 PM

If its hungry probably both also depends on the species, I have a large mantis (a smasher) who ignores fish but if you put in snails, see ya later - same with crabs. Also eats krill but their eye sight is so good that the chances of getting to him before he spots you are slim, they just know you are there no matter how still you sit. My Mantis never comes out if I'm there or if he knows. He'll come out a 1/4 of the way to snatch a piece of silverside but then darts back in his hole. Very intelligent creatures.

JenDub · #11 12/08/2007, 05:40 PM

hmmmm....I had a crab hitchhiker in that tank as well......I wonder if that's what happened to him! Do they leave their hole to hunt or do they stay put & ambush?

If I can just lure him out of the hole with food and then remove his rock home.....if not he's gonna get dipped....

coast2coast7390 · #12 12/08/2007, 05:42 PM

im pretty sure that they go and adventure at night

photobret · #13 12/08/2007, 06:36 PM

Yeah Mine is out all the time when I watch from a distance, soon as I get close he darts back in his hidey hole. They ambush and hunt depends on the species again

yellowslayer13 · #14 12/09/2007, 01:13 AM

soda water is the best did to one of my acans and it was fine

coast2coast7390 · #15 12/09/2007, 01:16 AM

just wondering what makes soda water so special???

yellowslayer13 · #16 12/09/2007, 01:50 AM

the bubbles try getting some bubble water and sitting your hand in it it hurts like crap now imagine breathing it

coast2coast7390 · #17 12/09/2007, 02:18 AM

and it doesnt harm the corals

photobret · #18 12/10/2007, 11:32 AM

Soda water seems to be popular amongst loads of other reefers for getting various pests out of Live Rock. Soda Water is good cause the bubbles drive the bugs out and will not harm the corals, I'm sure a squirt of freshwater would do the same thing though just I know soda water works.

Jendub keep us informed on which one you try and let us know.

coast2coast7390 · #19 12/11/2007, 02:14 PM

so hows it going???

JenDub · #20 12/11/2007, 03:11 PM

I havn't had the time to try and evict him yet =)