Feeding....

TokiHacker · 03/01/2017, 04:39 PM

What live things do you feed your mantis that isn't too expensive?

How often do you feed them?

MMacro · 03/01/2017, 05:16 PM

I have a bunch of tiny snails that I throw in my wenneraes tank. I pull them from my lfs and friends tanks.
He eats them whenever he gets hungry or whenever they get too close to his burrow. I also sometimes pick up ghost shrimp whenever they are in stock at my lfs. They are super cheap.

deleau · 03/01/2017, 08:58 PM

I buy cheap snail/hermit from the LFS and let them clean up any waste he leaves around, then they become food themselves whenever he's hungry.

One LFS also knows I have him and donates any oddballs they get to "Thunderdome" (i.e. Gorilla crabs, odd/unknown hermits, etc.)

Jlentz · 03/01/2017, 09:19 PM

My Lfs sells me really cheap cuc if he knows they are going in the mantis tank. I restock snails and blue leg hermits every month or two.

Also frozen clams.

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Bobbitworm13 · 03/01/2017, 09:44 PM

I feed frozen piscine energetics pe mysis and I'm going to start adding squid and frozen clams. Lrs chunky would be great with a bit of work. Also add selcon to frozen food for more nutrients, mainly HUFA

Bobbitworm13 · 03/01/2017, 09:45 PM

Oh you wanted live food suggestions lol

TokiHacker · 03/02/2017, 03:32 PM

See the LFS in my area won't do that so I am paying either 10 for 10 on hermits (which he wipes out in one sitting), or 3.99 for snails he wipes two a day. That can add up!

I also will occasionally do a silverslide or I have clams on a halfshell, but I like to have him use his smashers so he doesn't get use to not using them and gets lazy.

Bobbitworm13 · 03/03/2017, 06:47 AM

I think they use the smashers for burrowing into rock as much as anything.

TokiHacker · 03/03/2017, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbitworm13

I think they use the smashers for burrowing into rock as much as anything.

scampi doesn't really burrow into rock. he dug a hole in the sand under a rock.

nmotz · 03/03/2017, 10:32 AM

Live ghost shrimp are pretty cheap, you can usually get 5-6 for $1. I buy about 10 and feed 2 right away. The others I put into a bucket for storage and feed 1/day until they are gone. I drop in one or two drops of Seachem (to neutralize ammonia) and aerate the water in the bucket twice a day by scooping up the water and dropping it back into the bucket. The ghost shrimp survive at least a week that way.

Live brine shrimp are also really well appreciated by mantis shrimp IME. I get a 1/2 oz order and put them in a bucket with a drop or two of Selcon (a vitamin supplement) and one drop of Seachem. As above, I aerate the water twice a day and they live for 4-5 days. A brine shrimp order usually costs about $2.

It depends on what I'm feeding, but for my mantis (a Peacock) I feed a small portion about every other day. If I feed her a large clam or something I'll wait 2-3 days before I feed again. It also depends on the species. I had a Neogonodactylus Oerstedii (very similar to a Wennerae) that ate 2-3 small snails per day. I just threw tons of them into his tiny 2g tank and he would hunt all day.

Jlentz · 03/05/2017, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokiHacker

See the LFS in my area won't do that so I am paying either 10 for 10 on hermits (which he wipes out in one sitting), or 3.99 for snails he wipes two a day. That can add up!

I also will occasionally do a silverslide or I have clams on a halfshell, but I like to have him use his smashers so he doesn't get use to not using them and gets lazy.

Have you asked him about buying them 50 at a time or more? That's usually how I get hermits.

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SantaMonica · 04/07/2017, 05:15 PM

Nice variety of feeding idea. I guess nobody cultures food, because the high volume needed.

TokiHacker · 04/13/2017, 09:44 AM

What I have done is bought freshwater clams and freeze them.

erndog1001 · 04/17/2017, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokiHacker

What I have done is bought freshwater clams and freeze them.

Your shrimp eats these?Bc I feed these to my fish But never thought of trying to feed them to my shrimp

erndog1001 · 04/17/2017, 06:30 PM

I have a large Peacock that I feed whatever crab or shrimp my LFS happens to have fairly cheap I have fed:
Cleaner Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp
Various Snails
Strawberry Crabs
Emerald Crabs
I'm sure this list is incomplete But that's all I can think of atm

nmotz · 04/17/2017, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erndog1001

I have a large Peacock that I feed whatever crab or shrimp my LFS happens to have fairly cheap I have fed:
Cleaner Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp
Various Snails
Strawberry Crabs
Emerald Crabs
I'm sure this list is incomplete But that's all I can think of atm

That's good to keep the diet diverse like that. I've fed most of those same specimens to my Peacock as well and I think it helps them stay healthy and avoid shell rot and other diseases. I mix up the live food days with frozen food morsels soaked in Selcon for added nutrition.

Hadla · 04/18/2017, 11:34 AM

My chiragra usually gets live margarita snails or pieces of shrimp or scallop or a cube of squid

TokiHacker · 04/18/2017, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hadla

My chiragra usually gets live margarita snails or pieces of shrimp or scallop or a cube of squid

mine gets a lot of live snails and hermits but when I cant make it out to the LFS I will get him these. Live clams from Publix and just freeze them.

Hadla · 04/18/2017, 05:21 PM

Yeah I buy the raw shrimp and scallops, cut them up and freeze them. I'd get clams but they're so big :/ like almost the size of her lol

03/01/2017, 04:39 PM	#1
TokiHacker Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 549	Feeding.... What live things do you feed your mantis that isn't too expensive? How often do you feed them? __________________ 200 GAL Mixed Reef Build \| 20GAL JBJ Frag Tank \| 29GAL Chiragra Mantis Shrimp Tank

03/01/2017, 05:16 PM	#2
MMacro Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,442	I have a bunch of tiny snails that I throw in my wenneraes tank. I pull them from my lfs and friends tanks. He eats them whenever he gets hungry or whenever they get too close to his burrow. I also sometimes pick up ghost shrimp whenever they are in stock at my lfs. They are super cheap. __________________ 155 Mixed Reef (48x31x24)

03/01/2017, 08:58 PM	#3
deleau Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 367	I buy cheap snail/hermit from the LFS and let them clean up any waste he leaves around, then they become food themselves whenever he's hungry. One LFS also knows I have him and donates any oddballs they get to "Thunderdome" (i.e. Gorilla crabs, odd/unknown hermits, etc.) __________________ "The plural of anecdote is not data." Current Tank Info: 258g (72.5x30x27.5), 4x Radion Gen3 Pro, 2x Hamilton Aruba Sun V Series (4x Blue Plus 80W), 2x Vortech MP40WQD, Apex Gold + WXM, Dreambox 5d, Bubble King Supermarin 200, Red Dragon 3 150W, Tunze 3155, Finnex Ti 800W

03/02/2017, 03:32 PM	#7
TokiHacker Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 549	See the LFS in my area won't do that so I am paying either 10 for 10 on hermits (which he wipes out in one sitting), or 3.99 for snails he wipes two a day. That can add up! I also will occasionally do a silverslide or I have clams on a halfshell, but I like to have him use his smashers so he doesn't get use to not using them and gets lazy. __________________ 200 GAL Mixed Reef Build \| 20GAL JBJ Frag Tank \| 29GAL Chiragra Mantis Shrimp Tank

03/03/2017, 10:32 AM	#10
nmotz Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: FL, USA Posts: 1,433	Live ghost shrimp are pretty cheap, you can usually get 5-6 for $1. I buy about 10 and feed 2 right away. The others I put into a bucket for storage and feed 1/day until they are gone. I drop in one or two drops of Seachem (to neutralize ammonia) and aerate the water in the bucket twice a day by scooping up the water and dropping it back into the bucket. The ghost shrimp survive at least a week that way. Live brine shrimp are also really well appreciated by mantis shrimp IME. I get a 1/2 oz order and put them in a bucket with a drop or two of Selcon (a vitamin supplement) and one drop of Seachem. As above, I aerate the water twice a day and they live for 4-5 days. A brine shrimp order usually costs about $2. It depends on what I'm feeding, but for my mantis (a Peacock) I feed a small portion about every other day. If I feed her a large clam or something I'll wait 2-3 days before I feed again. It also depends on the species. I had a Neogonodactylus Oerstedii (very similar to a Wennerae) that ate 2-3 small snails per day. I just threw tons of them into his tiny 2g tank and he would hunt all day. __________________ Mantis shrimp are the best! Current Tank Info: 20L Peacock mantis shrimp tank

03/01/2017, 09:19 PM	#4
Jlentz Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 332	My Lfs sells me really cheap cuc if he knows they are going in the mantis tank. I restock snails and blue leg hermits every month or two. Also frozen clams. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

03/01/2017, 09:44 PM	#5
Bobbitworm13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Russell Springs, KY Posts: 330	I feed frozen piscine energetics pe mysis and I'm going to start adding squid and frozen clams. Lrs chunky would be great with a bit of work. Also add selcon to frozen food for more nutrients, mainly HUFA

03/01/2017, 09:45 PM	#6
Bobbitworm13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Russell Springs, KY Posts: 330	Oh you wanted live food suggestions lol

03/03/2017, 06:47 AM	#8
Bobbitworm13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Russell Springs, KY Posts: 330	I think they use the smashers for burrowing into rock as much as anything.

04/07/2017, 05:15 PM	#12
SantaMonica Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santa Monica, California, USA Posts: 2,511	Nice variety of feeding idea. I guess nobody cultures food, because the high volume needed. __________________ Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843

04/13/2017, 09:44 AM	#13
TokiHacker Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 549	What I have done is bought freshwater clams and freeze them. __________________ 200 GAL Mixed Reef Build \| 20GAL JBJ Frag Tank \| 29GAL Chiragra Mantis Shrimp Tank

04/17/2017, 06:30 PM	#15
erndog1001 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Syracuse/Camillus Posts: 829	I have a large Peacock that I feed whatever crab or shrimp my LFS happens to have fairly cheap I have fed: Cleaner Shrimp Peppermint Shrimp Various Snails Strawberry Crabs Emerald Crabs I'm sure this list is incomplete But that's all I can think of atm __________________ The heck with the grandkids Ask me about my reef tank!

04/18/2017, 11:34 AM	#17
Hadla Mantis Whisperer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 574	My chiragra usually gets live margarita snails or pieces of shrimp or scallop or a cube of squid __________________ Aquarium count: 7 salt: 2x10g, 29 biocube, 30g, 55g, 75g, 225g, and one fresh 20g planted tank! Puffer, octopus, and mantis shrimp fanatic!

04/18/2017, 05:21 PM	#19
Hadla Mantis Whisperer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 574	Yeah I buy the raw shrimp and scallops, cut them up and freeze them. I'd get clams but they're so big :/ like almost the size of her lol __________________ Aquarium count: 7 salt: 2x10g, 29 biocube, 30g, 55g, 75g, 225g, and one fresh 20g planted tank! Puffer, octopus, and mantis shrimp fanatic!