Found a mantis

I popped into my fish room at 5am this morning to see this at the bottom of my fuge. I think it must have hitch hiked on some LR I got from the reef last weekend. I don't know how healthy he is though. I see him laying on his back from time to time. Is this because he's stressed or dying?
I never even knew we had mantis shrimp in Trinidad. I better watch my fingers next time I go divng

 

Nice! he looks tiny, and he's confined to your fuge which is bonus. I dont know anything about mantis srmip tho so i cant help you with your question .....

 

he ma.ybe stressed or more likely molting.i cant c ur pics on my pda cuz its cool like that buts thats my guess. try feeding it a small bit of clam ,mabe hes hungry?

 

Yep he is quite tiny, possibly an inch and a half. I read that they grow up to about 4 inches or so.
I'm so glad I found him there instead of in my DT

Very cool PDA racer
I gave him a piece of shrimp and he took it in his hands and just laid on his side seemingly eating it. He's turned over properly now. I hope he lives.

 

how awesome is that to find one in your sump! almost like finding that shiny new bike under the christmas tree!

I am in NO way knowledgeable about mantis shrimp beyond what the mantis gods and goddesses on this site post in their threads....however, just a thought:

Having seen what others have placed in their tanks for their mantis shrimp, maybe your little guy is a bit stressed or even molting - but has nowhere to hide or feel protected.

Might be worth trying to place a bit of rubble or a small rock in the tank to give him a place to shelter in, especially since he must have taken an interesting ride down into the sump in the first place. That is what I would do, just give him a little place to hide in for the moment.

He lost his other hiding place - so i bet he would appreciate a new one!

good luck with it - its a pretty little critter

 

just don't let it break your thumbs!

 

And this is the first time I'm actually seeing one in front of me. So needless to say, I have no clue what I'm doing.:
The fuge has some LR but no sand. I'll add some more rubble to see if he would hide in there.

So I've heard

 

it might not be a problem now cause he's so small, but i thought mantis shrimp pack a powerful punch? What happends when it misses what it wants to hit and knocks the glass in your sump?

 

I'm not trolling here or trying to upset anyone, but does anyone if mantis shrimps are eaten by people anywhere?
Kinda looks to me like a elongated lobster tail.... I can imagine dozen of those bad boys simmering in some chicken stock and Old Bay or Thai style with spicy coconut curry and veggies.

 

Food for thought. What about if I put him in an acrylic 20gal for his new home?