Bad Molt - Mantis

Molting is the process by which a crustacean grows. It has to grow a new exoskeleton, and than shed the old one. Mantis shrimp tend to get caught by the raptorial appendages because of the large size of the appendage and the small area it has to squeeze through. If anything goes wrong, like the new exoskeleton getting fused to the old, the mantis will die. During the process of shedding the old exoskeleton the mantis can not breath.

 

Sorry to hear about both of your losses. Take your time and then start looking around for things you think are real cool and fit your tank and start enjoying again.

 

wow that sucks for a mantis. its seems like this is every common lol?

 

i have been planning a 20g mantis build.. to bring my bedroom to life

i have to admit this is making me slow down and research more. im sure its rewarding having such a personable inhabitant(more like pet), but i am hearing alot of bad molt stories. could there be anything they might be sensitive to that we are missing?

 

Shrimps have bad molts. It's just a fact of life.

If anything there's anything to guess, I might posit that more frequent molts might make it easier for them to molt, since the shell has less time to harden on the inside. I don't know if anyone has used iodine dosing to try and induce molting on a slightly accelerated schedule from the normal water change only dose of iodine. You don't want molts to be too fast, or it won't survive because of an underdeveloped exoskeleton.

^ Random thoughts. I think it's a fine balance when it comes to iodine, and it may be beneficial to try very, very small doses to keep a slightly elevated level above baseline in the tank, and see if it helps keep mantis shrimp (and others) alive for longer periods without succumbing to bad molts.

 

Dissolved organic solvents are known to be extremely toxic to them, but that usually just kills them rather than affecting the molt.

I don't think increasing the frequency of molting is going to help either. The shell should be completely hard within a few days to weeks depending on the size and species. Molting more frequently than that would just be hazardous. I recommend fewer smaller feedings, and letting the mantis hunt for its food more.

Cupidofcrimes mantis was 3" long. That could very well have been end of its life size depending on the species.

 

Very true stepho! And as he was an "unidentified" mantis, it makes it doubly true.
C'est la Vie.
I was just so hard on me, b/c it was his first molt. And everything was going well, in fact great. He was clicking and popping away for 2 weeks while burrowed away, but then one day it was just quite. And then i knew. It happened so quick, and as i knew what to expect (THANKS 3-REEF), i knew something was wrong. But since i had read about this happening; it made it a bit easier and i accepted his fate.
That being said.... I would definitely get another mantis. They are awesome pets.

 

Dosing any amount of iodine with a mantis is just a recipe for disaster. Iodine DOES NOT HELP a mantis molt, it MAKES them molt. Which is bad if it's too soon. Many 3reef mantis have died because someone read that you should dose iodine to help them. So, my advice to anyone that is reading this thread: DO NOT dose iodine. it's too tricky and risky when a mantis is involved.

Stepho seems to have had the best approach to keeping the healthiest mantis, but no matter what you do, a mantis can still have a bad molt. What stepho did was use a vitamin supplement (forgot what it was) and used live foods as often as possible to keep the mantis active.

As a mantis gets larger, it's much harder for them to molt, but thankfully they go through less frequent molts as well. I get nervous every time one of my mantis starts molting (it normally takes them a week or two to be done. and maybe another week before they're active again) and there's really nothing that can be done about it.

The leading cause of death is still heart disease in america (mainly heart attacks). So a heart attack is to Americans as a bad molt is to mantis shrimp. It's pretty much the only way a mantis can die outside of predation and water/habitat related deaths. I would say iodine dosing is the second leading cause of death in captive mantis shrimp.

 

Selcon. I can't take credit though Dr. Roy originally suggested it. The live food isn't just for activity, there are nutrients in live foods that are lost in frozen foods.