my poor mantis :(

I came home today to discover my mantis laying upside down on the side of the tank still moving so i checked my parameters nothing was really wrong so i did a water change anyway. that seemed to have help he is moving around now but i noticed his left side the 3 legs they walk with on either side the left ones are all bent out and away from him which im assuming is the cause of his distress.. hope he pulls threw kinda bums me out

his tank mates i dont think could have done this but they are a chromis , royal gamma which is about the same size as him, and assorted small hermit crabs and snails.

 

What kind of mantis is he? and I'm no mantis expert but maybe he got attacked by the gramma, but I'm just making a guess. How big is he? I'm pretty sure a smasher or spearer could hold it's own but if it's smaller then maybe It got attacked

 

hes a Odontodactylus havanensis hes roughly 2 and a half maybe 3 inches long. the thing is there are no pieces missing or bites on him so i dunno he seems to be getting worse now pretty much in fettle position poor guy .. its also gunna suck finding another mantis if he doesnt make it. i can move the gramma also plenty of room in my main tank for him if you do think it was him

 

all I can think is that it was either the gramma (I guess it's possible) or the mantis is sick, but I don't really think mantis sickness is common, but then again, I'm no mantis expert. BTW is he a smasher or spearer?

 

hes a smasher im sure the whole Odontodactylus are smashers though

 

ok well you might want to ask 2in10 or Corailline; they know more than I do.

 

you can if you want man i dont think there is much more to be done. i think im to little to late to help him anymore than i have. gramma is in the main tank now.. water params are good so i hope he pulls through.:-/

 

k well good luck!

 

might be too late but he could be molting and his shell just got messed up. try dosing some iodine to force a molt though. hope it helps.

 

thanks for the help guys but he didnt make it. like i said to little to late. poor guy i will miss him. dont know what happened but at least his suffering is over. thanks again for the help though i really appreciate it!! now its on with the mantis search for another one