# Can you feed L1 mantids micro crickets?



## beckyl92 (May 29, 2009)

im hating the idea of fruit fly cultures as i think i have a phobia of flies? :s

hahha


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## PhilinYuma (May 29, 2009)

Even the smallest cricket should be much too large. Some folks feed aphids, but these are seasonal and not always easy to find unless you have a rose garden, and I can't think of anything else. There was a thread on here, recently, though, about feeding fish to mantids, and I was wondering if a really , really tiny fish might fill the bill. There is a fish (actually two species) that lives in the southern US (though not as far west as Yuma) called the mosquito fish, and if it is as small as its name implies, that might be a possibility, but that's not of much help to you in Manchester. There is, however, a Liverpudlian member, obviously not far from you, who is both an experienced, serious mantid keeper and who has made several posts about feeding fish to mantids. His first name is Rob, and you might want to ask his opinion.


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## beckyl92 (May 30, 2009)

PhilinYuma said:


> Even the smallest cricket should be much too large. Some folks feed aphids, but these are seasonal and not always easy to find unless you have a rose garden, and I can't think of anything else. There was a thread on here, recently, though, about feeding fish to mantids, and I was wondering if a really , really tiny fish might fill the bill. There is a fish (actually two species) that lives in the southern US (though not as far west as Yuma) called the mosquito fish, and if it is as small as its name implies, that might be a possibility, but that's not of much help to you in Manchester. There is, however, a Liverpudlian member, obviously not far from you, who is both an experienced, serious mantid keeper and who has made several posts about feeding fish to mantids. His first name is Rob, and you might want to ask his opinion.


I don't think id wanna feed my mantis fish. not that im against it its just i personally keep fish myself and feel like its nasty lol  

by the way the micro cricket is 1-3mm. would that really be too big? ive heard ghost mantids are the size of large ants when they're born so to me that sounds perfect


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## Rick (May 30, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> I don't think id wanna feed my mantis fish. not that im against it its just i personally keep fish myself and feel like its nasty lol  by the way the micro cricket is 1-3mm. would that really be too big? ive heard ghost mantids are the size of large ants when they're born so to me that sounds perfect


Keep that fish talk out of this thread. Fruit flies are your best choice. Pinhead crickets are a poor choice for L1 mantids in my opinion.


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## jameslongo (May 30, 2009)

As Rick said, feed L1s Drosophila, however you might be able to get away with pinheads. I read somewhere that ghosts are born hungry and know exactly what to do with their raptorial arms. You could isolate one L1 ghost from the rest and try feeding it primarily on pinheads (the rest should probably be vinegar flies). Prove the critics wrong, BeckyL!


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## beckyl92 (May 30, 2009)

jameslongo said:


> As Rick said, feed L1s Drosophila, however you might be able to get away with pinheads. I read somewhere that ghosts are born hungry and know exactly what to do with their raptorial arms. You could isolate one L1 ghost from the rest and try feeding it primarily on pinheads (the rest should probably be vinegar flies). Prove the critics wrong, BeckyL!


wooo i will! haha just joking  i decided to just get over my fear of flies and get a fruit fly culture


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