Feeding T. sinensis (chinese mantis) hydei after hatching?

[Chalc]

Hello everybody!

I'm very new to this hobby and I'm trying to get all the correct information I can on this species.
I'm not sure whether to feed them melanogaster or hydei flies after they first hatch from the ootheca. I've seen some people say that chinese mantids will take hydei right from the start, but I don't want to buy a culture only to find out that I can't feed my babies and they starve. Also, how soon should I feed them after hatching and how many? 
 

 

[LAME]

D. Hydei will do fine, T. Sin is a larger species. I've always used the Hydei with them and have had no problems. 

Wait atleast a day or two after hatch to feed, they'll probably except on the day after. 

Also, offer them a mist. 

 

[CosbyArt]

Hello everybody!

I'm very new to this hobby and I'm trying to get all the correct information I can on this species.
I'm not sure whether to feed them melanogaster or hydei flies after they first hatch from the ootheca. I've seen some people say that chinese mantids will take hydei right from the start, but I don't want to buy a culture only to find out that I can't feed my babies and they starve. Also, how soon should I feed them after hatching and how many?

Hello and welcome to the forum, feel free to make a introduction post.

If that is the only species your rearing anytime soon Hydei will be fine, and will save you from having to get two fruit fly cultures. The Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) nymphs are great eaters and should enjoy the Hydei easily enough as LAME says. On average there will be 100 nymphs or more from a single ooth (ootheca - egg sec), so be prepared.

After the nymphs start molting (about a week  (7-10 days)) they will begin to be cannibalistic too so be warned. The nymphs will need to be separated into individual habitats once they molt to L2  - as by L3 (their second molt), they start to be highly cannibalistic no matter the amount of food given and their numbers can quickly dwindle.

 

[Chalc]

Thank you both very much! I'll be getting my ootheca in a couple weeks and this forum has definitely made me more prepared!   

One last question - how often should I mist? I'll be using paper towel as substrate at the beginning, should I mist until it's damp and there are water droplets on the side of the container, or will too much water grow mould? 

 

[CosbyArt]

@Chalc For misting you should spray enough that it evaporates in 30 minutes or less (to prevent mold and other problems), and it will take a few attempts normally to get down. You should mist once every other day for best results, unless your room humidity is really low (heaters, and furnaces, suck out all the moisture in winter) so you need to adjust how often you mist in the winter accordingly.

You can get fancy and get a hydrometer to read the RH% (room humidity percentage), or a dual hydrometer and thermometer, but unless you are rearing difficult species you can cheat. For example if your hair is really frizzy that day, RH% is low, or if you easily can get a static electric charge it's really low as well - in those cases you should mist daily (as RH% is likely 25% or less).

If you experience dry winter humidity like me, you may want to consider getting a steam humidifier as it will help keep all your pets (and even you) in much better health (in humans it will help prevent dry skin, chapped lips, etc). I personally have two steam humidifiers (one gallon sized ones) I got 2nd hand for $5 each and they both work great. Depending on the weather/humidity I use them off and on year-round, and non-stop during the winter.

One last note is to use spring/purified water when misting (and in your humidifier as well). It will not dirty your habitats with calcium/hard water spots, and in the humidifier it will keep it from having to be cleaned/rinsed each time it is filled up. Also it will prevent a white film from developing on everything in the room from the calcium/hard water when using a humidifier (or the habitats from misting) - as when I use tap water a humidifier coats everything within a few days with a white caulky film.