Nymph's food consumption

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Well if you have not seen the other post i have florida bark mantis nymphs 29 of them.

I was wondering how much food i should give them i have been giving them one ff every day,

But don't know if i am over feeding under feeding or in the optimal range.

Just wondering if any body has rased them and has a insight on there feeding and behavioral habits.

Thanks Chase

 

[idolomantis]

just drop in some ff and wait till they ate everything, than place new food.

 

[The_Asa]

I'm assuming you mean you feed each nymph one ff a day. For 29 just throw a sizable amount into the cage, wait until they are eaten and put some more in.

 

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Sorry for the confusion yes I have 29 nymphs and feed each nymph one fruit fly a day.

The thing is I have separated them so i guess i will put in 4 or so and just put in more as they are eaten.

 

[Rick]

One fruit fly a day? I would say you are underfeeding. Kinda like fish, feed them about as many as they will consume in a set time. If the nymphs are all together I dump enough fruit flies in so each can have several. That way I can feed every other day. I don't really worry about quantity of food for mantid nymphs. I would go mad trying to only put in one fly per nymph. I just dump a bunch in there and I guess it would work out to several flies per each mantis. Very simple.

 

[Katnapper]

Sorry for the confusion yes I have 29 nymphs and feed each nymph one fruit fly a day. The thing is I have separated them so i guess i will put in 4 or so and just put in more as they are eaten.

You're keeping them all seperate... 29 L1 nymphs in individual containers? That's a lot of work for feeding at this young of a stage!

Well, that sounds like a plan if you are keeping them all seperate. But you know, if they are newly hatched (L1) up to L2 or even L3, you can get away with keeping them all in the same enclosure and only having to feed once... instead of 29 times! There is a slight risk of cannibalism if not abundant food source, but usually it doesn't kick in until about L3 (depending on species). I'd go nuts if I had to feed all my nymphs individually! I think it takes time now to feed them all.... but my family would never see me again, I'm sure! :lol:

 

[hibiscusmile]

Yea, just dump them in and u will find not many left by days end. They will eat till full and leave the rest till later, make sure you give them a nice warm drink and u will find they will be healthy for you.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Sorry for the confusion yes I have 29 nymphs and feed each nymph one fruit fly a day. The thing is I have separated them so i guess i will put in 4 or so and just put in more as they are eaten.

I can understand your keeping the nymphs seperately if you wish to sell them all. A number of species, e.g. chinese and california capricorn mantises will eat moulting siblings at F2. I agree with what has been written above and your own ammended practice, but in addition, I would suggest that you have a culture of D. hydei ready to go as they get bigger and that you consider putting in a tiny amount of banana in each pot for the ffs. Some folks prefer apple, because it doesn't go mushy, but I find that apple dries aout quickly, even with misting.

Also, if you are using standard 32 oz pots, consider something smaller to make it easier for the nymph and the ff to meet up, and if your nymphs adhere to the lid (I have never kept this species, so I don't know), consider introducing some "wild' ffs that will also congregate on the lid, or at least provide some excelsior or twigs so that the ffs can climb to their doom.

Good luck!

 

[Rick]

I can understand your keeping the nymphs seperately if you wish to sell them all. A number of species, e.g. chinese and california capricorn mantises will eat moulting siblings at F2. I agree with what has been written above and your own ammended practice, but in addition, I would suggest that you have a culture of D. hydei ready to go as they get bigger and that you consider putting in a tiny amount of banana in each pot for the ffs. Some folks prefer apple, because it doesn't go mushy, but I find that apple dries aout quickly, even with misting.Also, if you are using standard 32 oz pots, consider something smaller to make it easier for the nymph and the ff to meet up, and if your nymphs adhere to the lid (I have never kept this species, so I don't know), consider introducing some "wild' ffs that will also congregate on the lid, or at least provide some excelsior or twigs so that the ffs can climb to their doom.

Good luck!

I personally don't think putting food for the flies in the mantis enclosure is necessary since in my experience the flies are pretty much all gone within a day or so. I use 32 oz for nymphs and have never had any issues of it being too large. I normally don't put them into those until they have molted a couple times but the flies are pretty active.

 

[Christian]

I wouldn't use too much fruit flies in this species. As I mentioned before, it is better to use firebrats in bark and ground species and only additionally fruit flies. You can sieve them to a size comparable to fruit flies and they survive a long time in the enclosure. Ok, now, as you have L1 already it's too late, but consider this option in case you get a second generation.