Of course it happens in the wild what DOESNT happen in the wild is humans grabbing one animal and shoving it into the jaws of the other!In my humble opinion, a fish being eaten by a Praying Mantis is no different than a fish being eaten by a Mantis Shrimp or any other aquatic animal except that it would probably feel more pain being eaten in the water than out of it, because if it's out of the water it will probably be focusing on trying to breathe.I rear fishes and my favourites are the Silver Arowana and the Oscar. I've observed them consuming feeder fish and they definitely do not kill their prey instantly, just like the Praying Mantis. In fact, I think, if one were to observe how an Oscar or an Arowana kill prey too big for them to swallow, it would definitely look more violent than a Praying Mantis eating fish.
And if it is said that this doesn't happen in the wild, I don't take it as a valid argument unless someone living 24/7 in the wild has confirmed it. I've seen a video of a Mantis actually catching fish from the water on YouTube, not hand-fed. I would post the link but I'm afraid to start any argument. Now if a Mantis has the capability to actually do that, then it's possible that they might just eat fishes in the wild.
Thoughts from an Asian who keeps Mantids and Fishes and loves them equally!
But surely, keeping predators, whether mantids or snakes, consists in grabbing one animal and shoving it into the jaws of another. Did you ever hand feed a mantis?
Thats now what we was discussing, i was commenting on feeding VERTEBRATES TO INVERTEBRATES.
Now I've GOT YOU! So if I understand you, it's O.K. for inverts to eat vertebrates in the wild or in captivity so long as someone is not forcing the latter into the jaws/mandibles of the former. So if I were to hold a live skink up to feed a mantis, that would be wrong, but if I just popped it into the mantid's enclosue and let "nature take it's course," that would be OK. This seems very complicated. Have I got it right? Do realize; I am not trying to oppose your argument, just understand it.
And your precisely the sort of person who will get exotic pet keeping banned for us all. Theres no difference in what you have said and the video that has been posted, both condone unnecessary suffering.
ut oh some one save the feeder rodents! keepers have been slapping rodents against there walls for decades and its considered the humane way even...the animal is killed INSTANTLY SO THERE IS NO SUFFERING! crickets roaches and flies should not be put in a special catergory away from rodents, fish, and feeder reptiles everything eats just somehave different feeding habits
Charlie: I admire the force of yr emotion, but the force of yr argument has me puzzled. The connection between what you consider cruelty and the banning of species is not just tenuous, it is non existent. Consider that dog fights flourish not only along the southern border but in cities like NY and Chicago. Are dogs banned as a consequence? The same applies with ###### fighting, particularly in Asian communities, but chickens continue to thrive. No one here has mentioned the serious and deliberate cruelty to animals that is practiced by the cosmetics industry (oh, that's right, you did Arkanis!), the conditions experienced by battery chickens or some of the procedures in slaughter houses. None of these flagrant and long standing abuses has ever caused the "banning" of a single animal. Your argument is not only wrong, it contains a fallacy that is taught to college freshmen. If you are not familiar with the continuum, or "slippery slope" fallacy, exemplified by the absurdity of the "domino theory", then you can easily find it on the internet.
You obviously don't pay much attention here..... lets see how soon your hobby gets banned
