Sick Pet Mantis Shrimp   10/22/07
Hello wetwebmedia crew,
<Maria>
I really love your site and find it very informative and helpful.
<Ahh, glad you find it useful>
Now, I am an owner of a beautiful 7 inch peacock mantis. It lives in an 8 gallon nano cube with a yellow tail damsel.
<Yikes. Glad I'm not this Damsel!>
The tank has live sand and a few pieces of live rock that form a cave for her to hide in. Mantis shrimps are cool pets and have colorful personalities. However, my mantis has developed a brownish discoloration on its back. It started as a small round speck and is now getting a little bit bigger and oval shaped (around 2 millimeters). I read on the web that peacock mantis shrimps are especially susceptible to shell disease.
<Yes>
I am afraid that this is what my mantis may have. The sites I have visited suggest to feed the mantis everyday to encourage it to molt.
<Along with iodine, sufficient alkalinity and alkaline earth content in its water... VERY hard to supply consistently in this small volume>
They also said that by molting regularly they can get ahead of the disease. I have been feeding my mantis everyday (hermit crabs, snails, and frozen krill). I also read that keeping the tank light on can help expedite the disease. I have no idea if this is true.
<Mmm, can... if adds stress, the "spots" are algal...>
Lately, I have been keeping the lights off on her tank (unless i am feeding her). I have also been performing 2 gallon water changes on her tank every week to try to keep the water quality up. Any suggestions or tips on what I should do? I would hate to loose her. Do you guys think it may be shell disease? Thanks in advance. MR
<Mmm, better environment... a bigger tank... what are your measures for Mg, Ca, Alkalinity? Do you supplement I2? Bob Fenner>

Mantis shrimp
Hi Mr. Fenner,
<Sorry, but you Reached Steven Pro. Anthony Calfo and I are helping out while Bob is out of town.>
Just to let you know your site is very informative and is also a big reason as to why I started up a marine aquarium.
<I will certainly pass the compliment onto Bob.>
Anyways, I just have a couple of questions, the first regarding the pesky little mantis shrimp I think, has taken residence in my aquarium. Recently I've had an Ick outbreak in my 60 gallon aquarium. Following the advice of my LFS and your site I've decided to "nuke" the tank and was just wondering if the mantis shrimp would have survived the copper treatment.
<Probably not>
Secondly I was just wondering what your opinions are on the Built in filters In the DAS aquariums (i.e.. are they sufficient?) as I have been eyeing a 100 gallon DAS aquarium with a built in filter.
<I do not like them. I do aquarium maintenance for a living and these filters are small, cramped, and difficult to service. It is also very difficult to upgrade or make changes. I prefer a tank with a sump.>

Is that a smasher or a splitter?
Dear Mr. Fenner, <PF here>
My finger was impaled by a mantis shrimp a week ago <ouch!> and my finger has not fully cover from sensory feel. As there are no relevant doctor for these in my area, would you please inform me more about injury from a mantis shrimp? <I'm sorry Sugeng, I can't be more specific than this: treat it as any other wound. Make sure it stays clean, and keep that finger out of any infectious material. I would go see a regular (i.e. general practitioner) about this injury, and I would recommend you go as soon as possible. Hope that helps and best wishes, PF>Thanks.
Sugeng

Re: Your help on/with WWM
Thank you to whoever titled the "Is that a smasher or
a splitter?" for me.
<No worries... wish I was as clever as the ed.s at WSJ>
Next time, I'll catch that and
include a link (specifically the one for wounds...),
to say I was a little freaked out by my first question
being medically related (I'm not a doctor ,nor do I
play one or TV) would be rather accurate.
<We takes and gives what we gets>
I certainly hope I made it clear he should go see a
doctor, and I hope the AMA doesn't come after me for
practicing without a license. ; )
<Something to contemplate. Bob>

Wound Care Advice
Bob:
I read the two posts yesterday & today about a mantis shrimp wound. The advice was sound. Actually, your wound/infection article is very appropriate and correct. As the cliché goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The most important treatment of a non-venomous wound is prompt cleaning/disinfection.
As for the loss of sensation in the writer's finger--as long as there was no venom involved, it is likely that the impalement cut a nerve. Cutting a larger nerve closer to the base of the finger would affect all sensation beyond that point. Cutting a small nerve near the tip would affect just a small area. I still have a small numb spot on one finger from a laceration I sustained over 25 years ago.
It is always smart to see a doctor when a  wound isn't healing properly or looks infected. Any primary care physician is a good starter.
Steve Allen, M.D.
PS: don't fret about the AMA--I'm sure they've got bigger fish to fry. ;)
<Thank you for this timely input. Will share, post. Bob Fenner>